EN Official Journal of the European Union L 82/10

COMMISSION DIRECTIVE 2006/33/EC

of 20 March 2006

amending Directive 95/45/EC as regards sunset yellow FCF (E 110) and titanium dioxide (E 171)

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 89/107/EEC of 21 December 1988 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning food additives authorised for use in foodstuffs intended for human consumption (1), and in particular Article 3(3)(a) thereof,

After consulting the European Food Safety Authority,

Whereas:

(1) Commission Directive 95/45/EC of 26 July 1995 laying down specific purity criteria concerning colours for use in foodstuffs (2), sets out the purity criteria for the colours mentioned in Directive 94/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 June 1994 on colours for use in foodstuffs (3).

(2) Sunset yellow FCF (E 110) is authorised under Directive 94/36/EC as a colour for use in certain foodstuffs. There is scientific evidence that under certain circumstances, Sudan I (1-(phenylazo)-2-naphthalenol) may be formed as an impurity during the production of sunset yellow. Sudan I is an unauthorised colour and an undesired substance in food. Its presence in sunset yellow should therefore be restricted to an amount below the limit of detection, i.e. 0,5 mg/kg. The purity criteria for sunset yellow FCF (E 110) should therefore be amended accordingly.

(3) Account should be taken of the specifications and analytical techniques for additives set out in the Codex Alimentarius as drafted by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). JECFA began the implementation of a systematic programme to replace the test for heavy metals (as lead) in all existing food additive specifications with appropriate limits for individual metals of concern. These limits for sunset yellow FCF (E 110) should therefore be amended accordingly.

(4) Titanium dioxide (E 171) is authorised under Directive 94/36/EC as a colour for use in certain foodstuffs. Titanium dioxide can be manufactured to obtain crystals in the anatase or in the rutile form. The platelet form of rutile titanium dioxide differs from the anatase form in structure and optical properties (pearlescence). There is a technological need for the use of the platelet form of rutile titanium dioxide as a colour in foodstuffs and in film coatings for food supplement tablets. On 7 December 2004 the European Food Safety Authority stated that the use of rutile titanium dioxide in the platelet or amorphous forms would not pose any safety concerns. The purity criteria for titanium dioxide (E 171) should therefore be amended in order to include both the anatase and the rutile form of the substance.

(5) Directive 95/45/EC should therefore be amended accordingly.

(6) The measures provided for in this Directive are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

The Annex to Directive 95/45/EC is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Directive.

Article 2

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 10 April 2007 at the latest. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions and a correlation table between those provisions and this Directive.

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

Article 3

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 4

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 20 March 2006. For the Commission Markos KYPRIANOU Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 40, 11.2.1989, p. 27. Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 226, 22.9.1995, p. 1. Directive as last amended by Directive 2004/47/EC (OJ L 113, 20.4.2004, p. 24).

(3) OJ L 237, 10.9.1994, p. 13. Directive as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003.