No C 31/44 Official Journal of the European Communities 6. 2. 91 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 74/63/EEC on the fixing 
of maximum permitted levels for undesirable substances and products in feedingstuffs (*) 
(91/C 31/15) 
On 9 August 1990 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under 
Article 198 of the EEC Treaty, on the abovementioned proposal. 
The Committee appointed Mr Wick as Rapporteur-General with the task of preparing its 
work on the subject. 
At its 280th plenary session (meeting of 18 October 1990) the Economic and Social Committee 
adopted unanimously the following Opinion. 
1. General comments 
1.1. In 1977 the Commission proposed a draft Direc­
tive extending the scope of Directive 74/63/EEC to 
include various pesticides. The Committee Opinion was 
issued on 2 February 1978 (2). 
1.2. Council Directive 87/519/EEC, adopted on 19 
October 1987, changed the maximum permitted levels 
laid down by the draft Directive. On 16 November 1989 
the Court of Justice ruled that Directive 87/519/EEC 
was void on the ground that the Council was not 
justified in adopting it on the basis of Articles 43 
and 100. The Commission is now proposing that the 
Council should adopt a Directive with identical con­
tents but based on Treaty Article 43. 
1.3. The Committee confirms its Opinion of 2 Febru­
ary 1978 and again endorses the aim of facilitating the 
production of impeccable livestock products for human 
consumption and eliminating competition distortions 
affecting trade in feed between Member States, by 
extending maximum-permitted-level arrangements to 
include pesticides. 
1.4. This is the first time that the Economic and 
Social Committee has had the opportunity to comment 
on the maximum permitted levels laid down by Direc­
tive 87/519/EEC (which in some cases are significantly 
lower than those proposed in the draft version). 
The Committee reiterates the statement in its 1978 
Opinion that it must be possible to verify the appli­
cation of legislation and enforce it at national level. 
This presupposes the use of analysis procedures which 
enable reliable identification of maximum levels in feed. 
The Committee considers it essential to lay down stan­
dard EC analysis procedures for the individual sub­
stances. 
(!) OJ No C 210, 23. 8. 1990, p. 5. 
(2) OJ No C 84, 8. 4. 1978. It would also make the following more detailed com­
ments on the proposal. 
2. Specific comments 
2.1. Article 1(1) 
The Commission proposes that the Directive should 
only cover the pesticides listed in the Annex. The Com­
mittee considers that the definition of the scope should 
take account of the broad aim of the Directive, namely 
to lay down rules for undesirable substances and prod­
ucts in feed. The Committee therefore proposes drop­
ping the limitation to the pesticides listed in the Annex. 
This would also counter the tendency to mix together 
rules for food and feed. Because of the special features 
of the market, the rules for feed need to be arranged 
differently from those for food; for instance, allowance 
has to be made for carry-over when determining 
maximum levels in feed. 
2.2. Article 1(2) 
The annex to the draft Directive includes camphechlor 
(toxaphene). The Committee points out there are no 
ring-tested analysis procedures for this substance. 
Consequently, verification cannot be guaranteed, so 
that the enforcement authorities and the industry would 
be faced with unacceptable risks. The Committee rec­
ommends that camphechlor be removed from the list 
until proven analysis methods are available. 
In this connection, the Committee points out that a 
maximum of 0,4 mg camphechlor per kg is prescribed 
for fruit and vegetables for human consumption, while 
the proposed figure for feed is only 0,1 mg/kg. 
2.3. Article 2 
The draft Directive proposes the same deadline for 
incorporation in national law (3 December 1990) as 
the Directive cancelled by the Court of Justice. This 
deadline should be reviewed. For technical and organ-
6. 2. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 31/45 
izational reasons it will certainly be impossible to meet have been able to make arrangements for implemen-
it, even allowing for the fact that the Member States tation of the new Directive. 
Done at Brussels, 18 October 1990. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Francois STAEDELIN