ARCHIVES HISTORIQUES
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DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(73)1731
Vol.1973/0299

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(73)1731 Final
Brussels .17October 1973
PROPOSAL FOR A
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ,
ontheapproximation ofthe laws oftheMember
States relating tothemaking-up byweight
orbyvolume ofcertain pre-packaged .
■products .
(submitted totheCouncil bytheCommission )
COM(73)1731 Final *

-1- 111/1225/72Rev.6E
B}Œ>I,:JI(VTORY lEiroRAinxfli
i.général
ThisDirective hasteencLratmuppursuanttoArticle 100ofthe
Treatyandinconjunction withtheCouncilDirective of26July
1971ontheapproximation ofthelawsoftheMemberStatesrelating
tocommonprovisions formeasuring instruments andmethodsof
1metrological control .TheobjectoftheDirective istoeliminate
technical obstacles tointra-Community tradewhichcurrently exist
inthecaseofprepackages madeup"byweightor"byvolumeand
containing products referredtoinArticle4*
Acomparative examination ofthevariouslawsandregulations '
onprepackages ,asreferredtointhisDirective ,hasshownthat
thedifferences arenotrestricted totechnical requirements
concerning closeness withwhichactualandstatedcontents correspond ,
butalsocovermethodsofmetrological controltowhichthese
packages aresubjectpriorto"beingplacedonthemarketandused.
Withregardtocross-frontiers trade,theresultofthissituation
isthatmanufacturers andpackagers areobligedtodiversify their
products inordertotakeaccountoftheregulations inforcein
theMemberStateinwhichsuchprepackaged products aretobeused,
andtocomplywithrepeated checks,carriedout"bydifferent
procedures .
Giventhefactthatthecurrentnational lawsarejustified bya
legitimate concerntoprotecttheconsumer anduser,the
harmonization oftheselawswouldappeartobetheonlywayof
removingdifficulties arisingoutofdivergencies "betweenthem
andofcreatingtheconditions necessary fortheestablishment
oftheCommonMarket.
ButthisproposalforaDirective ,whichfollowsoon logic&lly from
twootherproposals forDirectives alreadysenttotheCouncil,..
(onerelatingtoprepackages containing beverages andtheotherto
bottlesusedasmeasuring containers ),harmonizes theprovisions
relatingtoprepackages onlyasregardsthequantityinrelationto
thetolerances ,anddoesnotsettleproblemsregarding theshapeof
thepackages,thenatureofthematerials usedandranges(series)
ofweightsandvolumes ;thesevail,becovered,ifnecessary ,by
futureprovisions .
7TTDJlíoL202,6Septenber ,1971(2)OJNoC50,19May,1972.

Proquerrt .consultations were;heldwithrepresentatives bothofthe
varioustradefederations concerned ,andwithconsumers duringthe
preparation ofthisproposalforadirective ,inwhichexperts
appointed bythegovernments tookanaotivepart.
Themethodofharmonization selectedistheso-called optional
approach ,asembodied,also,inthemajorityofspecificdirectives
concerning measuring instruments .Theoptional approachto
harmonization isallowed,asistotalharmonization ,bytheCouncil
Directive on.commonprovisions formeasuring instruments andmethods
ofmetrological control.
Underoptional harmonization theMemberStatesareobligedtoaccept
prepackages satisfying therequirements ofthisDirective inthe
samewayasthosecomplying withtheprovisions inforceintheir
territory ,without,however,havingtorescindthelatter.
II.COMMENTS OHTHEPROPOSAL FORADIRECTIV E
2.1Purpose
TheDirective doesnotsetouttosettle^asawholeandcompletely ,
theproblem "ofprepackages : ■
a)'outofallprepackaged products,theDirective concerns
onlytheconsumer goodslistedinAnnexIII;
b)Jit-concerns .onlythoseofthelatterwhich,inaccordance
withestablished practices ,orpursuanttonationalregulations
orinternational agreements ,aresoldbyweightorbymeasure,
inpre-selected nominalunitquantities withthesamevalue
forallprepackages ofthesamepattern.
Productssoldbythepieceorinaccordance withspecific
conventions (e.g.,sizeandnumberinthe.caseoffruit)and
"premeasured"products ,i.e.,onesprepacked inquantities
measuredbythepacker(e.g.,on"weight/priceweighingmachine"
inthecaseofcertainpreserved meats)arenotincluded.

)theDirective doesnotlaydownhowproductsareto"besold–"by
weightor"byvolume,inpre–selectedorpre–measuredquantities
(prepackages );itisapplicable ,however,iftheproductsin
question aresold "byweightorbyvolume,inpreselected quantities ,
intherange5gor5nilto10kgor101.
Inordertoensurethatmarketconditions areintelligible and
consumers areprotected ,proceeding fromtheprinciple ofmutual
recognition ofthecheckscarriedoutbythecompetent authorities
oftheMemberStatesandlookingonlyatthequantitative aspect '
ofthematter,theDirective establishes howthecontents of
prepackages shallbedetermined .,specified andchecked.
TheDirective doesnotdealwithcommercial practices -butis
concerned purelywithmetrology .Theprovisions relatingto
labelling ,forexample,arestrictlylimitedtowhatisneededin
ordertoknowthequantity contained andwhowasresponsible for
measuring it.
Theprovisions ofthisDirective aretherefore limitedto
requirements regarding :
1.Themarkingontheprepackage oftheweightorvolume
contained ;
2.Themaximumpermissible errorsintheweightandvolume
ofthecontentsinrelatingtothe:nominalweight -andvolume
(theaverage,andindividual errors);
<
3.Themethodemployed bythecompetent departments or;.
agenciesincheckingtheweightandvolumeofthecontents
ofprepackages .
2.Relationbetweenstatedandactualamountscontained_
Atthepresenttime,twodifferent principles governthismajor
problemintheMemberStates:
-insomecountries ,theactualquantity mustbenotlessthan
thestatedquantity ;
-inothers,theactualquantity mustonaveragebeequalto
thestatedquantity .
Thequestionofwhichtoselectwasdiscussed atlengthwhenthe
Directive wasbeingdrawnup.Sinceunanimity amongthevarious
government e:rpertsprovedtobeunattainable theCommission -

..1.. ■■
I
fallingintolinowiththegroatmajority ofthoseexports-choso
thesecondalternative ,forthefollowing reasons :
a)Atinternational meetings ,,particularly atthelastmeetingof
theCODEXALIME1TTARIUS Committee (Ottawa,May–June1973)$the
delegations werevirtually unanimous infavouring thismethod
(i.e.,the'average' method).TheCommission considered that
choosingthefirstmethodwouldcarrywithittheriskofthe
Community *s"beingisolated ininternational tradewithnon-member
countries .
b)Thereputation forsimplicity createdforthe'minimum' methodby
itsadherents appearstobenegated "bytheneedtotakeaccount
anyhowoftheaccuracy ofthefillingandinspection equipment ,
whichleadsthecountries whereitisusedtoemployastatistical
methodofchecking similartothatprescibod intheDirective .
c)TheCommission'sproposalisalsoconsistent withthatrelating
toprepackages containing "beverages whichwasforwarded tothe
Council on29February 1972.
Ofcourse,iftheCouncil ,whendeciding uponthedirective
relatingto"beverages ,decidedtoadopttheminimum-contents
principle ,theCommission wouldforthwith submittheappropriate
proposals foralteringthisDirective inordertomaintain the
necessary uniformity ,sincethetwoproposals complementary .
d)Inordertoallaythefearsofseveralconsumerassociations ,
however ,itispointedoutthattheseproducts arefa3t~moving
consumer goodsofwhicheveryconsumergenerally buysseveral
examplesayear.Theaverage–contentsprinciple ,therefore ,
whichisperfectly fairtothepackager ,andtoconsumers inthe
aggregate ,isalsofairinpracticetoeveryconsumerconsidered
asanindividual .Inordertolimittheunpleasantness ofsometimes
receiving shortweightorvolume(which,overseveralpurchases ,
would "bemadegood "byanover-weight orvolumeprepackage ),maximum
permissible errorsindeficiency havebeenspecified inorderto
limittheamountofscatter.Theyhavebeenkepttotheminimum
strictlyessential totakeaccountoftechnical capabilities .

Evenwheneveryprecaution istakentoensurethattheactual
contents ofprepackages equalthenominalquantity ,itisactually
foundthatinmassproduction ,owingtotheinevitable imperfections
offillingandmeasuring equipment ,thevaluesoftheactual
quantitydisplayacertain"scatter"andconstitute apopulation
whichgenerally conforms closelytoanormlo.rGaussiandistribution
curve.Iftheaverage'(mean)isalignedwiththenominalquantity ,
thenumberofprepackages withacontentofanygivenvaluedecreases
veryrapidlythemorethatvaluedivergesfromtheaverage (mean).
Themaximumpermissible erroristherefore -alimitreachedbyonly.
averysmallnumberofunits.Specifying notonlytheaveragebut
alsomaximumpermissible errorsindeficiency ,compelsthepackager :
eithertoreducescatterasmuchaspossible ,or
-.toraisetheaverage.
Inanycase,becausetheaverageisattained ,deficient prepackages
arealways -atleastcompensated forbythosewithmorethanthe
statedquantity ,while -observance ofthemaximumpermissible errors
meansthatshortages andthenumberofshortprepackages are
reduced .
2.3Methodsofchecking provided forbytheDirective
2.3.–.1Preliminary remarks
ItshouldfirstbepointedoutthattheDirective clearly
states(AnnexI,Section5)thatitdoesnotprecludeany
.checksthatnaybecarriedoutbythecompetent authorities
oftlieMemberStatesinthecourseoftrade.
Furthermore ,underthetermsofTjcticle15(2)ofthe
Directive of26July1971(thegeneralDirective),a
prepackage whichbearsESCsignsormarksbutdoesnot
satisfytherequirements' of'thisDirective ,particularly
inrespectofthemaximumpermissible errors,maybe
bannedfromservice(i.e.,withdrawn fromsale)asmay
aprepackage bearingonlynational marks.

Itshould "bepointedout,'.however ,thatpresentchecksare.purely
repressive .In'mostcasestheycausethedestruction ofthepackaging
oftheproducts beingchecked.Theyaretherefore restrictive and
costlyforthetraderandtheservice(whoserepayment "budgetisusually
snail),andinpracticetheycanonlycoveralimitednumberofproducts.
Forthisreason,inordertoprovidea."bettorpublicguarantee andbetter
consumer-protection ,theDirective introduces preventive provisions ,
aninnovation innearlyalltheMemberStates,
2.3-2-Dataon.thequantitycontained
Apartfromothermarkswhichmay"berequired "byvarious
directives orregulations ,anyprepackage madeupin
accordance withthisDirective mustbearthefollowing
markings ,madeoraffixedinsuchamannerastobe'
sufficiently durable (indelible),easilylegible(contrasting
sufficiently withthebackground )andvisibleonthe
prepackage whendisplayed inthenormalmanner(groupedon
afaceorpartofthepackagewhichisnotobscruedeither
inthe-usualpositionofdisplay,orbyanouterwrapping):•.
«thenominalquantity (minimumsizesarelaiddown);
~asignormarkingenablingthecompetent department to
1identifythepartyresponsible forpackaging
asmall"e"indicating thattheprepackage issupposed
to.satisfytherequirements ofthisDirective .
Article 12ofthegeneralDirective of26July1971provides
thatMemberStatesshalltakeallnecessary measuresto
preventtheuseof-signsormarkingsliabletobeconfused
withtheESCsignsormarkings ,suchasthe"e"mentioned
above.
1Thisisofinterestonlytotheinspection departments ,which
wanttobeabletogobacktothesource.Fortheconsumer ,
(thefinalpurchaser),theresponsible partyistheseller.

-7-
2.3~4-Controlofactualcontents onthepackager's(orimporter's)
promises
Preventive checksonthepacker'spremises provided forby
theproposal which,itmustberemembered ,supplement the
repressive chocksatthefinalpointofsale,haveanumber
ofadvantages :
Atthislevel,theinspecting department isindirect
contactwiththepartyresponsible forthequantity
packaged ,canacquaintitselfwiththemethodof,and
examinetheequipment usedtomakeuptheprepackages
andformanimpression oftheenvironment inwhichthe
operations arecarried out,
3tcanofteneasilyestablish thetareweightofthe
packagessufficiently accurately tobeabletocarry
outanon-destructive testbyweighing .
Itcanchocktheuniformity ofcomplete or,atleast,
largebatches,andfindsgoodconditions underwhichto
determine theaveragecontents ,andscatter.Itisthus
abletojudgethepackager'sintentions .
-Inmostcases,itinducesthepackager tocarryouta
continuous checkonitsproducts byamethodapproved
bythedepartment ,whichmonitorsitsapplication
(e.g.,statistical controlusingcards).
Sincetherearefarfewerpackagers thanretailers and
inspection isnort-destructive,spotchecks,carriedoutas
thoroughly andasoftenasthesizeofthedepartment permits,
makeitpossibletomonitorthe-rafttixar^qiantities contained ,
andtodosopractically continuously .
Inviewofthehighrateofproduction ofprepackages whichcan
beasmuchasseveraltensofthousands anhour,acheck
carriedoutonthepackager'spremises canonlytaketheform
ofrrandomsamplingeffected undertheinternetionallyagreed
rulesforthistypeofcheck.
Inordertoensureuniformity inthis,AnnexIItothe
Directive provides areference methodwhichfixesthedegree
ofseverity ofcheckscarriedoutbytheoaf^etent official
authorities oftheMemberStatesandalsopermitsmutual
recognition ofsuchchecks.

-8-
TheMemberStatesmayalsoinpractice adoptanyother,equally
effective method. .
Itshould "beremembered ,however ,thattherecommended procedures
are"basedonthetablesintheMilitary Standard whichstillappear
tobethemostcommonly usedinstatistical qualitycontrol.
Theminimumindividual permissible contentsarecheckedbymeans
ofamethodbasedonattributes (soundordefective)-whichmay,
moreover ,bevalidfornon-Gaussian distributions -whichisquick
andeasytouse.TheMemberStatesmaychoosebetweensingleand
doublesamplingplans;bothareequallyeffective ,but,withthe
doublesampling plan,whichisalittlemoredifficult touse,the
totalnumberofprepackage samplestobecheckedcanbereduced.
Themethodusedtochecktheaveragecontentsisbasedonmeasurement .
Sincemeasuring takeslongerthanprocedures designedtocheckthat
aminimum-contents limithasbeencomplied with,itwasdeemed
preferable toadoptasthescatterfactorthestandarddeviation
ofthesample,whichprovides anaffective meansofassessing the
standarddeviation ofthebatchofprepackage sunderinspection .
Thereasonsforincluding thethirdsubparagraph ofSection4of
AnnexIshouldalsobestated:ifthe,averageiscorreot(thisis
requiredinallcases),abatchmaybeaccepted .vohon-thescatter
isstatistically verifiedifthenumberofdefective unitsinthe
sampleisbelowtheacceptance criterion ;ifadefective unitthus
discovered inthesamplefromanaccepted batchdisplays aminus
errorgreaterthantwicethemaximumpermissible error,itoannot
bemarketed ;iftheerrorisbeloworequaltotwicethemaximum
permissible error,itmaybereturnedtothebatchandconsequently
sold.

-9-
III.SPECIFIC COMENTSFROMBUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS ANDCONSUMERS'
ASSOCllTMfd ^
3.1.Tolerances andproductclasses.
Itprovedertromely difficult todraftaproposal whichwouldtake
accountoftheproblems specifictothepackingofeachtypeof
product.Clearly ,ifthishad"beenattempted ,thenumberofclasses
wouldhavebeensolarge,andtheproblemofdefining themprecisely
sogreat,astonullifycompletely theclaritywhichtheproposal
foraDirective isintended tocreate.
Inagreement withexperts, theCommission therefore
decidedtokeeponlytwoproductclassesandtosetlessstringent
tolerances forproducts whichpresentmajorfillingproblems .
Despitethis,thereisnodoubtthatincertaincasesproducers
willfinditdifficult tokeepwithintheprescribed tolerances
bysettingtheaverageatthenominalvalue.Inthesecases,
inordertomeettherequired minimumvalues,theywouldhaveto
settheaverageactualcontents abovethenominalvalue.
Thisdrawback didnotescape theexperts buttheyconsidered
thatsincetherulewasharmonized atCommunity levelitcould
notdistortcompetition betweenproducers inthevarious Member
States,and,furthermore ,thatproducers wouldtherebybeencouraged
tousesuitable equipment andtooontrolandinspecttheir
products morestrictly .Itwaso.lsoconsidered inadvisable ,-
asstatedearlier,toincreasethenumberofproductclasses.
Ontheotherhand,certainconsumers' associations wouldhaveliked
thetolerances tobemadetighter.
Itisperhapsusefultostressonceagainthattheprescription
ofmaximumpermissible errorsisnotequivalent toaroutine
tolerance indeficiency ,butrathertoalimitation ofscatter.

-10-r
Maximumpermissible errorvalueswerechosen ,inthelightofthe
resultsofagreatmanychecks,surveysandtests,conducted
mainlyinFranceandGermany,sothatthepresentCapabilities
ofproperly equipped undertakings weretakenintoaccount.
Anyappreciable reduction ofthesetolerances wouldraisethe
valueoftheproductbecause,tocomplywithstrictererror
values,thepackagers wouldbeobligedeithertoequipthemselves
withfarmorecostlyandsophisticated machinery ,ortoslew
downtharateofproduction ,ortooverfillsystematically .This
beingthecase,itdidnotappearadvisable tocomplywiththe
wishesoftheconsumer associations -
3.2.ScorieoftheDirective
Severaltradeassociations expressed thewishthat,following
theexampleofanumbercfcountrios ,thescopeoftheDirective
shouldnotextendsofardownwards butincludeonlythosegreater
than20gand20ml,oreven50gand50nil.
Inviewofthesubjectoftheirconcern,itisnotcertain,
however,thatsuchanamendment wouldhavebeentotheiradvantage .
Indeed,sinceapplication oftheDirective isoptional ,prepackagers
areentitledtobenefitfromtheregimeoffreemovementoffered
bytheDirective forprepackaged products withnominalcontents
between 5gor5niland10kg-or101,buttheyareinnoway
obligedtoavailthemselves thereofprovidedthattheycomply
withnational laws.
However,somegovernments consideritnecessary toindicatethe
weight,evenofsmallquantities ,ofcertainhigh-cost products
suchascondiments orseeds.Ifthesewereexcluded fromthescope ,
oftheDirective ,theexistingnationaldisparities whichcreate
obstacles totradewouldpersist.Moreoveritisclearthat,
unlessthenationalregulations ofthecountrywheretheproduct
ismarketedforbidit,theprepackaging companymay,forinstance ,
makeasEECprepackages onlythosewithanominalquantity not
lessthan50gor100ml.

-11-
3»3=Rules concerning permissiblo quant ityranges
ThaCommission isaware that theproblem of-permissible ranges (series )
ofvolumes andweights must also "besettled atCommunity level ,asit
wasintheproposed Directive onbeverages ,andasisthewish of
theconsumers' associations and "business organizations .
Unfortunately this question isvery complex because this proposal
covers almost allprepackaged products intheMember States ,where
1measuring andcommercial practices arevery diverse .
Thevariety ofnominal quantities ofprepackages offered tothe
consumer issowide that the responsible authorities ofthevarious
Member States have often been prompted torestrict their number in
order toprotect consumers ,toraise the standard offair competition
between manufacturers and dealers andtorationalize production
anddistribution .However ,preliminary discussions onthis point
revealed such widely diverse practices andrules that itwasdeemed
preferable toputforward this first proposal while continuing the
search forasolution totheproblem ofranges .Assoon asthe
Commission isinaposition tosupplement this proposal ,therefore ,
itwill present afurther proposal foraDirective indicating the
ranges ofpermissible quantities .Theadoption ofallthese
provisions ,which form asort ofEuropean quantitative charter on
themaking-up ofprepackaged products ,will meet anever-increasing
desire onthepart oftheconsumer forgreater clarity inthis field .
IV.SUJETiBY
Tosumup;
Thedirective applies toprepackages ofconstant nominal quant ity
ofthemajor consumer products listed inAnnex III .
Forinstance ,certain products aresold byvolume insome countries
andbyweight inothers .Since their density isnotconstant ,a
range valid forboth quantities cannot bedefined .

-12-
Itisstrictlyconfinedtothefieldoflegalmetrology andhasno
"bearingonlabelling ingeneralorofthewayinwhichproducts
must "besold.
Thechecksnowcarriedoutbythecompetent authorities ofthe
MemberStatesatallstagesofthecommercial process,andespecially
atthepointoffinalsale,willcontinue .
Buttheserepressive checkscannothecontinuous .Toensurethat
marketconditions arefullyintelligible ,andtogiveconsumers
a"betterquantitative guarantee ,(assumingmutualrecognition of
thechecksperformed),theDirective introduces virtually continuous
preventive inspections atsource,i.e.onthepackager'sor
importer'spremises .
Theresponsible packagerisrequiredtoensurethattheactual
contents oftheprepackages areatleastequaltothenominal
quantity ;thisrequirement appliestotheaverageofevery "batch
ofthesamemake.Inaddition ,thescatterofactualcontent
values "belowthenominalvalueislimited "bythesettingofa
maximumpermissible errorindeficiency .
Prepackaging firmsmustkeepaoonstant checkonwhattheyproduce ,
underthesupervision ofthecompetent official "bodies.Thelatter
willalsocarryoutstatistical control "bysampling ,similarin
effectiveness tothereference methoddescribed inAnnexII.,
Asanannexorsupplement tothi3Directive ,astudywillbemade
oftherangesofvaluesimposedforthenominalquantities ofthe
prepackages ofcertainproducts .
V.C01TSULTATIOilOPTHEPAFILYfESHT ANDECONOMIC AI7DSOCIAL COIIMTTTCC
/
Pursuanttotheprovisions ofArticle100(2),theopinionsof
thosetwoinstitutions areneededbecauseimplementation ofthe
Directive willrequireamendments tothelawsofcertainMember
States.

ΑΜΕΚΕ
TOTHE EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
Laws relating toprepackages currently inforce inthoMember States
BELGIUM
-Lawoncommercial practice ,(14July 1971 )
-Royal Decree of4September 1972 onquantity specification .
KHI
-Decrees relating to:
Themarking ofnetweight ornetquantity onpreserved foods
(MonopoIti1syne fc,4April I96I ); ■
Deep-frozen foodstuffs (Monopolt ilsynet ,15November 1965 )?
Prepackaged goods (21September 19^4 »10March 1965 »21March 1966 ,
17ITovember 1967)5
-Decree amending the decree onpreserved andsemi-preserved fish
(Ministry ofFisheries ,1September 1966 ).
GEIOOY
-Lav;onmetrology andtheverification ofweights andmeasures
(Lawonverification -Eichgesetz ),11July 19^9 •
-Lawonprepackaging (Fertigpackungsverordnung ),16December 1971 •
FRAITCS
-Lawof13June 1866 ontrade practice .
-Lawof1August 1905 onthesuppression offraud ,together with
thefollowing implementing decrees :
-Decree ITo.72639 of12October 1972 implementing theLawof1August
I905 onthesuppression offraud with regard totheconditions of
sale offoodstuffs ,i.e. ,solids andliquids intended forhuman
andanimal consumption ,andalso therules governing thelabelling
andpresentation ofallgoods which have been prepackaged for
retail sale .
-Order Ho.45~2405 of13October 1945 onliquid volume measurement
(Journal Officiel ,19October ,1945 )•

