Activites

• 2003/11/25 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Directive 2003/89
  • OJ L 308 25.11.2003, p. 0015-0018
• 2003/11/10 Final act signed
• 2003/11/10 End of procedure in Parliament
• #2525
• 2003/09/22 Council Meeting
• 2003/07/02 Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading
  • T5-0316/2003 summary

    The European Parliament adopted one major amendment based on the report by Christa KLASS (EPP-ED, Germany). This states that the Commission may be notified until 9 months after entry into force of the Directive of the studies on which ingredients listed in Annex IIIa are not allergenic. After consulting the EFSA, the Commission will, not later than 12 months after the entry into force of the Directive, adopt a list of those ingredients which will then be excluded from Annex IIIa until 4 years after entry into force of the Directive at the latest.�

• 2003/07/01 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 2003/05/21 Vote in committee, 2nd reading
  • A5-0191/2003
• 2003/03/13 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 2nd reading
• #2486
• 2003/02/20 Council Meeting
  • 15514/2/2002 summary

    The common position adopted by the Council by a qualified majority represents a balanced compromise, including the majority of the measures proposed by the Commission whilst restricting the scope of the exemptions provides for, and is in keeping with the requests for amendments made by the European Parliament at first reading in order to increase the accuracy of the information which foodstuff labels must carry. The Council considers that the Common Position achieves a good balance between the prerequisites for the proper functioning of the single market and consumer protection/information. As regards the difference between the common position and the amended proposal : - exemptions from the obligation to indicate the components of certain compound ingredients (ingredients whose composition is governed by Community legislation in force) and to comply with the presentation requirements for the list of ingredients are allowed only for ingredients accounting for less than 2% of the finished product, instead of the 5% proposed by the Commission. This compromise stems from the European Parliament's wish to dispense with the exemptions in question in order to provide consumers with more detailed information and affords a certain amount of flexibility, which the Commission advocates to enable manufacturers to meet the much more stringent foodstuff labelling requirements; - it is no longer possible not to repeat an ingredient as long as the label carries an explanatory note. This was in response to the European Parliament's request; - the list of allergenic ingredients should be reviewed and updated systematically to reflect scientific advances and not just every two years. Moreover, when the list is updated, ingredients may be taken off it if there is scientific evidence that they are no longer allergenic; - celery and mustard and their derived products are added to the list of allergenic substances. This is also in line with the European Parliament's request. As regards the main innovations introduced by the Council, these relate to: - coverage of certain substances which are not additives but are used in the same way and with the same purpose as processing aids and are still present in the finished product; - obligation to indicate the ingredients originating from an ingredient listed in Annex IIIa with a clear reference to the name of this ingredient's, unless the name under which the foodstuff is sold clearly refers to the ingredient concerned. Other modifications have been made, of a purely technical nature and aiming at clarifying the text of the Directive.�

• #2462
• 2002/11/14 Council Meeting
• 2002/09/03 Modified legislative proposal published
  • COM(2002)0464 summary

    The Commission has amended its proposal in light of the amendments voted at first reading. The Commission has accepted the following amendments which aim to: - add mixtures of mushrooms to the other mixtures (fruits or vegetables) whose labelling must not necessarily respect the rule of descending order of weight and specifies that this option applies only in the case of mixtures used in proportions which are likely to vary; - to abolish the labelling derogation provided for in the proposal in respect of ingredients consisting of preparations of sauces or mustards constituting less than 5% of the finished product in foodstuffs. The Commission accepts the following amendments in principle: - make it incumbent on the European Food Safety Authority to establish criteria for updating the Annex and to review it at regular two-yearly intervals; - require the Commission to issue detailed guidelines for the interpretation of the annex to the proposal. On the other hand, the Commission rejects the following amendments: - as regards ingredients used in small quantities (less than 5% of the finished product), this amendment eliminates the possibility of not strictly respecting the descending order of weight when enumerating them in the list of ingredients; - eliminates the possibility of not repeating an ingredient used several times in the preparation of a foodstuff, both as a simple ingredient and as an ingredient of a compound ingredient; - eliminates the possibility of not indicating the composition of compound ingredients used in small quantities (less than 5% of the finished product) when the composition of the compound ingredient is defined in current Community legislation, which indicates the composition in line with the sales name. The products potentially concerned by this derogation are chocolates, fruit juices, fruit jams, jellies, marmalades and chestnut purΘe; - exempts processing aids derived from allergenic ingredients from the labelling requirement on the grounds that these substances are eliminated during the manufacturing process; - add the named ingredients to the list in the Annex. The Commission, with a view to updating the list in the future, has invited the Scientific Committee on Food to prepare a rapid procedure for amending the list (comitology). It will also raise the question as to the necessity of adding these ingredients to the list.�

