Activities of Günther SIDL related to 2023/0105(COD)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Council Directives 2001/110/EC relating to honey, 2001/112/EC relating to fruit juices and certain similar products intended for human consumption, 2001/113/EC relating to fruit jams, jellies and marmalades and sweetened chestnut purée intended for human consumption, and 2001/114/EC relating to certain partly or wholly dehydrated preserved milk for human consumption
Amendments (24)
Amendment 34 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2 a (new)
Recital 2 a (new)
(2a) Annex I, Point 1 of Directive 2001/110/EC considers honey as a substance. In order to define honey more precisely, as well as to highlight its characteristics and nutritional properties, and to have greater legal certainty, honey should be legally defined as a food and not as a substance, since the latter term is ambiguous and lacks a legal definition.
Amendment 45 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) In light of the close link between the quality of honey and its origin and the need for the consumer not to be misled regarding the quality of the product, Directive 2001/110/EC lays down rules on the labelling of the origin where the honey has been harvested. In particular, Article 2(4) of that Directive requires the country or countries of origin where the honey has been harvested to be indicated on the label and provides that, if honey originates in more than one Member State or third country, the mandatory indication of the countries of origin may be replaced by one of the following, as appropriate: ‘blend of EU honeys’, ‘blend of non-EU honeys’, ‘blend of EU and non-EU honeys’. The different rules adopted on this basis by Member States may have misled consumers and may have hindered the functioning of the internal market. In the light of the Farm to Fork Strategy’s objective of strengthening consumers in making informed choices, including on the origin of their food, and in the interest to preserve the efficient functioning of the internal market throughout the Union through a harmonisation of the labelling rules, it is appropriate to revise the rules for honey origin labelling and provide that the country or countries of origin, should be mentioned on the packaging. In light of the reduced size of the packs containing only a single portion of honey (breakfast packs) and the resulting technical difficulties, it is therefore appropriate to exempt those packs from the obligation of listing all individual countries of origin, where the honey originates in more than one country in descending order. In the case of honey blends, the percentage of all individual countries of origin needs to be indicated.
Amendment 57 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3 a (new)
Recital 3 a (new)
Amendment 58 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3 a (new)
Recital 3 a (new)
(3a) Honey needs to be valued as a high quality food to ensure a level playing field for Union honey producers and protection for consumers and nature. Bees, along with butterflies and beetles, are vital to our ecosystems by pollinating plants and enriching soil.
Amendment 65 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3 b (new)
Recital 3 b (new)
(3b) Coordinated action is needed to develop and improve highly sensitive testing methods that will enable to test the authenticity of honey and help to identify suspicious honey samples and detect fraudulent adulteration of honey with added sugar syrup. This also includes the collection of traceability information and investigations at the place of import, processing, blending, and packaging.
Amendment 66 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3 b (new)
Recital 3 b (new)
(3b) Annex I, Point 2(b) of Directive 2001/110/EC lists the main types of honey according to mode of production and/or presentation, and includes the category of filtered honey. Since filtration implies a modification of the natural properties of honey, this type of honey should be categorised as "honeys for industrial use".
Amendment 73 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3 c (new)
Recital 3 c (new)
(3c) Since heating honey may involve modifying its natural properties, it is important to establish a threshold above which baker´s honey is considered as overheated in accordance with Annex I, Point 3 of Directive 2001/110/EC.
Amendment 82 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4 a (new)
Recital 4 a (new)
(4a) Member States and Commission should respect the results of the EFSA study on Tolerable upper intake level for dietary sugars1a, especially that free and added sugars need to be classed together in terms of the health outcomes for citizens. _________________ 1a https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/ep df/10.2903/j.efsa.2022.7074
Amendment 83 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4 b (new)
Recital 4 b (new)
(4b) Member States and Commission should take into account the One Health approach to ensure that the links of human and animal health and the environment are respected. Food needs to be healthy for humans, animals and the planet by taking into account animal welfare and planetary boundaries including GHG emissions to ensure that the binding targets as set by the European Climate Law are fully respected.
Amendment 85 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 5
Recital 5
(5) In 2012, Directive 2001/112/EC was amended by Directive 2012/12/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council22 to reflect the new rules on authorised ingredients, such as those pertaining to the addition of sugars, which were no longer authorised in fruit juices. In the light of this change of compositional requirements for fruit juices, the fruit juice industry was allowed to use, for one year only, a statement indicating that no fruit juices contain added sugars, in order to inform consumers and enable them to make an immediate clear distinction between fruit juices and other certain similar products in terms of the addition of sugars in the products. This short time-span proved insufficient to inform society that, following the new rules on authorised ingredients, the addition of sugars is no longer authorised in fruit juices. As a result, for some of the consumers and health practitioners, it is still not clear that fruit juices, contrary to fruit nectars, cannot contain added sugarlthough fruit juices do not contain added sugar they are still high in sugars. As a result consuming too much sugar is linked to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, dental cavities and some types of cancer. This has to be made clearer to consumers and health practitioners, as this misleading information tends to encourage substitution of fruits or other nutritious food with fruit juices, particularly among children and other vulnerable groups. _________________ 22 Directive 2012/12/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 April 2012 amending Council Directive 2001/112/EC relating to fruit juices and certain similar products intended for human consumption (OJ L 115, 27.4.2012, p. 1).
