. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/EEC/222
19 November 2003
(03-6178)
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):  Baby foods and processed cereal-based foods for infants and young children
(CN headings 1901, 2104 & 2104); ICS: 67.230
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:   SANCO/2002/1027 Rev
3  Draft Commission Regulation amending Regu lation (EC) No 466/2001 as regards nitrate
in foods for infants and young children (3 pages)
6. Description of content:  This proposal sets a harmonized Community maximum level for
nitrate in baby foods and processed cereal-based foods for infants and young children at
200mg/kg.  When a dopted, the EC Member States will rescind existing national conditions
that may be in place regarding nitrate in  baby foods and pro cessed cereal-based f oods for
infants and young children.
7. Objective and rationale:  [ X ] food safety, [   ] animal health, [   ] plant protection,
[  ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or di sease,  [   ]  protect territory from other
damage from pests  This proposal facilitates trade by creating uniform trade conditions
through the European Communities.
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:  The proposed Community measures respond to
the advice of the EU Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) given in 1995 that levels of
nitrate in foods should be reduced where possible to meet the Acceptable Daily Intake
recommendations and in view of possible links with the formation of carcinogenic
substances such as nitrosamines.G/SPS/N/EEC/222
Page 2
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  European
Commission Document SANCO/2002 /1027 Rev 3 (available in all official EC languages).
When adopted it would be published at  the Official Journal available at:
http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/oj/index.html
10. Proposed date of adoption:   Early 2004 (at this time it is not possible to estimate a more
specific date)
11. Proposed date of entry into force:   Mid 2004 (at this time it is not possible to estimate a
more specific date)
12. Final date for comments:  Forty  five (45) days after the date of notification
Agency or authority designated to handl e comments:  [ X ] National notification
authority, [   ] National enquiry point, or address, fax number 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:
The opinion of the Scientific Committee for Food on nitrate in foods (expressed on
22 September 1995) mentioned in paragraph 8 is available at:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scf/reports/scf_reports_38.pdf