1997R0577 — EN — 24.03.1999 — 006.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COMMISSIONREGULATION(EC)No577/97
of1April1997
layingdowncertaindetailedrulesfortheapplicationofCouncilRegulation(EC)No2991/94laying
downstandardsforspreadablefatsandofCouncilRegulation(EEC)No1898/87ontheprotection
ofdesignationsusedinthemarketingofmilkandmilkproducts
(OJ L 87, 2.4.1997, p. 3)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1 Commission Regulation (EC) No 1278/97 of 2 July 1997 L 175 6 3.7.1997
►M2 Commission Regulation (EC) No 2181/97 of 3 November 1997 L 299 1 4.11.1997
►M3 Commission Regulation (EC) No 1298/98 of 23 June 1998 L 180 5 24.6.1998
►M4 Commission Regulation (EC) No 623/98 of 19 March 1998 L 85 3 20.3.1998
►M5 Commission Regulation (EC) No 2521/98 of 24 November 1998 L 315 12 25.11.1998
►M6 Commission Regulation (EC) No 568/1999 of 16 March 1999 L 70 11 17.3.1999
▼B
COMMISSIONREGULATION(EC)No577/97
of1April1997
laying down certain detailed rules for the application of Council
Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 laying down standards for spreadablefatsandofCouncilRegulation(EEC)No1898/87ontheprotection
ofdesignationsusedinthemarketingofmilkandmilkproducts
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
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,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87 of 2 July 1987
on the protection of designations used in the marketing of milk and milkproducts (
2), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland
and Sweden, and in particular Article 4 (2) thereof,
Whereas Article 2 (2) of Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 provides that the
sales descriptions of the products referred to in Article 1 thereof must be
those indicated in the Annex thereto; whereas there are exceptions tothat rule; whereas the rule does not apply in particular to designationswhere the exact nature of the product is clear from traditional usage and/or where the designation is clearly used to describe a characteristicquality of the product; whereas certain detailed rules should be laid
down for the application of that provision;
Whereas Article 1 (3) of Regulation (EC) No 2991/94, which stipulates
that that Regulation is to be applied without prejudice in particular toRegulation (EEC) No 1898/87, must be complied with; whereas the aimof the two Regulations is essentially the same, namely to avoid any
confusion in the mind of the consumer as to the true nature to the
products in question; whereas, therefore, in order to ensure theconsistency of Community legislation, the detailed rules for applyingRegulations (EC) No 2991/94 and (EEC) No 1898/87 regarding the useof the designation ‘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 thedesignations concerned should be drawn up, together with a descriptionof the products to which they refer;
Whereas the first criterion of the derogation provided for in the first
indent of the third subparagraph of Article 2 (2) of Regulation (EC) No
2991/94 relates to the traditional character of a designation; whereassuch traditional character may be considered proven where thedesignation has been used for a period preceding the date of entryinto force of this Regulation at least equal to the duration usuallyattributed to a human generation; whereas the derogation must be
limited to those products for which the designation has actually been
used so that such traditional 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) No 2991/94 to describe a characteristic feature of the marketed products; whereas
in this case the exception relates logically to products which are 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-sion the list of products which they consider to meet the criteria of that
derogation within their territory;
Whereas Commission Decision 88/566/EEC of 28 October 1988 listing
the products referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 3 (1) of1997R0577 — EN — 24.03.1999 — 006.001 — 2
(1) OJ No L 316, 9. 12. 1994, p. 2.
(2) OJ No L 182, 3. 7. 1987, p. 36.
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Council Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87 (1) already contains exceptions
with regard to the designation ‘butter’; whereas account should be takenof 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 be
used;
Whereas the designations on the labelling of foodstuffs containing
products as defined in the Annex to that Regulation or concentrated
products as defined in the second indent of the third subparagraph of
Article 2 (2) may refer to the corresponding designations given in thatAnnex, provided that Council Directive 79/112/EEC of 18 December1978 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating tothe 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 to
mention such foodstuffs;
Whereas, in view of present technical conditions, any obligation to
indicate the exact fat content without any tolerance would involve
considerable 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
composite products of which an essential part is butter; whereas,therefore, those products should be dealt with consistently, whilstadhering to the approach employed in Article 2 (3) of Regulation (EEC)No 1898/87; whereas the scope of the abovementioned Article 2 (3)should therefore be defined more clearly with regard to composite
products of which an essential part is butter, by laying down an objective
criterion for determining whether an essential part of the compositeproducts is actually butter and whether the designation ‘butter’ istherefore justified; whereas a minimum milk-fat content of 75 % in thefinal product seems to be the most appropriate criterion;
Whereas provision should nevertheless be made for a special procedure
allowing the Member States and the Commission to assess, onapplication by the parties concerned, whether for technical and/ororganoleptic reasons, in the case of a product of which an essential part
is butter, the minimum fat content of the final product must be lower
than 75 % and to authorize the use of the designation ‘butter’ in thatcase;
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 Annexthereto are to be reserved for products which meet the criteria set out inthat Annex; therefore, trade marks which employ those designationsmay continue to be used in the future solely for products which meet
those criteria;
Whereas actual market conditions will show whether or not it will be
appropriate to lay down measures at a later date with regard to
composite products of which the main ingredient is margarine or
composite fats;
Whereas the management committees concerned have not delivered an
opinion within the time limit laid down by their chairmen,1997R0577 — EN — 24.03.1999 — 006.001 — 3
(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.
▼B
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. The list of products covered by the derogation provided for in the
first indent of the third subparagraph of Article 2 (2) of Regulation (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 languages
shall 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 following rules:
(a) the average fat content shall be declared without the use of decimals;
(b) the average fat content may not differ by more than one percentage
point from the percentage declared. Individual samples may not
differ by more than two percentage points from the percentage
declared;
(c) in all cases, the average fat content must comply with the limits laid
down in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 2991/94.
