1997R0577 — EN — 10.07.1997 — 001.001 — 1
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►B COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 577/97
of 1 April 1997
laying down certain detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2991/94
laying down standards for spreadable fats and of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87 on the
protection of designations used in the marketing of milk and milk products
(OJ L 87, 2.4.1997, p. 3)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Regulation (EC) No 1278/97 of 2 July 1997 L175 6 3.7.1997
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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 577/97
of 1 April 1997
laying down certain detailed rules for the application of Council
Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 laying down standards for spreadablefatsandofCouncilRegulation(EEC)No1898/87ontheprotectionof designations used in the marketing of milk and milk products
THE COMMISSIONOF THE EUROPEANCOMMUN ITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 of 5 December
1994 laying down standards for spreadable fats(1), and in particular
Article 8 thereof,
HavingregardtoCouncilRegulation(EEC)No1898/87of2July1987
ontheprotectionofdesignationsusedinthemarketingofmilkandmilkproducts(
2), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria,
Finland and Sweden, and in particular Article 4 (2) thereof,
WhereasArticle2(2)ofRegulation(EC)No2991/94providesthatthe
sales descriptions of the products referred to in Article 1 thereof mustbethoseindicatedintheAnnexthereto;whereasthereareexceptionstothat rule; whereas the rule does not apply in particular to designationswhere the exact nature of the product is clear from traditional usageand/orwherethedesignationisclearlyusedtodescribeacharacteristicquality of the product; whereas certain detailed rules should be laiddown for the application of that provision;
WhereasArticle1(3)ofRegulation(EC)No2991/94,whichstipulates
that that Regulation is to be applied without prejudice in particular toRegulation(EEC)No1898/87,mustbecompliedwith;whereastheaimof the two Regulations is essentially the same, namely to avoid anyconfusion in the mind of the consumer as to the true nature to theproducts in question; whereas, therefore, in order to ensure the consis-tencyofCommunitylegislation,thedetailedrulesforapplyingRegula-tions(EC)No2991/94and(EEC)No1898/87regardingtheuseofthedesignation ‘butter'should be laid down in a single text;
Whereas, in order to identify clearly the scope of the derogations
referred to in Regulation (EC) No 2991/94, an exhaustive list of thedesignationsconcernedshouldbedrawnup,togetherwithadescriptionof the products to which they refer;
Whereas the first criterion of the derogation provided for in the first
indentofthethirdsubparagraphofArticle2(2)ofRegulation(EC)No2991/94 relates to the traditional character of a designation; whereassuchtraditionalcharactermaybeconsideredprovenwherethedesigna-tionhasbeenusedforaperiodprecedingthedateofentryintoforceofthis Regulation at least equal to the duration usually attributed to ahuman generation; whereas the derogation must be limited to thoseproducts for which the designation has actually been used so that suchtraditional character is not lost;
Whereas the second criterion of the abovementioned derogation relates
to the use of the designations in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No2991/94 to describe a characteristic feature of the marketed products;whereas in this case the exception relates logically to products whichare not listed as such in that Annex;
Whereas that derogation should be restricted to products currently
marketed; whereas the Member States have forwarded to the Commis-sionthelistofproductswhichtheyconsidertomeetthecriteriaofthatderogation within their territory;
(1) OJ No L 316, 9. 12. 1994, p. 2.
(2) OJ No L 182, 3. 7. 1987, p. 36.
