. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/EEC/224
8 December 2003
(03-6481)
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 D - Food Safe ty:  Production and Distribution
Chain
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):  Plastic materials and articles in contact with food and food packaged in them
CN Headings, 3923 ICS 67.250
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 2002/72/EC relating to plastic materials and articles intended
to come into contact with foodstuffs (SANCO/2003/4653, 5 pages)
6. Description of content:  This draft Directive proposes to prohibit the use of
azodicarbonamide as blowing agent in plastic materials and articles as from one year after
the entry into force of the directive.
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  To ensure consumer safety.
8. International standard, gu ideline or recommendation:
[   ] Codex Alimentarius Commission, [   ] Office International des Epizooties,
[   ] International Plant Prot ection Convention, [   ] None
If an international standard , guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate
reference and briefly identify deviations:  Advice from the European Food Safety
Authority on semicarbazide in food can be downloaded from:
http://www.efsa.eu.int/pdf/pressrel20031015_en.pdf
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  European
Commission Document SANCO/ 2003/4653 (Available in all EC languages).  When
adopted it will be published at the Official Journal available at: http://europa.eu.int/eur-
lex/en/oj/index.html
10. Proposed date of adoption:   End of January 2004G/SPS/N/EEC/224
Page 2
11. Proposed date of entry into force:   15 February 2004
12. Final date for comments:  Sixty (60) days after the date of notification
Further to this date, all comments are welcomed at any time. The Commission will take
account of recent scientific data from all possible sources and keep the measure applied
under regular review with a view to propose before one year after the entry into force any
amendment, if necessary.
Agency or authority designated to handle co mments:  [ X ] EC 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:  Further to
Document SANCO/2003/4653, informa tion relevant to this proposal can be found in the
opinions and minutes of the European Food Safety Authority at http://www.efsa.eu.int/
and on the Websites of the EEC Joint Research Center on Food Contact Materials at
http://cpf.jrc.it/webpack/  and of DG Health and Consumer Protection at
http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sfp/food_contact/index_en.html