Volume 9: Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
Part 1: Wales
3. Statutory framework and responsibilities
Legislation on food safety

3.8 The ban on Specified Bovine Offal (SBO ban - see paragraph 5.7 below) was introduced in Wales under the provisions of the Food Act 1984, which applied to both England and Wales. This meant that the Welsh Office, unlike the Scottish Office, did not need to make separate Regulations introducing the ban. Under the Food Act and other legislation, the powers of the Secretary of State for Wales (some of which were discharged jointly with the MAFF Minister) included:

1. the making of Regulations for the purposes of food safety and consumer protection;
2. the making of emergency control Orders under the Food Safety Act (see below); and
3. the making of emergency Orders under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985.

3.9 The Food Act 1984 was replaced by the Food Safety Act 1990, which consolidated the separate powers contained in the Food and Drugs (Scotland) Act 1956 and the Food Act 1984, and standardised the legislative regime governing food safety across Great Britain. The Secretary of State for Wales retained joint responsibility for food safety matters affecting Wales under the new Act.