. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/EEC/230
23 December 2003
(03-6730)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
NOTIFICATION
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
If applicable, name of local government involved:
2. Agency responsible:   Commission of the European Communities. Health & Consumer
Protection Directorate-General  Directorate E – Food Safety: Plant Health, Animal Health
and Welfare, International questions
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where
applicable):  Foods for particular nutritional uses
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:
Member States of the European Communities (EC) and third countries exporting the
products concerned to the EC.
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:   Draft Commission
Directive derogating from Directive 2001/15/EC  to postpone the application of the
prohibition of trade to certai n products (SANCO/5144/2003 Rev.3) (4  pages, available in all
EC languages).  This measure has also been notified under TBT.
6. Description of content:  To facilitate trade by postponing the application of the prohibition
of trade to products containing certain substances added for specific nutritional purposes in
foods for particular nutritional uses until 31 December 2006.  The annex to the draft
Directive lists fifteen substances for which a derogation may be granted.
Further background:  To ensure a high level of protection of public health and the free
circulation of products Commission Directive 2001/15/ EC of 15 February 2001 on
substances that may be added for specific nutritional purposes in foods for particular
nutritional uses  [Official Journal L 052, 22/02/2001 pp. 0019–0025] notified in
G/SPS/N/EEC/80 (6 April 2000) specifies certain categories of substances and mentions for
each of them the chemical substances that may be used in the manufacture of foods for
particular nutritional uses.
At the time of adoption of the Directive 2001/ 15/EC a number of substances added for
specific nutritional purposes in foods for particular nutritional uses could not be included in
the Annex to the Directive because they had not  been evaluated by the scientific advisory
body.
7. Objective and rationale:  [ X ] food safety, [   ] animal health, [   ] plant protection,
[   ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or  disease, [   ] protect territory from other
damage from pests:G/SPS/N/EEC/230
Page 2
8. International standard, gu ideline or recommendation:
[   ] Codex Alimentarius Commission, [   ] Office International des Epizooties,
[   ] International Plant Prot ection Convention, [ X ] None
If an international standard , guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate
reference and briefly identify deviations:
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:
European Commission document SANCO/5144/2003 Rev.3 Proposal for Draft Commission
Directive derogating from Directive 2001/15/EC  to postpone the application of the
prohibition of trade to certain produc ts (available in all EC languages)
When adopted it will be published in the Official Journal available at:
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/oj/index.html .
10. Proposed date of adoption:   January 2004
11. Proposed date of entry into force:   20 days after publication in the Official Journal of the
European Union
12. Final date for comments:  Does not apply
Agency or authority designated to handle co mments:  [ X ] EC notification authority,
[   ] EC enquiry point, or address, fax num ber and E-mail address (if available) of other
body:
13. Texts available from:  [   ] National notification authority, [ X ] EC enquiry point, or
address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body: