30.11.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC313/1
II
(PreparatoryActs)
ECONOMIC ANDSOCIALCOMMITTEE
OpinionoftheproposalforaCouncilDirectiveoncoloursforuseinfoodstuffs(*)
(92/C313/01)
On6January1992theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
underArticle100aoftheTreatyestablishingtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity,onthe
abovementioned proposal.
TheSectionforProtectionoftheEnvironment ,PublicHealthandConsumerAffairs,which
wasresponsibleforpreparingtheCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon
7July1992.TheRapporteurwasMrGardner.
Atits299thPlenarySession(meetingof23September1992)theEconomicandSocial
CommitteeadoptedthefollowingOpinionbyaunanimousvote.
ationoffoodstuffslegislationbutalsointhecontext
ofpossibleCommunityactioninthefieldsofpublic
safety,healthanddiet,aswellasintheneedto
avoidmisleadingtheconsumer.
TheCommitteedrawsattentiontothecontinuing
necessitytoinformthepublicbyallappropriate
meansontheinterpretationoftheEECnumbers
andcommonnamesofthesubstancesusedasfood
colorants.'
Asfarasthelastpointisconcerned,theCommittee
deploresthatlittleprogresshasbeenmadeandconse­
quentlyurgesMemberStatestoimplementtheCouncil
ofMinisters'ResolutiononConsumerEducationin
Schools,(2)wherenutritionaleducationisspecially
mentioned .
Inthenewsinglemarketsituationitisevenmore
importanttohaveclear,simple,understandable and
legiblelabelssothatpeopleareabletomakeinformed
judgementsaboutthecoloursinfoods.1.Introduction
1.1.Thepresentfoodcolourdirectivedatesfrom
23October1962andisoneoftheearliestpiecesofEEC
foodlegislation.Therehavebeenmanyamendments ,
theCommitteegivingitsOpiniononthelastonein
1988.
1.2.TheCommitteewantstorepeattheparagraphs
shownbelowinitalicswhichfeaturedinitslasttwo
Opinions :
'TheCommitteerecognizesthatthecolouringof
foodstuffsiswidelyacceptedbutisnevertheless
awarethatthewholesubjectoffoodadditives,
includingcolorants,andtheirpossibleadverse
effectsonhumanhealth,hasbecomeamatterof
increasingconcern.'
Foodcoloursshouldthereforeonlybeusedwhenstrict­
lynecessaryandwiththegreatestpossibleregardfor
consumersafety.
'Accordinglythepresentproposal,whichtheCom­
mitteeacceptsandconsidersverytimely,shouldbe
seennotonlyinthepresentcontextoftheharmoniz­
(!)OJNoC12,18.1.1992,p.7. (2)OJNoC184,23.7.1986,p.21.

NoC313/2 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 30.11.92
2.Generalcomments andinscientificcirclesinsomecountriesparticularly
aboutthefollowing:
—Canthaxanthin (E161g)—lowADI
—Erythrosine(E127)—lowADI
—Red2G(E128)—lowADI,currentlylimitedto
UKandIreland
—BrownFK(E154)—lowADI,currentlylimitedto
UKandIreland2.1.Thepresentproposalhasbecomeessential
becausetheCouncilpassedaframeworkDirective
(89/107/EECof21December1988)requiringalladdi­
tivestobelistedwithdetailedconditionsofuse.This
proposalisoneofthesub-Directives implementingthis
requirementandthereforehastosticktotheparameters
setbytheframeworkDirective.
—Tartrazine(E102)—limitedinsomestatesSuchindividuallistinginevitablyrequireslengthyand
detailedproposalssoastoensurethattherichandlarge
varietyofregionalandnationalfoodsisadequately
covered.
2.2.GettinganEEC-wideframeworkacceptableto
allpartiesposesthreedifferentchallengeswhichare
discussedbelow.Theyare:
—safetyprocedureusedbytheCommission ;
—differingnationaltraditions;
—otherintakesofcolours.—AlluraRed(E129)—newtotheCommunity—
usedsafelyformanyyearsintheUSAandCanada.
2.3.4.Giventheseconcerns,theCommitteeurgesthe
Commission to:
—developresearchondietarypatterns,particularlyin
thoseStateswhereinformationislimited;
—conductareviewtoestablishwhetherthesecolours
reallyaresafe.Thisreviewshouldincludeasum­
maryofeachevaluationintermsthatarecompre­
hensibletonon-specialistconsumers;
—establishaEuropeancoordinationofscientific
researchprogrammeswiththeobjectiveofreplacing
certaincolourswithothershavingahighermargin
ofsafety;
—initiateinformationandeducationofconsumers
aboutadditivesandanappraisaloftheirsafety.
