. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/EEC/202
17 June 2003
(03-3204)
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):  Food additives other than colours and sweeteners.  (ICS 67.220.20)
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:
Member States of the European Communities (EEC) and third countries exporting the
products concerned to the EEC.
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:  Document
SANCO/2118/2003 Draft Commission Directiv e amending Commission Directive
96/77/EC laying down specific purity criteria on food additives other than colours and
sweeteners (23 pages).
6. Description of content:  This draft sets the technical specifications for a number of food
additives currently covered by European Parliament and Council Directive 95/2/EC.
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.
Adoption of the purity criteria which will then  become of a mandatory nature. Concerning
the eventual presence of residues of ethylene oxide, the Scientific Committee on Foodconcluded this should be brought below the detection limit, consequently the existing
purity criteria are adapted to comply with this recommendation.
8. International standard, gu ideline or recommendation:
[ X ] 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:
Where they exist, the draft is based on the specifications established by JECFA (Joint
FAO°WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives). In other cases, they have been prepared
on the basis of the technical and safety data available as evaluated by the Scientific
Committee.G/SPS/N/EEC/202
Page 2
9. Relevant documents and language(s ) in which these are available: European
Commission Document (Doc SANCO/2118/2003, available in all Community 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:   September 2003
11. Proposed date of entry into force:   20 days as of publication in the OJEC
12. Final date for comments:  Sixty (60) days after the date of notification
Agency or authority designated to handl e comments:  [ X ] National notification
authority, [   ] EC 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 concerning the presence of ethylene oxide
is available from  http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scf/out127_en.pdf . Other opinions
can be found in http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scf/outcome_en.html