  • DG [{'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/index_en.htm', 'title': 'Health and Consumers'}],
• 2002/06/11 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
  • T5-0294/2002 summary

    The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the report by Christa KLASS (EPP-ED, Germany) making some amendments to the Commission's proposal. (Please refer to the document dated 23/04/02.) Parliament deleted the provision that ingredients constituting less than 5% of the finished product may be listed in a different order after the other ingredients. The Commission is required to issue detailed guidelines for the interpretation of the list of allergenic ingredients within six months after the adoption of the Directive.�

• #X016
• 2002/05/21 Council Meeting
• 2002/04/23 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A5-0139/2002
• 2001/09/19 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2001/09/06 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(2001)0433 summary

    PURPOSE: To abolish the 25% rule on listing compound ingredients in the labelling of food products. CONTENT: Food labelling legislation was consolidated under Directive 2000/13/EC. This Directive brought together all EU labelling legislation, previously laid out in Directive 79/112/EEC. In the White Paper on food safety however, the Commission announced its intention to propose an amendment to the recent Labelling Directive, relating to the current possibility of not indicating the components of compound ingredients which form less than 25% of the final product. Under current legislation, Article 6, paragraph 8 allows a compound ingredient to be included in the list of ingredients under its own designation, provided it is immediately followed by a list of its own ingredients. However such a list is not compulsory where the compound ingredient constitutes less than 25% of the finished product - except in the case of additives. The Community has latterly become increasingly concerned that consumers are being ill informed about the content of the food they are purchasing. This view is justified in light of recent trends. Firstly, food production has become more complex and people eat a lot more processed food. This development coincides with a number of food scares and which in turn serves to underline the need to keep consumers well informed on food content. Secondly, there has been a considerable increase in food allergens, which can take both mild and life threatening forms. Food products to which this applies include cow's milk, fruits, legumes (especially peanuts and soybeans), eggs, crustaceans, tree nuts, fish, vegetables (celery and other foods of the Umbelliferae family), wheat and other cereals. Moreover, recent studies indicate that in many cases labelling on these food allergens, particularly in a wide variety of prepared food, is often incomplete and often misleading. It is therefore imperative that all processed foods sold in the European Community be clearly labelled with the list of the ingredients and of the starting materials. In order to ensure the highest protection for consumers as well as offering them maximum choice, the Commission proposes the following changes to the existing Directive on food labelling: - to amend Directive 2000/13/EC by abolishing the 25% rule, - to establish a list of allergens which will have to appear on the labelling of foodstuffs; and - to remove the possibility of using the name of the category for certain ingredients.�

  • DG [{'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/index_en.htm', 'title': 'Health and Consumers'}],

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(2001)0433
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A5-0139/2002
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T5-0294/2002
• Modified legislative proposal published: COM(2002)0464
• Council position published: 15514/2/2002
• Committee recommendation tabled for plenary, 2nd reading: A5-0191/2003
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 2nd reading: T5-0316/2003
• : Directive 2003/89
• : OJ L 308 25.11.2003, p. 0015-0018

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)