Amendment 93 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6 a (new)
Recital 6 a (new)
Amendment 94 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6 b (new)
Recital 6 b (new)
(6b) Changing lifestyles had an impact and changed our eating habits, which also led to increased production of processed foods. Statistics show that the consumption of foods high in energy, fat, free or/and added sugar and salt/sodium has increased significantly and that many people do not consume enough fruits, vegetables and other fiber such as whole grains. Therefore, any accelerated improvement in transparency to consumers is important, including the banning problematic and misleading labelling information on various products. Products such as juices or nectars that promote reduced sugar levels are often not a healthier option than products with natural or low added sugar and are not suitable to substitute fresh fruits or vegetables.
Amendment 95 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) Therefore, considering, in particular, that consumers are increasingly aware of health concerns linked to the consumption of sugar, it is appropriate to revise the rules on the use of statements on sugar for fruit juices to allow consumers to make informed choices. It is therefore appropriate to reintroduce, without a time limitation, the possibility for the industry to use the statement indicating that no fruit juices contain added sugars, accompanied by the indication contains 'naturally occurring sugars’, as listed in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council1a. _________________ 1a Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods (OJ L 404, 30.12.2006, p. 9).
Amendment 103 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 8 a (new)
Recital 8 a (new)
(8a) Member States and the Commission should take full account of the negative health effects of aspartame as it is possibly carcinogenic to humans according to International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization's (WHO). EFSA should review aspartame following the WHO announcements by 31 December 2024.
Amendment 130 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Amendment 132 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1 a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 1 a (new)
Directive 2001/110/EC
Article 2 – paragraph 2
Article 2 – paragraph 2
(1a) In Article 2, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following; "2. the product names referred to in Annex I, points 2 and 3, shall apply only to the products defined therein and shall be used in trade to designate them. These names may be replaced by the simple product name "‘honey"’, except in the case of filtered honey, comb honey, chunk honey or cut comb in honey and baker's honey. However, (a) in the case of baker's honey, the words "‘intended for cooking only"’ shall appear on the label in close proximity to the product name; (b) except in the case of filtered honey and baker's honey, the product names may be supplemented by information referring to: - floral or vegetable origin, if the product comes wholly or mainly from the indicated source and possesses the organoleptic, physico-chemical and microscopic characteristics of the source, - regional, territorial or topographical origin, if the product comes entirely from the indicated source, - specific quality criteria; " Or. en (02001L0110)
Amendment 147 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – introductory part
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2 – introductory part
(2) inIn Article 2 paragraph 4, points (a) and (b) are replaced by the following:
Amendment 165 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Directive 2001/110/EC
Article 2 – paragraph 4 – point a a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 4 – point a a (new)
(aa) For packs containing less than 30 grams of blended honey sourced from more than one country, the label may indicate the country of origin using the ISO 3166 alpha-2 country code.
Amendment 182 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 h (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 1 h (new)
Directive 2001/110/EC
Article 3
Article 3
Article 3 In the case of filtered honey andis replaced by the following: "Article 3 In the case of baker's honey, bulk containers, packs and trade documents shall clearly indicate the full product name, as referred to in Annex I, point 2(b)(viii), and point 3. point 3." Or. en (02001L0110)
Amendment 189 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 c (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 1 c (new)
Directive 2001/110/EC
Article 4 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 4 – paragraph 1 a (new)
In Article 4, the following paragraph 1a is added: "1a. In accordance with Article 4(1), the Commission shall adopt an implementing act within 3 years from the entry into force of this Directive."
Amendment 197 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 b (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 1 b (new)
Directive 2001/110/EC
Annex I – paragraph 1
Annex I – paragraph 1
In Annex I, point 1 is replaced by the following: "1. Honey is the natural sweet substancefood produced by Apis mellifera bees from the nectar of plants or from secretions of living parts of plants or excretions of plant- sucking insects on the living parts of plants, which the bees collect, transform by combining with specific substances of their own, deposit, dehydrate, store and leave in honeycombs to ripen and mature. " Or. en (02001L0110)
Amendment 203 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Article 1 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Directive 2001/110/EC
Annex I – paragraph 2 – point (b) – subpoint viii
Annex I – paragraph 2 – point (b) – subpoint viii
Annex I, paragraph 2, point (b), subpoint (viii) is deleted.
Amendment 235 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point c
Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point c
Directive 2001/112/EC
Article 3 – paragraph 4
Article 3 – paragraph 4
Without prejudice to Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council**, the statement ‘no fruit juices contain added sugars’ may only appear together with the indication 'contains naturally occurring sugars’, as listed in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council1a, on the label in the same field of vision as the name of the products referred to in Part I, point 1, of Annex I to this Directive.
Amendment 262 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 a (new)
Article 6 a (new)