ThisshouldbedonerapidlybecauseotherEC-wide
listsofadditiveswillbenecessarywherethesame
problemislikelytooccurandshouldbedoneby
allappropriatemeanswithcarefultargetingofthe
groupsmostconcerned (e.g.motherswithsmall
children).2.3.SafetyprocedureusedbytheCommission
2.3.1.Thesafetyofcoloursandalladditivesis
ensuredbytheECScientificCommitteeforFood(SCF)
withintheexistingstateoftheart.Whereitissatisfied
ofthesafetyofcolours,itallotsanAcceptableDaily
Intake(ADI)perkilogrambodyweightwhichitselfhas
a100-or500-foldsafetyfactor.ThisADIistheamount
thatonecansafelyeatonaverageeverydayofone's
life.
2.3.2.OnlycoloursfoundsafebytheSCFhavethere­
forebeenincludedintheCommissionproposal.Given
thedietarypatternsintheCommunity,theCommission
hasproposedwiderusesforcolourswithahigherADI
andhasrestrictedthosewithalowADItoafew
productsonly.Presentnationallistsofcoloursare
notalwaysbasedonthisobjectiveandtransparent
procedureandoftenreflecthistoricalnationalconsider­
ations.2.4.Differingnationaltraditions
2.4.1.Foodcoloursarespecialamongadditivesin
thattheymakefoodcosmeticallymoreattractive.Con­
sumerattitudesofwhatisattractivedifferwidelyby
nationandregion.Thesearecurrentlytakencareofby
nationalruleswhichhavetodisappearaspartofthe
1993programme .
2.4.2.Certaincountriesadheretotheprinciplethat
basicfoodstuffsshouldnotbecoloured,whereasin
othersthesamefoodsarenormallycoloured,andciti­
zensareattachedtotheirtraditionalappearance .
2.4.3.Inaccordancewiththeabovementioned prin­
ciple,meatproductsforinstancearenevercolouredin
somecountries,whilstinothersafewmeatproducts
aretraditionallynormallycoloured.TheCommission2.3.3.ThisCommunitysystemofsafetyevaluation
isnoteasytofollowandhasnotbeenwellexplained
tothepublic.Thereareconcernsamongconsumers

30.11.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC313/3
3.Detailedcomments hastriedtodealwiththisbyallowingcolourinprod­
uctswithcertainnamesorcompositions .Wheresepar­
atenamesexisttheoriginalnameisgiveninallthe
languageversionssothatthecolouredproductcanonly
besoldunderitsoriginal(say)SpanishorGreekname.
InaccordancewiththeLabellingDirective,thesenames,
ofcourse,havetobeexplainedinthelanguageunder­
stoodbytheconsumer.
2.4.4.However,thisstillleavessomeproductswhere
nationaltraditionwithregardtocolouringvarieswide­
lybutwheretherearenospecificnames.Anexample
ismaltbreadwhichhasalwaysbeencolouredwith
caramelinIrelandandtheU.K.andisnevercoloured
inothercountries .Article1.3
Firstindent
Tobeconsistentwith1.2thisshouldread:
'foodstuffs,flavouringsandtheircomponents,
incorporatedduringthemanufacturing ofcom­
poundfoodstuffs,havingaromatic,sapidornutri­
tivepropertiestogetherwithacolouringeffectsuch
aspaprika,turmericandsaffron.'
Secondindent
Toincludestampingofmeatandcolouringofegg
shells,addatend:
'Nevertheless ,wherethereisanypossibilityofcol­
ourtransfertotheproduct,onlycoloursonAnnexI
maybeusedforthesepurposesandDirectivesand
Regulationsprovidingforothercoloursarehere­
withamendedaccordingly.'(2)
AlsointheEnglishversionthewords'cheesecoatings
andediblesausagecasings'areunclear.Theyshould
bereplacedbythetermsusedintheFrenchtext(croutes
defromagenoncomestiblesetboyauxnoncomestibles
utilisesencharcuterie ):
'non-ediblecheeserindsandnonediblecasingsused
inmeatproducts'.2.4.5.Thisproblemcouldbeovercomebyadopting
thesamesystem,e.g.leavingmaltbreadinEnglishin
allthelanguageversionsoftheDirective,thusensuring
thatthecolouredproductcanonlybesoldundera
namewheretheconsumerexpectsitandisnotdeceived.
