1997D0579 — EN — 18.05.2000 — 001.001 — 1
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►B COMMISSION DECISION
of 23 July 1997
setting up Scientific Committees in the field of consumer health and food safety
(Text with EEA relevance)
(97/579/EC)
(OJ L 237, 28.8.1997, p. 18)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1 Commission Decision 2000/443/EC of 18 May 2000 L 179 13 18.7.2000
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COMMISSION DECISION
of 23 July 1997
setting up Scientific Committees in the field of consumer health and
food safety
(Text with EEA relevance)
(97/579/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Whereas sound scientific advice is an essential basis for Community
rules on consumer health, which concerns matters relating to consumer
health in its strictest sense, but also on animal health and welfare, plant
health and environmental health;
Whereas scientific advice on matters relating to consumer health must,
in the interests of consumers and industry, be based on the principles of
excellence, independence and transparency;
Whereas, besides cases in which consultation of the Scientific
Committees is mandatory, those Committees may also be consulted onmatters of particular relevance to consumer health and food safety;
Whereas, although many of the problems requiring a scientific opinion
fall within the field of competence of one of the existing ScientificCommittees, it is nonetheless apparent that some problems may involvethe competence of several Committees;
Whereas, in order to strengthen their cohesion and at the same time
avoid certain overlaps, it is appropriate to redefine the activities ofcertain Committees;
Whereas by Decision 97/404/EC (
1) the Commission established a
Scientific Steering Committee to coordinate the work of the Scientific
Committees;
Whereas the Commission must be able to obtain sound and timely
scientific advice;
Whereas several Council directives and a number of Council regulations
provide for mandatory consultation of one or another of the currentScientific Committees; whereas the Commission intends to makeappropriate proposals to the Council to adapt existing legislation tothis Decision,
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
1. The following Scientific Committees are hereby established within
the Commission:
— Scientific Committee on Food,
— Scientific Committee on Animal Nutrition,
— Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare,— Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures relating to Public
Health,
— Scientific Committee on Plants,— Scientific Committee on Cosmetic Products and Non-Food Products
intended for Consumers,
— Scientific Committee on Medicinal Products and Medical Devices,— Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment.
2. The fields of competence of the Scientific Committees shall be as
set out in the Annex.1997D0579 — EN — 18.05.2000 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ No L 169, 27. 6. 1997, p. 85.
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3. The Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare
shall be composed of a sub-committee on Animal Health and a sub-committee on Animal Welfare.
Article 2
1. The Scientific Committees shall be consulted in the cases laid
down by Community legislation. The Commission may also decide to
consult them on other questions of particular relevance to consumerhealth and food safety.
2. When the question submitted is common to several of the
Scientific Committees mentioned in Article 1, and following identifica-tion by the Scientific Steering Committee of the Committees involved,they may set up a common working group to prepare their respectiveopinions. The creation of such a group shall be obligatory if the
Scientific Steering Committee so requests.
3. At the Commission's request, the Scientific Committees shall
provide scientific advice on matters relating to consumer health and foodsafety. In particular, they shall:
(a) critically examine risk assessments made by scientists belonging to
Member States' organizations;
(b) develop new risk-assessment procedures in areas such as food-borne
diseases and the transmissibility of animal diseases to man;
(c) draft scientific opinions designed to enable the Commission to
evaluate the scientific basis of the recommendations, standards and
guidelines prepared in international forums;
(d) evaluate the scientfic principles on which Community health
standards are based, taking into account the risk-assessmenttechniques developed by the international organizations concerned.
4. On the basis of trends in existing scientific data, the Scientific
Committees may draw the Commission's attention to any specific oremerging problem falling within their remit in matters of consumerhealth and food safety.
5. The Commission may require the adoption of an opinion within a
specified period.
Article 3
1. Each Scientific Committee shall consist of a maximum of 19
members. The number of members of each Committee shall bedetermined by the Commission in accordance with the requisiteexpertise.
2. The members of each Scientific Committee shall be scientific
experts in one or more of the fields of competence of that Committeeand shall collectively cover the widest possible range of disciplines.
3. The members of the Scientific Committee shall be appointed by
the Commission, following publication in the Official Journal of the
European Communities of a call for expressions of interest, together
with the selection criteria and a description of the selection procedure.
The selection procedure shall identify, in a transparent manner, the most
suitable applicants for appointment to the Committees. The Commissionshall appoint the members of each Scientific Committee from this list ofcandidates, whereby no appointee may be a member of more than oneScientific Committee. The names of the members of each Scientific
Committee shall be published in the Official Journal of the European
Communities .
Article 4
The Scientific Committees and the sub-committees of the Scientific
Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare (hereafter called ‘thesub-committees’ shall elect a chariman and two vice-chairmen fromtheir members. The election shall take place by simple majority of themembers which make up the committee or sub-committee.1997D0579 — EN — 18.05.2000 — 001.001 — 3
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Article 5
1. The term of office of members of the scientific committees shall be
three years. This term may be shortened in a members' instrument ofappointment, in order to ensure that the terms of office of all of themembers of a scientific committee come to an end at the same time.
Members may not serve more than two consecutive terms of office.
After the period of three years they shall remain in office until they arereplaced or their appointments are renewed.
2. Where a member of a Scientific Committee is unable to carry out
his duties or in the event of his/her voluntary resignation, theCommission shall nominate an appropriate replacement for theremaining term of office, drawn from the list of suitable candidatesunder Article 3 (3).
3. Members of the Scientific Committees and the exernal experts
shall be remunerated for the services they provide to the Commission, inaddition to the reimbursement of travel and subsistence allowances inaccordance with the rules laid down by the Commission.
Article 6
1. Members of the Scientific Committees, in their capacity as such,
shall act independently of all external influence.
2. Each year the members of the Scientific Commitees shall inform
the Commission of any interests which might be considered prejudicial
to their independence.
3. Members of the Scientific Committees and the external experts
shall declare at each meeting any specific interests which might beconsidered prejudicial to their independence.
Article 7
1. In agreement with the Commission, the Scientific Commitees and
the sub-committees may invite specialized external experts to participatein their work.
2. The Scientific Committees and the sub-committes may create
specific working parties with clearly defined tasks. Each working party
shall be chaired by a member of the Committee or of the sub-committee
and may include external experts.
3. The working parties shall report to the Scientific Committee or
sub-committee to which they are attached.
Article 8
1. The Scientific Committees shall adopt harmonized rules of
procedure in collaboration with the Scientific Steering Committee.These rules of procedure shall ensure that the Scientific Committeesperform their tasks in the best possible way, in compliance with theprinciples of excellence, independence and transparency, whilst having
regard to legitime requests for commercial confidentiality. They shall be
made public.
2. Specifically, for each Scientific Committee, the rules must lay
down procedures with a view to:
(a) appointing rapporteurs to assemble information packages and
documentation and prepare draft opinions for the Scientific
Committee;
(b) verifying that the rapporteurs are in a position to perform their
assignments as independently as possible, free of outside influence;
(c) delivering an opinion as quickly as possible, and in any event within
the time-limit fixed pursuant to Article 2 (5);
(d) ensuring close collaboration with the other Scientific Committees
and the Scientific Steering Committee.1997D0579 — EN — 18.05.2000 — 001.001 — 4
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3. The Scientific Committees shall adopt their opinions by a majority
of the members which make up the Committee.
4. The sub-committees shall adopt draft opinions by a majority of the
members which make up the sub-committee, which shall subsequently
be submitted to the Scientific Committee on Animal Health and AnimalWelfare for final adoption.
Article 9
1. The Scientific Committees, the sub-committees and the working
parties shall be convened at the instance of the Commission.
2. The Commission shall provide the secretariat of the Scientific
Committees, the sub-committees and the working parties.
Article 10
The agendas, minutes and opinions of the Scientific Committees shall be
made publicly available without undue delay and with regard being hadto the need for commercial confidentiality. Minority opinions shallalways be included and shall be attributed to members only at their
request.
Article 11
Without prejudice to Article 214 of the Treaty, the members and
external experts shall be obliged not to divulge information acquired as aresult of the work of the Scientific Committees, sub-committees or oneof the working parties, when they are informed that this information issubject to a request for confidentiality.
Article 12
1. The Scientific Committees set up by this Decision shall replace the
existing Scientific Committees as follows:
(a) The Scientific Committee for Food shall replace the Scientific
Committee for Food established by Commission Decision 95/273/EC (
1);
(b) The Scientific Committee for Animal Nutrition shall replace the
Scientific Committee for Animal Nutrition established by Commis-sion Decision 76/791/EEC (
2), as amended by Decision 86/105/
EEC (3);
(c) The Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare
shall replace the Animal Health section and the Animal Welfaresection of the Scientific Veterinary Committee established byCommission Decision 81/651/EEC (
4), as last amended by the Act of
Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden;
(d) The Scientific Committee on Veterinary Public Health shall replace
the Veterinary Public Health Section of the Scientific VeterinaryCommittee established by Decision 81/651/EEC;
(e) The Scientific Committee for Plants shall replace the Scientific
Committee on Pesticides established by Commission Decision 78/436/EEC (
5), as amended by Decision 96/105/EEC;
(f) The Scientific Committee for Cosmetic Products and Non-Food
Products intended for Consumers shall replace the ScientificCommittee on Cosmetology established by Commission Decision78/45/EEC (
6), as last amended by Decision 94/954/EC (7);1997D0579 — EN — 18.05.2000 — 001.001 — 5
(1) OJ No L 167, 18. 7. 1995, p. 22.
(2) OJ No L 279, 9. 10. 1976, p. 35.
(3) OJ No L 93, 8. 4. 1986, p. 14.
(4) OJ No L 233, 19. 8. 1981, p. 32.
(5) OJ No L 124, 12. 5. 1978, p. 16.
(6) OJ No L 13, 17. 1. 1978, p. 24.
(7) OJ No L 371, 31. 12. 1994, p. 15.
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(g) The Scientific Commitee for Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the
Environment shall replace the Scientific Advisory Committee toexamine the toxicity and ecotoxicity of chemical compounds
established by Commission Decision 78/618/EEC (
1), as last
amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden.
2. Decisions 76/791/EEC, 78/45/EEC, 78/436/EEC, 78/618/EEC, 81/
651/EEC and 95/273/EC are repealed.
However, the Committees established by those decisions shall remain in
office until the Scientific Committees established by this Decision takeoffice.
References to the repealed decisions shall be understood as applicable to
this Decision; references to the committees and sections established by
the repealed decisions shall be understood as applicable to the relevantCommittees established by this Decision.1997D0579 — EN — 18.05.2000 — 001.001 — 6
(1) OJ No L 198, 22. 7. 1978, p. 17.
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ANNEX
Scientific Committee on Food
Field of CompetenceScientific and technical questions concerning consumer health and food safety
associated with the consumption of food products and in particular questions
relating to toxicology and hygiene in the entire food production chain, nutrition,
and applications of agrifood technologies, as well as those relating to materials
coming into contact with foodstuffs, such as packaging.
Scientific Committee on Animal Nutrition
Field of CompetenceScientific and technical questions concerning animal nutrition, its effect on
animal health, on the quality and health of products of animal origin, and
concerning the technologies applied to animal nutrition.
Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare
Sub-committee on Animal Health
Field of CompetenceScientific and technical questions concerning all aspects of animal health,
hygiene, animal diseases and therapies, including zoonoses of non-food origin
and zootechnics.
Sub-committee on Animal Welfare
Fields of CompetenceScientific and technical questions concerning the protection of animals, notably in
regard to animal husbandry, herd management, transport, slaughter and
experimentation.
Scientific Committee on Veterinary Measures relating to Public Health
Field of CompetenceScientific and technical questions concerning consumer health and food safety,
and relating to zoonotic, toxicological, veterinary and notably hygiene measures
applicable to the production, processing, and supply of food of animal origin.
Scientific Committee on Plants
Field of Competence
Scientific and technical questions relating to plants intended for human or animal
consumption, production or processing of non-food products as regards
characteristics liable to affect human or animal health or the environment,
including the use of pesticides.
Scientific Committee for Cosmetic Products, and Non-food Products
intended for Consumers
Field of Competence
Scientific and technical questions concerning consumer health relating to
cosmetic products and non-food products intended for the consumer especially
substances used in the preparation of these products, their composition, use as
well as their types of packaging.
Scientific Committee on Medicinal Products and Medical Devices
Field of CompetenceScientific and technical questions relating to Community legislation concerning
medicaments for human and veterinary use, without prejudice to the specific
competences given to the Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products and the
Committee on Veterinary Medicinal Products (
1) in the context of the evaluation1997D0579 — EN — 18.05.2000 — 001.001 — 7
(1) Committees established in the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal
Products.
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of medicaments. Scientific and technical questions relating to Community
legislation concerning medical materials and equipment.
Scientific Committee for Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment
Field of Competence
Scientific and technical questions relating to examinations of the toxicity and
ecotoxicity of chemical, biochemical and biological compounds whose use may
have harmful consequences for human health and the environment.1997D0579 — EN — 18.05.2000 — 001.001 — 8