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the fat content declared in respect of
the products referred to in Parts A(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. The procedure to be applied as from ►
M31 January 1999 ◄to
verify compliance with paragraph 1 shall be as set out in Annex II.
Article 3
1. The designation ‘butter’ may be used for composite products of
which an essential part within the meaning of Article 2(3) of Regulation(EEC) No 1898/87 is butter if the end product contains at least 75 %
milk fat and has been manufactured solely from butter within the
meaning of Part A (1) of the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 andthe other added ingredient(s) mentioned in the description.
2. The designation ‘butter’ may be used for composite products
containing less than 75 % but at least 62 % milk fat if the otherrequirements specified in paragraph 1 are met and if the productdesignation includes the term ‘butter preparation’.
3. By derogation from paragraphs 1 and 2, the designation ‘butter’
may be used in association with a word or words to designate the
products listed in Annex III containing at least 34 % milk fat.
4. The use of the designation ‘butter’ under paragraphs 1, 2 and 3
shall be subject to the requirement to indicate in the labelling andpresentation of the products the milk fat content and, if the other addedingredients contain fat, the total fat content.
5. The term ‘butter preparation’ in paragraph 2 and the indications in
paragraph 4 must appear in a conspicuous place and be easily visible and
clearly legible.
Article 5
Composite products using the designation ‘butter’ in accordance with
Article 2 (3) of Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87 and marketed at the timeof entry into force of this Regulation which do not comply with theprovisions of Articles 3 and 4 of this Regulation may continue to be1997R0577 — EN — 24.03.1999 — 006.001 — 4
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▼M2
▼M4
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marketed using the designation ‘butter’ for two years following the date
of the latter's entry into force.
Article 5a
Where a trade mark registered in Austria, Finland or Sweden prior to 1
January 1995 and using the sales description ‘butter’ referred to in Part
A (1) of the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 was applied prior tothat date to products not complying with Part A (1) of the Annex, it maycontinue to be applied to such products for a transitional period of 10years from the abovementioned date.
Article 6
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its
publication in the Official JournaloftheEuropeanCommunities .
However, Article 2 shall apply at the same time as the method provided
for in paragraph 3 thereof.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in
all Member States.1997R0577 — EN — 24.03.1999 — 006.001 — 5
▼M1
▼B
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ANNEX►M2I◄
I.(Spanish) ‘Mantequilla de Soria’ or ‘Mantequilla de Soria
dulce’, ‘Mantequilla de Soria azucarada’: for a
sweetened aromatized milk product with a
minimum milk-fat content of 39 %
II.(Danish)
III.(German) — ‘Butterkäse’: for cow's milk cheese which has a
semi-soft, fatty consistency and a minimum milk-
fat content in the dry matter of 45 %
— ‘Kräuterbutter’: for a butter-based preparation
containing herbs and a minimum milk-fat content of
62 %
— ‘Milchmargarine’: for margarine containing at
least 5 % whole milk, skimmed milk or other
suitable milk products
IV.(Greek)
V.(English) — ‘Brandy butter’, ‘Sherry butter’ or ‘Rum butter’:
for a sweetened, alcoholic product with a minimum
milk-fat content of ►M620 %◄
— ‘Buttercream’: for a sweetened product with a
minimum milk-fat content of 22,5 %
VI.(French) ‘Beurre d'anchois, de crevettes, de langouste, de
homard, de crabe, de langoustine, de saumon, de
saumon fumé, de coquille Saint-Jacques, de
sardine’: for products containing sea foods and a
minimum milk-fat content of 10 %
VII.(Italian)
VIII.(Dutch)
IX.(Portuguese)
X.(Finnish) ‘Munavoi’: for a product containing eggs and a
minimum milk-fat content of 35 %
XI.(Swedish) — ‘flytande margarin’: for a product of a liquid
consistency containing at least 80 % vegetable fats
such as margarine yet whose composition is such
that the product is not spreadable
— ‘messmör’: for a whey-based milk product,
whether or not sweetened, of a minimum milk-fat
content of 2 %
— ‘vitlökssmör’, ‘persiljesmör’ or ‘peppar-
rotssmör’: for a product containing foodstuffs
having a flavouring effect and of a minimum
milk-fat content of 66 %1997R0577 — EN — 24.03.1999 — 006.001 — 6
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ANNEX II
Verification ofthedeclaredfatcontentofspreadablefats
Five samples are to be taken randomly from the batch to be checked and
analysed. The following two procedures are to be applied:
A. The arithmetical mean of the five results obtained is compared with the
declared fat content. The declared fat content is deemed to comply if the
arithmetical mean content does not differ by more than one percentage point
from the declared fat content.
B. The five individual results are compared with the tolerance (± two percentage
points of the declared fat content) shown in Article 2(1)(b). If the difference
between the maximum value and the minimum value of the five individual
results is less than or equal to four percentage points, the requirements of
Article 2(1)(b) are deemed to be met.
Where compliance with the conditions set out under A and B is established, the
batch being checked is deemed to comply with the requirements of Article 2(1)(b)
even where one of the five values falls outside the tolerance range of ± two
percentage points.1997R0577 — EN — 24.03.1999 — 006.001 — 7
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ANNEX III
Productsreferred toinArticle 3(3)
Type of product Composition of product Minimum milk fat content
Alcoholic butter (butter
containing alcoholic
beverages)Butter, alcoholic
beverage, sugar34 %1997R0577 — EN — 24.03.1999 — 006.001 — 8