Thereisgoodprecedentforthis:intheproposalon
Sweeteners'EPoblaten'and'ObergarigesEinfachbier'
aregiveninGermaninallthelanguageversions.The
sameappliesto'gaseosa'inSpanish.(Seealsopoint4
below.)
2.4.6.Bysuchasystemonecould,inasinglelist,
havetheveryrestrictiveprovisionsinsomecountries
whileensuringthatconsumersinothercountriesare
notdeprivedbytheSingleMarketoftheproductsto
whichtheyareattached.
2.4.7.UndertheLabellingDirective79/112/EEC
MemberStatesofcoursehavetoensurethatallprod­
uctsareappropriately labelledinthenational
language(s)toensurethatthepurchaserissufficiently
informedofanydifferences .Theuseofcoloursalways
hastobeshownonthelabel.Article2
TheSCFexpressesitsADIintermsofthecolouring
principle.Equallytheenforcementauthoritiescanonly
usetheactualcolouringprinciplefortheirchecks.
Thisarticleshouldthereforeclarifythattheactive
colouringprincipleisusedthroughout .
2.5.Otherintakesofcolours
Article6
InchangesbyaCommitteeprocedurethereneedsto
beprovisioninvolvingthepublicatasignificantstage
ofthediscussionwhenitsinterestsareaffected.Asshownunder2.1,thisproposalcannotcovermedi­
cinesnor.coloursaddedtoanimalfeedswhichmay
comethroughtothefinalfoodasconsumed.Thelatter
wouldrequireaninstrumentunderArticle43ofthe
Treaty.TheCommitteeisawarethattheADIofcan­
thaxanthincovers'itsuseasfoodadditiveandthe
amountingested...throughanimalfeeds.'(*)However,
theCommitteeinsiststhatlabellingandconditionsof
usemustberegulatedbytheappropriateinstruments
andthatthesebeamendedaccordingly .Article7
Aregular5-yearreviewisdesirable.However,this
shouldnotprecludeintermediatechangesiftheseprove
necessaryinthelightofongoingmonitoring .
(2)ParticularlyCouncilDirective64/433/EEC(Freshmeat)and
CommissionRegulationEECNo.1274/91(Eggs). (')SCFOpinionexpressed10December1987,p.10.

NoC313/4 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 30.11.92
Article9
Thesecondindentshouldbechangedtoread:
'—allowtradeinanduseofproductsconforming
tothisDirectivefromthedateofitsadoption;
—prohibittradesinproductsnotconformingto
thisDirectivetwoyearsafteritspublicationor
afterexpiryofthe'bestbefore'dateonthe
pack,whicheverislater.'4.4.2.Thefollowingchangesareneededintheitem
starting'Sausages':
a)TobeconcordantwiththeDraftfortheGeneral
AdditivesDirective,thedefinitionofburgermeat
shouldbechangedtoread:
'Burgermeatwithaminimumvegetableand/or
cerealcontentof4%Englishonly.
b)Burgermeatintheproposalhasbeenmistranslated
into'Hackfleisch'inGerman.
c)ThisitemisamixtureofDanish,French,Irish,
PortugueseandUKproducts.Wherenecessarythe
itemsshouldbelimitedtotheappropriate
language(s)inaccordancewiththeproceduregiven
above.
4.4.3.Add:Vinegar(exceptwinevinegar)—Permit­
tedcolour,CaramelusedQS.4.TheAnnexes
4.1.Inlinewithpoint2.4,anumberofproducts
havebeenlistedinitalics,followedbythelanguagesof
thecountrieswheretheseproductsmaycontaincolour.
UsingthewordingdevelopedundertheSweeteners
Directive,thisproposalshouldsayfortheseproducts:
'Thetermswillbeprintedinitalicsinthe
publishedversionoftheDirectiveandwillnotbe
translatedintheotherlanguageversions.'4.5.AnnexIV
4.2.Annex1
E161gCanthaxanthin
Initslatestevaluationin1988theSCFgavethiscolour
onlyatemporaryADIforfiveyears.TheSCFwillbe
reviewingfurthersafety-in-useevidencethisyear.The
Committeeinsiststhatthiscolourberemovedfromthe
listunlesstheSCFthenfindsthecoloursafe.4.5.1.E127Erythrosine .Add:'CannedStrawberri­
es.'Englishonly.
4.5.2.E128Red2G.
Thedefinitionofburgermeatshouldbebroughtinline
withotherdraftsandtheuseofthiscolourinburgers
andsausagesisanIrishandUKspeciality.Thisentry
thereforeshouldread:
'Burgermeat(Englishonly)withaminimumveg­
etableand/orcerealcontentof4%andsausages
(Englishonly)withaminimumcerealcontentof
6%.'
4.5.3.E154BrownFK
Englishonlyforallproductslisted.
E161gCanthaxanthin :Change'Cookedsausages'to:
'SaucissesdeStrasbourg.'Frenchonly.
4.5.4.TheEnglishterm'Ediblecheesesurface'is
confusingandshouldbereplacedbythecorrecttrans­
lationfromtheFrenchtext(croûtedefromagecom­
estible)toread:
'Ediblecheeserind.'4.3.AnnexII
4.3.1.'Tomatopreserves'shouldbereplacedby
'cannedandbottledtomatoes'.
4.3.2.'Infusions'shouldbeclarifiedtoread:'fruit
andherbalinfusions,fruitandherbalteaextracts'.
4.3.3.After'Tea,teaextractsandinfusionsincluding
instantteamixes'add'butnotincludingmixturesof
teaswithotherfoods'.
4.4.AnnexIII
4.6.AnnexV
4.4.1.'Wholemeal,brownormaltbread'shouldbe
changedto'Wheatgerm,brownandmaltbread'.
Englishonly.4.6.1.E161a-f,Xanthophyllshavea'non-specified'
ADIandshouldbeaddedtopoint1.

30.11.92 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoC313/5
4.6.2.Jamsetc.Addattheend'includingenergy­
reducedproducts'.Thelatterarenotjamsunderthe
JamDirective.4.6.4.Below'confectionery'add:Englishonly
'Aeratedchews500mg/kgE151
Redliquorice'novelties'400mg/kgE124'
4.6.3.Desserts.Itshouldbeclarifiedthatthese
includefruitedandfruit-flavoured dairyproducts.4.6.5.Add:Spirits300mg/1E104.
4.6.6.Add:Pre-cookedcrustaceans100mg/1.
DoneatBrussels,23September1992.
TheChairman
oftheEconomicandSocialCommittee
MichaelGEUENICH
OpinionontheproposalforaCouncilDecisionconcerningtheconclusion,onbehalfofthe
Community,oftheConventiononenvironmental impactassessmentinatransboundary
contextI1)
(92/C313/02)
On22April1992theCouncildecidedtoconsulttheEconomicandSocialCommittee,
underArticle130SoftheTreatyestablishingtheEuropeanEconomicCommunity,onthe
abovementioned proposal.
TheSectionforProtectionoftheEnvironment ,PublicHealthandConsumerAffairs,which
wasresponsibleforpreparingtheCommittee'sworkonthesubject,adopteditsOpinionon
7July1992.TheRapporteurwasMrKafka.
Atits299thPlenarySession(meetingof23September1992)theEconomicandSocial
CommitteeadoptedthefollowingOpinionunanimously .
TheCommitteeapprovestheproposalforaCouncil
Decision,subjecttothecommentssetoutbelow.
1.Introduction1.2.Theso-calledEspooConventionisbasedtoa
largeextentontheprovisionssetoutinCouncilDirec­
tive85/337/EECof25June1985ontheassessmentof
theeffectsofcertainpublicandprivateprojectsonthe
environment (3).However,theConventiongoesfurther
incertainaspectsthanthisdirective,andtheCom­
missionisplanningtoforwardtotheCouncilapro­
posalforamendingDirective85/337/EECbeforethe
endof1992.Thisproposedamendmentwouldbring
theCommunityprovisionsinlinewiththoseofthe
Convention asaminimum .
1.3.TheCommission considersitdesirableforthe
CommunityandtheMemberStatestodeposittheratifi­
cationinstrumentsatthesametime,and,tothisend,
adecisionrequestingallMemberStatestoinformthe
CommissionoftheirintentiontoratifytheConvention
byagivendate,hastobeadopted.1.1.AConvention,preparedundertheauspicesof
theUnitedNationsEconomicCommissionforEurope
(UN-ECE),onenvironmental impactassessmentina
transboundary contextwassignedatEspoo,Finland
from25to27February1992by27countries,including
the12MemberStatesandtheCommunityitself(2).The
Conventionwillenterintoforce90daysafterthedate
ofdepositofthe16thratification .
HOJNoC104,24.4.1992,p.5and7.
(3)OJNoL175,5.7.1985;ESCOpinioninOJNoC185,
27.7.1981.(2)AuthorizationtosignonbehalfoftheCommunitygivenby
CouncilDecisionon25February1991.