. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/EEC/229
23 December 2003
(03-6729)
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 amending Directive 2001/15/EC to in clude certain substances in the Annex
(SANCO/5143/2003 Rev.3), (4 pages available in all EC languages).  This measure has also
been notified under TBT.
6. Description of content:  Draft Commission Directive am ending Directive 2001/15/EC to
include certain substances in the Annex adds eight substances that have received a favourable
scientific evaluation to the Annex of Directive 2001/15/EC for use for specific nutritional
purposes in certain categories of f oods for particular nutritional uses.
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.
Since 2001, additional substances have been evaluated and the proposed measure includes
them in the annex to Directive 2001/15/EC wh ich would reduce barriers to trade.  Products
containing the substances listed in the Draft Directive are on the market and it is necessary
that the measures are transposed before 1 Ap ril 2004, in order to avoid that the prohibition
provided for in Directive 2001/15/EC becomes a pplicable to the substances for a limited
period of time which would cause an undue disruption of the market.
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/229
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:
Commission Document SANCO/ 5143/2003 Rev.3 Proposal for Draft Directive amending
Directive 2001/15/EC to include certain substances in the Annex (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:  45 days from date of notification
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: