BETA

15 Amendments of Martin HOJSÍK related to 2023/0105(COD)

Amendment 40 #
Proposal for a directive
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. To ensure the accuracy of the information on the country or countries of origin of honey that consumers are provided with, the placing on the market of honey should be conditional upon the accuracy of the composition of the product with its indicated country or countries of origin. To ensure the compliance of products with the requirements set out in this Directive, checks should be performed by competent authorities.
2023/10/03
Committee: ENVI
Amendment 42 #
(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.
2023/10/03
Committee: ENVI
Amendment 52 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3 a (new)
(3a) Following the "From the Hive" action carried out by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), together with the national authorities of 18 countries belonging to the European Food Fraud Network, the European Anti- Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), a very high percentage of imported honeys were found to be adulterated with cheap ingredients, such as sugar syrups and water, to artificially increase the product's volume. Directive 2001/110, amended by Directive 2014/63, empowers the European Commission to establish the most appropriate methods of analysis to ensure that honey marketed in the European Union complies with the requirements of the legislation. These methods are now obsolete, and there is an urgent need to update them regularly in the light of the latest scientific developments, in collaboration with the Commission's Joint Research Centre, in order to prevent fraudulent practices and to ensure a level-playing field between EU and non-EU operators.
2023/10/03
Committee: ENVI
Amendment 63 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3 b (new)
(3b) In addition to verifiability of the origin of honey thanks to the testing of its composition, the traceability of the product or batch should be ensured. At present, traceability rules do not make it possible to link the various operators who come into contact with the product, which encourages fraud. Given the difficulties involved in tracing the origin of honey, a specific traceability system needs to be set up for this sector.
2023/10/03
Committee: ENVI
Amendment 69 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3 c (new)
(3c) To ensure accurate information for consumers and guarantee the traceability and verifiability of honey authenticity and honey origins, ultrafiltered honey, referred to in Directive 2001/110/EC as "filtered honey", should no longer be allowed to be marketed and labelled as "honey". Ultrafiltration refers to filtration processes using a filter mesh of a size under 100 µm thus removing the majority of the pollen from honey. Since pollen is the key element present in honey used to trace its origin when analysed, the absence of pollen in honey makes it almost impossible to verify the data provided regarding its country or countries of origin. Ultrafiltration thus alters honey by depriving it of one of its main components and characteristics, and prevents its traceability, thus enabling for fraud and misleading indications for consumers. If, when tested, a product marketed as honey presents little or no trace of pollen, it should be prohibited from being placed on the market as well as the batch it is part of, if applicable.
2023/10/03
Committee: ENVI
Amendment 76 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3 d (new)
(3d) Considering the direct link between information of consumers and the reliability of the information indicated on honey, it is impossible to inform consumers unless the accuracy of the information on the label is guaranteed. Traceability and verifiability of the composition should therefore be ensured in order to guarantee the origin and the quality of honey, including in the case of honey contained in other products. Ensuring traceability and verifiability of the honey's country or countries of origin will also ensure a level-playing field between all operators by making sure that they all comply with the same obligations.
2023/10/03
Committee: ENVI
Amendment 148 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Directive 2001/110/EC
Article 2 – paragraph 4 – point a
(a) The country of origin where the honey has been harvested shall be indicated on the label. If the honey originates infrom more than one country, the countries of origin where the honey has been harvested shall be indicated on the label of packs; If the honey has been harvested in third countaining more than 25 g;ries only, or if third countries account for at least 80% of the countries of origin of a blend, this information shall be indicated clearly on the front-of-pack label close to the brand name of the product. This indication is additional to the mandatory list of countries of origin provided for in this Article. This shall also apply to products containing industrial honey, which shall indicate on their front-of-pack label that the honey they contain is mainly originating from third countries.
2023/10/03
Committee: ENVI
Amendment 150 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Directive 2001/110/EC
Article 2 – paragraph 4 – point a
(a) The country of origin where the honey has been harvested shall be indicated on the label. If the honey originates in more than one country, the countries of origin where the honey has been harvested shall be indicated on the label of packs. All countaining more than 25 g;ries of origin shall be written in full and listed in descending order of importance and their respective percentages shall be clearly indicated on the front-of-pack label of the product, close to the product's trade name. This shall also apply to products containing industrial honey, which shall indicate on their front-of-pack label the country or countries of origin of the honey they contain.
2023/10/03
Committee: ENVI
Amendment 176 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 – point 2
Directive 2001/110/EC
Article 2 – paragraph 4 – point b
(b) For the purposes of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 and in particular Articles 12 to 15 thereof, the particulars to be indicated according to point (a) of this paragraph shall be considered as mandatory particulars in accordance with Article 9 of that Regulation., and misleading claims and information as defined pursuant to the Green Claims Directive (2023/0085 (COD)) and the Directive on empowering consumers for the green transition (2022/0092 (COD)) shall be prohibited from appearing on the product.
2023/10/03
Committee: ENVI
Amendment 177 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 a (new)
The following Article 2a is added : "Article 2a Honey and products containing honey placed on the Union market shall be part of a traceability system such as an identification code or a blockchain system. Competent authorities shall be able to trace the honey’s journey back to its country of origin. Operators placing honey and products containing honey on the market shall be able to trace it, via an identification number or blockchain system, to its previous operator and country of origin. This number shall be written on the product's label and/or documentation. This traceability system shall be supported by the traceability requirements established pursuant to Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002."
