WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/SPS/N/EEC/412 
12 October 2011 
 (11-5011) 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
1. Notifying Member:  EUROPEAN UNION 
If applicable, name of local government involved:    
2. Agency responsible:  European Commission, Health & Consumers Directorate-General, 
Directorate E Safety of the Food Chain 
3. Products covered (provide tariff item numbe r(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO;  ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where 
applicable):  ICS Code: 67.220.20 - Food additives 
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable: 
[X] All trading partners   
[ ] Specific regions or countries:    
5. Title of the notified document:  Draft Commission Regulation laying down specifications 
for food additives listed in Annexes II a nd III to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 of the 
European Parliament and of the Council   Language(s):  English  Number of pages:  414 
 http://members.wto.org/crnattach ments/2011/sps/EEC/11_3328_00_e.pdf  
 http://members.wto.org/crnattach ments/2011/sps/EEC/11_3328_01_e.pdf  
6. Description of content:  This Regulation concerns Annex II (Community list of food 
additives approved for use in foods and conditi ons of use) and Annex III (Community list 
of food additives approved for use in food additives, food enzymes and food flavourings, 
and their conditions of use) to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008. 
This Regulation also replaces the following Directives:  
(1) Commission Directive 2008/128/EC of 22 December 2008 laying down specific 
purity criteria concerning colours for use in foodstuffs;  
(2)  Commission Directive 2008/84/EC of 27 August 2008 laying down specific purity 
criteria on food additives other than colours and sweeteners; 
(3)  Commission Directive 2008/60/EC of 17 June 2008 laying down specific purity 
criteria concerning sweeteners for use in foodstuffs. 
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/412 
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  8. Is there a relevant international stan dard?  If so, identify the standard:  
[X] Codex Alimentarius Commission (e.g.  title or serial number of Codex standard 
or related text) General Standard for Food Additives CODEX STAN 192-1995 
Adopted in 1995, Revised in 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011. 
[ ] World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) (e.g. Terrestrial or Aquatic 
Animal Health Code, chapter number)    
[ ] International Plant Protection Convention (e.g. ISPM number)    
[ ] None Does this proposed regulation conform to the relevant international standard?   
 [X] Yes   [ ] No 
 If no, describe, whenever possible, how and why it deviates from the 
international standard:  There are some deviations from GSFA in the proposal for 
phosphates (E 338-E 341 and E 450-E 452) fo llowing the recent recommendations of the 
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) [See EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM); Scientific Opinion on Arsenic in Food. EFSA Journal 2009; 
7(10):1351.]  
9. Other relevant documents and language (s) in which these are available:  When adopted 
it will be published at the Official Journal available at http://eur-lex.europa.eu  (available in 
English, French and Spanish) 
10. Proposed date of adoption (dd/mm/yy) :  February 2012 
Proposed date of publication (dd/mm/yy) :  February 2012 
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  [ ] Six months from date of publication , and/or  
(dd/mm/yy) :  On the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the 
European Union. 
[ ] Trade facilitating measure   
12. Final date for comments:  [X] Sixty days  from the date of circulation of the 
notification and/or (dd/mm/yy) :  11 December 2011 
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [X] National Notification 
Authority, [X] National Enquiry Point.  Address, fax number and e-mail address (if 
available) of other body:   
European Commission 
DG Health and Consumers, Unit G6 - Multilateral International Relations 
Rue Froissart 101 B 1049 Brussels 
Tel:  +(322) 29 68185/59922 
Fax:  +(322) 29 98090 E-mail:  sps@ec.europa.eu  G/SPS/N/EEC/412 
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  13. Texts available from:  [X] National Notification Authority, [X] National Enquiry 
Point.  Address, fax number and e-mail address (if available) of other body:    
European Commission  
DG Health and Consumers, Unit G6 - Multilateral International Relations 
Rue Froissart 101 B 1049 Brussels 
Tel:  +(322) 29 68185/59922 
Fax:  +(322) 29 98090 E-mail:  sps@ec.europa.eu