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WhereasCommissionDecision88/566/EECof28October1988listing
the products referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 3 (1) ofCouncil Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87(
1) already contains exceptions
withregardtothedesignation‘butter';whereasaccountshouldbetakenof them;
Whereas, in the Community list provided for in Regulation (EC) No
2991/94, the designations of the products in question should be listedonly in the Community language in which those designations may beused;
Whereas the designations on the labelling of foodstuffs containing
products as defined in the Annex to that Regulation or concentratedproducts as defined in the second indent of the third subparagraph ofArticle 2 (2) may refer to the corresponding designations given in thatAnnex, provided that Council Directive 79/112/EEC of 18 December1978ontheapproximationofthelawsoftheMemberStatesrelatingtothe labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs(
2), as last
amended by Directive 97/4/EC(3), is complied with; whereas there is
therefore no need for the list of the abovementioned exceptions tomention such foodstuffs;
Whereas, in view of present technical conditions, any obligation to
indicate the exact fat content without any tolerance would involveconsiderable practical difficulties; whereas, therefore, certain specialrules should be laid down in that regard;
Whereas Regulations (EC) No 2991/94 and (EEC) No 1898/87 cover
compositeproductsofwhichanessentialpartisbutter;whereas,there-fore,thoseproductsshouldbedealtwithconsistently,whilstadheringtothe approach employed in Article 2 (3) of Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87; whereas the scope of the abovementioned Article 2 (3) shouldthereforebedefinedmoreclearlywithregardtocompositeproductsofwhich an essential part is butter, by laying down an objective criterionfor determining whether an essential part of the composite products isactuallybutterandwhetherthedesignation‘butter'isthereforejustified;whereasaminimummilk-fatcontentof75%inthefinalproductseemsto be the most appropriate criterion;
Whereasprovisionshouldneverthelessbemadeforaspecialprocedure
allowingtheMemberStatesandtheCommissiontoassess,onapplica-tionbythepartiesconcerned,whetherfortechnicaland/ororganolepticreasons,inthecaseofaproductofwhichanessentialpartisbutter,theminimumfatcontentofthefinalproductmustbelowerthan75%andto authorize the use of the designation ‘butter'in that case;
Whereas the introduction of the rules for applying Article 2 (3) of
Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87 to composite products of which anessential part is butter calls for certain transitional provisions to allowoperators a certain period in which to adapt to the rules;
Whereas the second subparagraph of Article 2 (2) of Regulation (EC)
No 2991/94 provides that the sales descriptions listed in the Annextheretoaretobereservedforproductswhichmeetthecriteriasetoutinthat Annex; therefore, trade marks which employ those designationsmay continue to be used in the future solely for products which meetthose criteria;
Whereas actual market conditions will show whether or not it will be
appropriatetolaydownmeasuresatalaterdatewithregardtocompo-site products of which the main ingredient is margarine or compositefats;
Whereas the management committees concerned have not delivered an
opinion within the time limit laid down by their chairmen,
(1) OJ No L 310, 16. 11. 1988, p. 32.
(2) OJ No L 33, 8. 2. 1979, p. 1.
(3) OJ No L 43, 14. 2. 1997, p. 21.
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HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. Thelistofproductscoveredbythederogationprovidedforinthe
firstindentofthethirdsubparagraphofArticle2(2)ofRegulation(EC)No 2991/94 shall be as shown in the Annex hereto.
2. The designations listed in the Annex to Decision 88/566/EEC
which contain the world ‘butter'in one of the Community languagesshall not be affected by this Regulation.
Article 2
1. The indication of the fat content as provided for in Article 3 (1)
(b) of Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 shall comply with the followingrules:
(a) the average fat content shall be declared without the use of deci-
mals;
(b) thefatcontentofanindividualsamplemaynotdifferbymorethan
one percentage point from the percentage declared;
(c) in all cases, individual samples must comply with the limits laid
down in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 2991/94.
2. Notwithstanding points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1, the minimum
fatcontentdeclaredinrespectofthe ►
M1productsreferredinPartsA
(1), B (1) and C (1) of the Annex ◄to Regulation (EC) No 2991/94
shall correspond to the minimum fat content of the product.
3. Compliancewithparagraph1shallbeverifiedbyamethodtobe
established before 1 July 1997.
Article 3
The designation ‘butter'may be used only for composite products of
which an essential part within the meaning of Article 2(3) of Regula-tion (EEC) No 1898/87 is butter if the end product contains at least75%milkfatandhasbeenmanufacturedsolelyfrombutterwithinthemeaningofPartA(1)oftheAnnextoRegulation(EC)No2991/94andthe other added ingredient(s) mentioned in the description.
Article 4
1. Anymanufacturermaysubmitareasonedrequesttothecompetent
authorities of the Member State in which he has his registered officewithaviewtoobtainingauthorizationtousethedesignation‘butter'foracompositeproductofwhichanessentialpartisbutterbutofwhichthemilk-fat content does not comply with the minimum laid down inArticle 3 for technical and/or organoleptic reasons.