2023/10/03
Committee: ENVI
Amendment 193 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 a (new)
Directive 2001/110/EC
Article 4 a (new)
The following Article 4a is added: "Article 4a After [OP: Please insert the date = 12 months after the date of entry into force of this directive] the Commission shall adopt delegated act establishing a harmonised methodology to ascertain honey authenticity based on the Commission's Joint Research Centre analytical methods. This methodology shall enable competent authorities to detect low and intermediate levels of adulterations with high sensitivity."
2023/10/03
Committee: ENVI
Amendment 194 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 b (new)
Directive 2001/110/EC
Article 4 a (new)
The following Article 4a is added: "Article 4a 1. The Commission is empowered to adopt delegated acts no later than [OP: Please insert the date = 12 months after the date of entry into force of this Directive] establishing a harmonised methodology to determine the precise origins of honey. This methodology shall enable competent authorities to trace honey back to its country or countries of origin by means of laboratory testing or any other method deemed appropriate. 2. From [OP: Please insert the date = 18 months after the date of entry into force of this Directive], the placing on the market of imported honey shall be conditional upon its compliance with the traceability requirements set out in this Article. Product checks shall be carried out by competent authorities, to verify consistency with the indicated country or countries of origin. The competent authorities shall carry out checks within their territory to establish whether the relevant products that the operator or trader has placed or intends to place on the market comply with this Directive. The competent authorities shall use a risk-based approach to identify the checks to be carried out. Risk criteria shall be identified based on an analysis of risks of non-compliance with this Directive, taking into account in particular the complexity and the length of supply chains, including whether blending of honeys of several countries of origin is involved. 3. These checks shall be performed based on a two-tier system for the assessment of countries. For that purpose, Member States and third countries shall be classified into one of the following risk categories: (a) ‘high risk’ refers to countries for which the assessment referred to in paragraph 4 results in the identification of a high risk of producing in such countries products whose composition does not comply with the characteristics set out in Annex II of this Directive; (b) ‘normal risk’ refers to countries for which the assessment referred to in paragraph 4 concludes that there is sufficient assurance that instances of producing products whose composition does not comply with characteristics set out in Annex II of this Directive, in such countries are exceptional; 4. By [OP: Please insert the date = 12 months after the date of entry into force of this directive], all countries shall be assigned a standard level of risk. The Commission, in collaboration with the Commission's Joint Research Centre, shall classify countries that present a normal or high risk in accordance with paragraph 3. The list of the countries that present a normal or high risk shall be published by means of delegated acts. That list shall be reviewed, and updated if appropriate, as often as necessary in light of new evidence. The classification of normal-risk and high-risk countries, pursuant to paragraph 3 shall be based on an objective and transparent assessment by the Commission, taking into account the latest scientific evidence and internationally recognised sources. 5. By [OP: Please insert the date = 12 months after the date of entry into force of this directive], each Member State shall designate a competent authority to perform the checks. 6. If a check reveals non-compliance with the requirements set out in this Directive, the placing on the market of the product or batch, if applicable, shall be prohibited. 7. Each Member State shall ensure that the annual checks carried out by its competent authorities pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Article cover at least 5 % of the operators placing on the market honey produced in a country of production classified as normal risk in accordance with this Article. 8. Each Member State shall ensure that the annual checks carried out by its competent authorities pursuant to paragraph 3 of this Article cover at least 10 % of the operators placing on the market honey produced in a country of production classified as high risk in accordance with this Article."
2023/10/03
Committee: ENVI
Amendment 210 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1 a (new)
In Annex II, paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: "When placed on the market as honey or used in any product intended for human consumption, honey shall not have added to it any food ingredient, including food additives, nor shall any other additions be made other than honey. Honey must, as far as possible, be free from organic or inorganic matters foreign to its composition. With the exception of point 3 of Annex I, iIt must not have any foreign tastes or odours, have begun to ferment, have an artificially changed acidity or have been heated in such a way that the natural enzymes have been either destroyed or significantly inactivated. , or have been exposed to vacuum evaporation. The category "products containing honey" therefore does not include honey blended with food ingredients or other additional ingredients." Or. en (02001L0110)
2023/10/03
Committee: ENVI
Amendment 218 #
Without prejudice to point 2(b)(viii) of Annex I, neiIn Annex II, paragraph 3 is replaced by the following: "No significant change in ther pollen nor any other constituent particular to honey, may be removed except where this is unavoidable in the removal of foreign inorganic or organic matter. count or pollen spectrum of pollen smaller than 100 µm is permitted. No constituents of honey smaller than 100 µm may be removed." Or. en (02001L0110)
2023/10/03
Committee: ENVI
Amendment 272 #
Proposal for a directive
Annex I – paragraph 1 – point 1 – point a Directive 2001/112/EC
By [OP: Please insert the date = date of entry into force of this Directive], the list of essential physical, chemical, organoleptical and nutritional characteristics of an average type of juice, other than the sugar of the fruit from which it comes, shall be established by the European Food Safety Agency.
2023/10/03
Committee: ENVI