IRELAlïï )
–Merchandise Ilai'ks(pre-packed goods).
ITALY
-Royal"Decreeof23August1890,ITo.J0Q8
(withsuccessive amendments )
Sole"textofthelawsgoverning weightsandmeasures .
-Lawof30April1962,ÏTo.283
(withsuccessive amendments )
Hygienerequirements inrespectofthemanufacture andsaleof
foodstuffs and"beverages .
(/inimplementing regulation iscurrently beingprepared).
LUXEMBOURG
-Lav;of17Miy1882onweightsandmeasures.
-Grand-Ducal RoyalDecreeof30May1882implementingthelawon
weightsandmeasures .
-Opiniondelivered "bytheDirector-General forFinance on11April
1933statingcertainrequirements (including thespecification of
weightormeasurement andrespectofprepackages )stipulated in
thelawof17Kay1882onweightsandmeasures.
ÏÏETHWRLATJDS
–FoodandDrugsAct(Warenwet).1935»
–Implementing provisions oftheFoodandDrugsAct,andinparticular
theGeneralOrder(AlgemeonBcsluit).
-RoyalDecreeonGovernment markingoftutter(Rijkshotermerlcbe schikking ),
1947.
-Regulations deriving fromStatutory TradeOrganisation
(PBOVerordeningen )dealingmainlywiththeproductsreferred
tointhisDirective .
TOUTED KINGDOM
-WeightsandMeasures Act,1963...
TradeDescriptions Act,i960.
–Lawsandregulations madeonthe"basisofthesetwoActs.

PROPOSAL
FORZCOUNCIL DIRECTIVE OH
TIEAPPROXIMATION 0?TIELAWSOPTHE
MEMBER STATES RELATING TOTHEIKJCING-
UPBYWEIGHT ORBYVOLUME OFCERTAIN
PRE-PACKAGED PRODUCTS
THECOUNCIL OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
HavingregardtotheTreatyestablishing theEuropean Economic
Community andinparticular Article 100thereof ;
Havingregardtotheproposal fromtheCommission ;
HavingregardtotheOpinionoftheEuropean Parliament ;
HavingregardtotheOpinionoftheEconomic a,ndSocialCommittee ;
WhereasinmostoftheMemberStatessalepresentation conditions
ofproducts inprepackages arethesubjectofmandatory regulations
whichdifferfromoneMemberStatetoanother,therebyhindering
tradeinsuchprepackages *.
Whereassuchprovisions musttherefore beapproximated ;

-2-
Whereas ,inorder "toenable consumers to "becorroctly inforned ,
themethod ofmarking thenominal weight orvolume oftheproduct
contained intheprepackage should "beindicated ;
Whereas itisalso necessary tospecify themaximum permissible
errors inthecontent ofprepackages andwhereas inorder to
facilitate control ofcompliance of 'prepackages with *theprovisions
laid down areference method for such control should "bedefined ;
Whereas Article 16oftheCouncil Directive of26July 1971 onthe
approximation ofthe laws oftheMember States relating tocommon
provisions for "both measuring instruments andmethods ofraetrologioal
1control provides that theharnonisation oftherequirements for
marketing certain products ,inparticular asregards theprescription ,
measurement andmarking ofpre-packed quantities ,mayalso hecovered
byspecific directives ;
Whereas theCouncil Directive of26July 1971 states that the
specific directives mayspecify ,conditions permitting ,thedate
onwhich each Member State mayrepeal thenational provisions
applicable toproducts similar tothose which oomply with Community
provisions ;whereas inthepresent case itisnotyetpermissible
tosetsuch adate ;
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE :
DJHoL202 ,6September 1971 *
(

ThisDirect1-/0shallapplytoprepackages containing productslisted
inAinier.Illandintendedforsaleinconstantunitnoninalquantities
whichare:
-equaltovaluespredetermined "bythepacker;
-expressed inunitsofweightorofvolume;
-notlessthan5Sor5mlandnotmorethan10kgor101.
Prepackages whichdonot"bearanindication "byweightor"byvolume
arenotcovered "bythisDirective .
Article 2
Aprepackage withinthemoaningofthisDirective isthecombination of
aproductandtheindividual packageinwhichitisprepacked .
Aproductisprepacked when,withoutthepurchaser beingpresent,it
isplacedinapackageofwhatever natureinsuchamannerthatthe
quantity ofproductcontained thereinhasapredetermined valueand
cannothealteredwithoutthepackage "beingopenedor'undergoing a
perceptiblernodificatio.P^>
Article 3
Prepackages madeupinaccordance withthisDirective shallbenarked
withtheweightorvolume,referredtoasthenominalweightor
nominalvolume,ofproductwhichthoyarerequiredtocontain,pursuant
toAnnexIhereto,atthetimeofpackaging .
Prepackages containing liquidproductsshall "bemarkedwiththeirnominal
volumeandprepackages containing otherproductsshall "bemarkedwith
theirnominalweight.
If,foraclassofproductorforagiventypeofprepackage ,commercial
practiceregarding sale "byweightorbyvolumeisnotthesameinall
MemberStates,andifsuchprepackages Eirenotmarkedbothwiththeir
nominalweightandwiththeirnominalvolume,theyshallbemarkedin
accordance ".withthecommercial practiceprevailing .inthecountryto
\;hichtheyareconsigned .

Until -theexpiryofthetransitional period,duringwhichtheuseofthe
Imperialunitsofmeasurement appearing inAnnexeIItotheCouncilDirec­
tiveof18October1971concerning unitsofmeasurement (l),modifiedby
theActconcerning theconditions ofAccession andAdjustments tothe
Treaties (2),isauthorised intheCommunity,theindication ofthenominal
weightand/ornominalvolumeexpressedinISunitsinaccordance withAnnexI
Bub-section2«le,tothisDirective nay"beaccompanied "bythatofthe
equivalent valueinImperial (lUK)unitsofmeasurements ,calculated onthe
basis .ofthefollowing practical conversion factors :
1g»0.0353ounce(avoirdupois )1mle0,0352fluidounce
1kg=2*205pounds 11=1*7^0pintsor0®220gallon*
Article 4
Theprepackages whichareauthorized tobeartheESCsymbolprovidedfor
inAnnexI,sub-section 2o3»shallbethesewhichcontainproductslisted
inAnnexIIIandwhichsatisfytherequirements ofthisDirective ,andin
particular AnnexIthereto *
Theyshallbesubjecttometrological checking undertheconditions set
outinAnnexI,sub-section 4*and.inAnnexII*..
Article 5
TheMemberStatesshallnot,forreasonsconcerning themarkingsrequired
tobebornebyprepackages pursuanttothisDirective ,thedetermination
ofthevolumeorweightofprepackages ,orthemethodsbywhichthelatter
havebeenmeasuredorchecked,refuse,prohibitorrestrictthemarketing
ofprepackage bearingtheEECsymbolprovidedforinAnnexIIIwhich
satisfytherequirements ofthisDirective ,AnnexIsection4and.AnnexII
thereto *'
Article 6
MemberStatesshallbringintoforcethemeasures necessary tocomplywith
thisDirective withinaperiodof18monthsfromthedateofitsnotifica­
tionandshallimmediately informtheCommission ofsuchmeasures »>
MemberStatesshallensurethatthetextofallprovisions adoptedunder
national lawinthefieldcoveredbythisDirective iscommunicated to
theCommission *
Article 7
ThisDirective isaddressed totheMemberStates*
DoneatBrussels ,e*o*o*e*»***«*
FortheCouncil
______________ ThePresident *
(1),0*J.n®L243,29.10.1971 ,page29
(2)0,J*n°L73#2Yo03.1972 ,page119

-3-
ANNEXE I
1-Thequantityofproductcontainedinaprepackage (orquantityoffilling),
knownasthe"actualcontents"shallbemeasuredorchecked (byvolume
orbyweight)ontheresponsibility ofthepacker.Themeasurement or
checkshallbecarriedoutbymeansofalegalmeasuring instrument
appropriate tothenatureoftheoperations tobeperformed .
Oneoftheseveralmethodsofmeetingthemeasuring orchecking
requirement istouseameasuring container ,asdefinedintheDirective
relatingtheretoandfilledundertheconditions prescribed therein,
whenmakinguptheprepackage .
Thecheckraybeperformed bysampling .
Whoretheactualcontentsarenotmeasured ,thecheckperformed bythe
packershallbesoorganized thatthevalueofthesaidcontentsis
effectively ensured.
Thiscondition isfulfilled ifthepackercarriesoutaproductioncheck
inaccordance withtheprocedures recognized bythecompetent authorities
intheMemberStateandifheholdsatthedisposal oftheseauthorities
thedocuments containing theresultsofsuchchecks,and,ifappropriate ,
thecorresponding items.
2-Ailprepackages madeupinaccordance withthisDirective shallbearon
thepackagethefollowing markingsaffixedinsuchamannerastobe
indelible ,sufficiently contrasted ,easilylegibleandvisibleonthe
prepackage innormalconditions ofpresentation :
2.1Thenominalquantity (nominalweightornominalvolume),,expressed
inlitresorkilograms ,centilitres ,millilitres orgrains,and
markedinfiguresatleast6mmhighifthenominalquantityis
morethan1,000gor100cl,.4ismhighifitisfrom1,000gor
100cldowntobutnotincluding 200gor20clorless,and3ram
highifitisnotmorethan200gor20cl,followed by"thesymbol
fortheunitofmeasurement usedor,whereappropriate ,byitsname,
inaccordance withtheprovisions oftheCouncilDirective of13
October 1971relatingtounitsofmeasurement .
MarkingsinImperial (UZ)unitsshallbeinlettersandfiguresof
dimensions notlargerthanthoseofmarkings inISunits.
2.2Amarkorinscription enabling thedepartment concerned toidentify
thepackerorthepersonresponsible forthepackingortheimporter
established intheCommunity .
••/••

~4~
2.3-Asnail "e",atleast 3nunhigh ,placed inthe same visual field
astheindication ofthenominal weight ornominal volume and
certifying that theprepackage meets therequirements ofthis Directive .
This letter shall have theform shown inthedrawing contained in
Annex II,sub-section 3*.totheCouncil Directive of26July ,1971
,concerning theprovisions common tomeasuring instruments andto
methods ofmetrologioal checking .
Article 12oftheaforesaid Directive shall apply mutatis mutandis .
3.Prepackages covered "bythis Directive shall "bemade upinsuch a
waythat thecompleted prepackages satisfy thefollowing requirements :
3.1Theactual contents oftheprepackages atatemperature of
*
20°C shall not "beless ,onaverage ,than thenominal quantity .
3.2Themaximum permitted error indeficiency inthecontents ofa
prepackage ,i.e. ,themaximum permitted difference indeficiency
atatemperature of20°C "between theactual contents andthe
nominal quantity oftheprepackage ,isfixed inaccordance with
thetable "below ,inwhich products aredivided ,assetoutin
sub-sections 3.3and3.4 .»into twoclasses ("A"and"B")
according totheir physical characteristics and/ortheprocessing
they undergo .Thedifference between thenominal quantity
andmaximum permitted error isknown asthe "minimum permitted .
contents ".
Fortheuseofthetable ,maximum permitted errors inpercentages
should berounded off i?nthenearest one-tenth ofagram or
millilitre . . - -■
Nominal quantity Qn
JLngrams ormillilitre sMaximum permitted errors indeficiency
Class "A" Class "B"
asa%
ofO,gorml asafo
ofO,gorml
3•5~25ι
!■•5 -[
25-50 4-5 ■ 9m»
50-ioo . 2.25 ,J 4.5
100-200 , 2.25 4.5
200-300 4.5 9
300-500 1.5 • ! 3
500-IOOO 7*5 < 15
I1000-10ooo ■0.75 1.5 ii -
*T'his theoretical rule does notaffect thetemperature atwhich the
measurements sirereally nade ,which with some products mayhave tobe
different from thereference temperature (e.g. ,icesanddeep-frozen goods ).

-5~
3.3-Thefollowing productsshallbeconsidered as"belonging toClass
"B":
-prepackaged products ofanominalquantitylessthan25gramsor
millilitres ;
-liquidproducts ;
-products theflowproperties ordensityofwhichcannotbekept
constant exceptatthecostofconsiderable technical effort;
-products containing severalsubstances ofdifferent densities or
differentphysicalphasesand/orjshepackagingofwhichrequires
severaloperations ;
-products which,aftertheyhavebeenpacked,aresubjected to
additional processing ,e.g.,heattreatment ,likelytoaffect
theirweightinanirregular manner;
-products withahighunitweight,i.e.,products composed of
pieces,fragments orgrainsthemaximumunitweightofwhichis
greaterthanorequaltothemaximumpermitted errorcorresponding
tothenominalweightoftheprepackage whichcontains them,as
setoutinthetableinsub-section 3.2(Category "A").
3.4-Products notfallingwithinthecategories referredtointhe
preceding sub-section (3.3)shallbeconsidered asbelongingto
Class"A".
4.–Acheckthattheprepackages complywiththeprovisions ofthis
Directive shS.llbecarriedoutbythecompetent authorities in
theMemberStatesbysampling onthepackers *premises or,ifthis
isnotpracticable ,onthepremises oftheimporter orhisagent
established intheCommunity .
Thissampling checkshallbocarriedoutinaccordance withthe
acceptedrulesonqualitycontrol.Itseffectiveness shallbe
comparable tothatofthereference methodspecified inAnnexII.
However,noprepackage havinganerrorindeficiency greater
thantwicethemaximumpermitted error,asdefinedinAnnexI,
sub-section 3.,shallknowingly bemarketedundertheESCsymbol
provided forinsub-section 2.3.
5.-ThisDirective shallnotpreclude anychecksthatnaybecarried
outbythecompetent authorities oftheMemberStatesinthe
courseoftrade.
Article 15.2oftheabove-mentioned Directive of26Julyshall
applymutatismutandis .

-6-
ANNEXE II
ThisAnnexlaysdowntheprocedures forthechecking ofprepackages in
ordertomeettherequirements ofArticle4oftheDirective andthose
ofAnnexI,sub-section 4»Exceptinthecasereferredtoin4*1*3."below,
thesechecksshalltaketheformofrandomsampling .
1,Requirements fordetermination oftheactualoontents ofprepackages .
Theactualcontents ofprepackages mayhemeasureddirectly "by
meansofweighing orvolumetric measuring instruments or,inthecase
ofliquids ,indirectly "byweighing andmeasuring thedensityofthe
prepacked product.
Irrespective ofthemethodused,theerrormadeinthedetermination
oftheactualcontents ofaprepackage shallnotexceedone-fifth of
themaximumpermitted errorforthenominalquantity oftheprepackage ,
assetoutinthetableinAnnexI,sub-section 3.2.
2.TertainoloCTr .
Theterminology ofthestatistical vocabulary usedinthisAnnex
istnatofthevocabulary ofstatistical qualitycontrol.
3.Placefortheperformance ofthechock
Checksshall,asageneralrule,beperformed onthepremises
wheretheprepackages werefilled,butmayalsobeperformed attheir
placeofstoragenotablyinthecaseofimports.
4.Requirements forchecking batchesofprepackages .
Thechecking ofprepackages shdllbecarriedoutbysampling
andshallcomprise thefollowing twochecks:
-afirstcheckcovering theaverageactualcontents ofthe
prepackages inthesample;
~asecondcheckcovering theactualcontents ofeachprepackage
mthesample.
abatchofprepackages shallbeconsidered acceptable ifthe.
resultsofboththesecheckssatisfytheacceptance criteria .

Foreachofthesechecks,provision ismadefortheuseoftwo
sampling schedules : '/
-onefornon-destructive testing ;
-theotherfordestructive testing.'
Thelattermethodshallhelimitedtotheabsolutely essential •:
mimsunu , ...•:*_c.'.....: •
Destructive testingshalltherefore beonlyperformed whennon­
destructive testingisimpracticable . ,
4.1Composition oftheprepackage batch
4.1.1.Thebatchshallbecomposed ofalltheprepackages ofthe
sametypeandthesameproduction runwhicharetobe
inspected .
Thenumberofprepackages inabatchshallnot,however,
exoeed10,000.
4.1.2.Whenprepackages arecheckedattheendofthepackinglino
thenumberineachbatchshallbeequaltothemaximum
hourlyoutputofthepackinglino,withoutanyrestriction
astothenumberofprepackages inbatch.
4.1.3.Forbatchesinwhichthenumberofprepackage s.Uisless ..
than100,thenon-destructive test,whereperformed ,shall
be.100$.
Insuchcasesabatchshallbefinallyacceptedifthis
checkshowsthat:
1)theaverageactualcontentsofthebatchisgreater
thanorequaltothenominalquantity ;•
2)thenumberofprepackages displaying anerrorgreater
:thanthemaximum'permitted errorisnotmorethan '
0.025N,roundedupwardstothenearestwholenumber.
4.2.Methodofsamplmg .
Theprepackages makingupthesamplesshallbotakenatrandom
fromthebatchsubmitted forchecking.
Asageneralrule,samplingshallbecompleted beforea
motrological examination ofthesamplesisbegun(exceptforthe
secondsamplewhereadoublesampling schemeisused).

4o-Firstcheck:
..Checking of"theaverageactualcontents oftheindividual
.prepackages makingupabatch*•
Forthepurposeofthischeck,specimens shall "betakenat
randomfromamongtheindividual unitsinthesamplerequiredfor
thechecking oftheminimumacceptable contents .ifthenumberof
prepackages inthesampleissufficient .Ifnot,anadditional
sampleshallbetaken.
4«3»1»Abatchofprepackages shallbeconsidered acceptable for
thechecking oftheaveragecontentsifthemeanvalue
oftheactualcontents x.ofthenprepackages
η
inthesampleisgreaterthanthevalue:
«n"
■
inwhich:'i•JL
=thenominalquantity intheprepackages ,
n.=thenumberofprepackages inthesampletobechecked,
s»theestimated standard deviation oftheactualcontents
cofthebatch,
-V2
η-ι
t^-^=quantileoftheorderof0.9S5of"th®Studentvariable
at.(n–l)degreesoffreedom
Y-n-l).
4.3.2.Criterion foracceptance orrejection ofthebatchof
prepackages forthefirstcheck.
4.3.2.1.Criteriafornon-destructive testing
-Numberinbatch ••ÎTursberin•"
:sample"•--"Criteria
L_Acceptance . Rejection
100-500(incl.) 30 -0.503sX-0.503sI
.V500 •50;^>Qn-0.37Ss"<On-0.379sI

4.3.2.2 .-Criteria fordestructive testing
Number inbatch ïfumber in
sample_ Criteria ,
Acccotance Rejqction
ùz 500 8. -1.237sn 1 ;<0-1.237s
501-1200 13 -0.847s -<0 -0.8473
> .1200 j 20 0.640s χ<0«-0.6403
4^4-Second check :checking oftheminimum acceptable contents .
Prepackages inthebatch theactual contents ofwhich areless
than theminimum acceptable contents shall bedeclared defective .
Forchecking bysampling ,oneofthefollowing sampling schedules
shall betised ,thechoice being left toeach Member State .
4.4.1 .Single sampling project
Thenumber ofprepackages chocked shall beequal tothenumber
.inthesample ,asindicated intheschedule :
-ifthenumber ofdefective units found inthe sample is
less than orequal tothecriterion foracceptance ,the
batch ofprepackages shall beconsidered acceptable for
thepurpose ofthis second check ;
-ifthe number ofdefective units found inthe sample is
equal toorgreater than thecriterion forrejection ,the
batch ofprepackages shall berejected .
•, /-4.4.1.1 .Schedule fornon-destructive testing .
Number mbatch Number in
sanpleNumber ofdefective units
Acceptance
criterionRejection
criterion '
I100-150 I 20 1 2
151 -.280 32 . 2 ;': 3 ;
281-500 5 50 •: 3 ' 4
-501-1200 ν .80 . 1 5 6
1201 -3200 125 7 8 -r
3201 and over 200 ""– ■10 -- !...11 .. ..,

-10-
4
4.4.1.2.Schedule fordestructive testing
Numbermbatch Nuriberm
saopleIJumberofdefective units
ii.cceptar.ce
criterionRqjoction
criterion
:500 8 0 1
501-;3200 13 1 2
3200 20 i : 2
4.4.2.Double-sampling schedulefornonr-destructive testing.
Thefirstnumberofprepackages checkedshallbeequalto
thenumberofunitsinthefirstsample,asindicated inthe
schedule :
-ifthenumberofdefective unitsfoundinthefirst
•'sampleislessthanorequaltothefirstacceptance
.^criterion ,thebatchshallbeconsidered acceptable for
thepurposeofthissecondcheck;
-ifthenuLiberofdefective itemsfoundinthefirstsample
liesbetweenthefirstacceptance criterion andthefirst
rejection criterion ,asecondsample,thenumberofunitsin
whichisindicated intheschedule ,shallbechecked.
Thenumbers ofdefective unitsfoundinthefirstand
secondsamplesshallbeaddedtogether ;
-iftheaggregate numberofdefective unitsislessthanor
equaltothesecondacceptance criterion ,thebatchshallbe
considered acceptable forthepurposeofthisseoondcheck;
-iftheaggregate numberofdefective unitsisgreaterthan
orequaltothesecondrejection criterion ,thebatchshall
berejected .

-11-
■Nucberin
batcE"'
---- ^.t-.Samplos . Funberofdefectivounits
Order ITuraber Aggregate
■numberAcceptanoe
criterionRejection
criterion
100-150 lst 13 0> 2
2nd 13 2(5 i; 2
151-280Ilst 20 20 0 3
2nd I20|40
I,4
231-500 lst 32 32 1... .
2nd 32 64 4 5
501-1200 lst 50 50 2 ?
2na .50 100 I 6 7
11,201-3,200lst 180 80 3 ■7
2nd 30 150 8'i
•i9
3,201andoverIlst 125 125 5 9
2nd 125 250 12 13

-12-
^msxHT
Product /Troupscovered bytheDirective
1.Foodstuffs (withoutreferencetotheOCT),otherthanliquids
coveredbytheDirective onthenaking~up "byvolumeofcertain
prepackaged liquids.
2.Perfumery ,cosmetics andtoiletpreparations CCT33.06
3.Soaps-surface-active )
detergents-washingpowders) CCT34*01
34.02Β
4.Waxpolishes jwaxes;metalpolishes .CCT34*05
5.Horticultural fertilizers .CCT31.05B
6.Gluesandadhesives .CCT35*06
7.Herbicides ;pesticides CCT3o.ll
8.Paintsolvents .CCT38.18
9.Petfoods withoutreference to
theCCT
10.Seeds CCT12.03
11.Paintsandvarnishes ;inks CCT32.0932.10
32.1132.12
32.13