TheMemberStateshallconsidersuchrequestsandforwardthemtothe
Commission, together with the documents on which it has based itsdecision, where it deems that the requirements set out in the firstsubparagraph are met.
2. Notwithstandingtheproceduresetoutinthefirstsubparagraphof
paragraph1,MemberStatesmay,inthesixmonthsfollowingtheentryinto force of this Regulation and of their own initiative, forwardrequests to the Commission together with the documents upon whichthey have based their opinion that the requirements set out in the firstsubparagraph of paragraph 1 are met, in order to obtain the authoriza-tion mentioned in that subparagraph. Such requests may only bepresented in respect of products being marketed in the requestingMember State at the date of the entry into force of this Regulation.
3. The Commission shall, as soon as possible, consider requests as
referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 and shall decide, in accordance withtheprocedurelaiddowninArticle30ofCouncilRegulation(EEC)No804/68(
1), whether they may be accepted. The Commission may take
anystepsnecessarytoobtaininformationonthetechnicalaspectsofthe
(1) OJ No L 148, 28. 6. 1968, p. 13.
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requests. The Commission’s decision to grant authorization shall bepublished in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
4. Authorizations as provided for in paragraph 3 shall also be valid
for the same products produced by other manufacturers.
Article 5
Composite products using the designation ‘butter'in accordance with
Article2(3)ofRegulation(EEC)No1898/87andmarketedatthetimeof entry into force of this Regulation which do not comply with theprovisions of Articles 3 and 4 of this Regulation may continue to bemarketedusingthedesignation‘butter'fortwoyearsfollowingthedateof the latter’s entry into force.
▼
M1
Article 5a
WhereatrademarkregisteredinAustria,FinlandorSwedenpriorto1
January1995andusingthesalesdescription‘butter'referredtoinPartA(1)oftheAnnextoRegulation(EC)No2991/94wasappliedpriortothat date to products not complying with Part A (1) of the Annex, itmaycontinuetobeappliedtosuchproductsforatransitionalperiodof10 years from the abovementioned date.
▼
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Article 6
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
However,Article2shallapplyatthesametimeasthemethodprovided
for in paragraph 3 thereof.
ThisRegulationshallbebindinginitsentiretyanddirectlyapplicablein
all Member States.
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ANNEX
I.(Spanish) ‘MantequilladeSoria'or‘MantequilladeSoriadulce',‘Mantequillade
Soriaazucarada':forasweetenedaromatizedmilkproductwithaminimummilk-fatcontentof39%
II.(Danish)
III.(German) —‘Butterkäse':forcow’smilkcheesewhichhasasemi-soft,fatty
consistencyandaminimummilk-fatcontentinthedrymatterof45%
—‘Kräuterbutter':forabutter-basedpreparationcontainingherbsanda
minimummilk-fatcontentof62%
—‘Milchmargarine':formargarinecontainingatleast5%wholemilk,
skimmedmilkorothersuitablemilkproducts
IV.(Greek)
V.(English) —‘Brandybutter',‘Sherrybutter'or‘Rumbutter':forasweetened,
alcoholicproductwithaminimummilk-fatcontentof34%
—‘Buttercream':forasweetenedproductwithaminimummilk-fat
contentof22,5%
VI.(French) ‘Beurred’anchois,decrevettes,delangouste,dehomard,decrabe,de
langoustine,desaumon,desaumonfumé,decoquilleSaint-Jacques,desardine':forproductscontainingseafoodsandaminimummilk-fatcontentof10%
VII.(Italian)
VIII.(Dutch)
IX.(Portuguese)
X.(Finnish) ‘Munavoi':foraproductcontainingeggsandaminimummilk-fat
contentof35%
XI.(Swedish) —‘flytandemargarin':foraproductofaliquidconsistencycontaining
atleast80%vegetablefatssuchasmargarineyetwhosecompositionissuchthattheproductisnotspreadable
—‘messmör':forawhey-basedmilkproduct,whetherornotsweet-
ened,ofaminimummilk-fatcontentof2%
—‘vitlökssmör',‘persiljesmör'or‘pepparrotssmör':foraproduct
containingfoodstuffshavingaflavouringeffectandofaminimummilk-fatcontentof66%