No C 59/62 Official  Journal  of the European  Communities 8. 3. 78 
Opinion  on the proposal  for a Council  Directive  amending  for the 13 th time  Directive 
64/54/EEC  on the approximation  of the laws  of the Member  States  concerning  the preserva-
tives  authorized  for use in foodstuffs  intended  for human  consumption 
The text  referred  to the Committee  has been  published  in Official  Journal  of the European 
Communities  No  C 300  of 13 December  1977,  page  2. 
A. LEGAL  BASIS  FOR  THE  OPINION 
On 28 November  1977  the Council  referred  the abovementioned  proposal  to the Economic 
and Social  Committee  in accordance  with  Article  100  of the Treaty  establishing  the Euro-
pean  Economic  Community. 
B. OPINION  OF THE  ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  COMMITTEE 
The Economic  and  Social  Committee  prepared  its opinion  on the above  matter  at its 154th 
plenary  session  held  in Brussels  on 14 and  15 December  1977. 
The full text  of the opinion  is as follows: 
THE  ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  COMMITTEE, 
Having  regard  to the Treaty  establishing  the European 
Economic  Community,  and  in particular  Article  100 
thereof, 
Having  regard  to the request  for an opinion  made  by 
the Council  of the  European  Communities  on 28 
November  1977, 
Having  regard  to the decision  taken  by its chairman  on 
14 November  1977,  in anticipation  of an imminent 
request  for an opinion,  instructing  the Section  for Pro-
tection  of the  Environment,  Public  Health  and  Con-
sumer  Affairs  to draw  up an opinion  and  a report  on 
the matter, 
Having  regard  to the opinion  issued  by that  Section  at 
its meeting  on 6 December  1977, 
Having  regard  to the report  submitted  by the rappor-
teur,  Mr De Grave, 
Having  regard  to the discussions  at its 154th  plenary 
session  held  on 14 and  15 December  1977  (meeting  of 
14 December  1977), 
HAS  ADOPTED  THE  FOLLOWING  OPINION 
unanimously: 
1. The  Committee  approves  the  Commission's  pro-
posal. 
Done  at Brussels,  14 December  1977. 2. As far as liquid  smoke  solutions  are concerned,  it 
thinks  that  toxicological  tests  should  be carried  out and 
parity  criteria  laid  down  as soon  as possible. 
3. The  Committee  also  thinks  that  the natural  smoking 
of foodstuffs  could  cause  the same  problems  and  that 
here,  too,  toxicological  tests  should  be carried  out. 
4. The  Committee  can  approve  the practice  of adding 
formaldehyde  to the milk  used  in the manufacture  of 
Grana  padano  cheese  only  if the following  conditions 
are observed:  (i) the use of formaldehyde  in this  way 
must  not set a precedent  as regards  the manufacture  of 
cheeses,  (ii) the process  must  be reconsidered  in the light 
of future  progress  as regards  milk  preservation  and 
transport  and  (iii) adequate  checks  must  be carried  out. 
5. Measures  must  also  be taken  to ensure  that  there  is 
no residue  of formaldehyde  in the cheese  and that  there 
is no undesirable  interaction  between  the formaldehyde 
and the constituents  of the cheese. 
6. Finally  common  methods  of analysis  should  be 
adopted  without  delay. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic 
and Social  Committee 
Basil  de FERRANTI