24.2.84 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 53/7 
II 
(preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 79/581/EEC on consumer 
protection in the indication of the prices of foodstuffs 
COM(84) 23 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 31 January 1984) 
(84/C 53/03) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, 
and in particular Articles 100 and 235 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European 
Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas provisions imposing an obligation to indicate 
unit prices for foodstuffs exist in a number of 
Member States; whereas there are substantial 
differences between these provisions, notably as 
regards the categories of foodstuffs exempted; 
whereas these differences are liable to hinder trade, 
thereby directly affecting the operation of the 
common market; 
Whereas Council Directive 79/581/EEC (*) requires 
the Council to take a decision on conditions for 
applying the obligation to indicate the unit price of 
foodstuffs prepackaged in pre-established quantities 
and at the same time to lay down the categories of 
foodstuffs which may be exempted from this 
requirement; 
Whereas the resolution adopted by the Council on 
19 June 1979 (2) lists the criteria that ranges of quan­
tities must satisfy to qualify for exemption from unit-
pricing; 
Whereas, by establishing simple and easily 
comparable quantity ranges, the standardization of 
quantities of prepackaged foodstuffs is likely to make 
it easier for the consumer to compare prices at the 
place of sale; whereas the obligation to display 
(') OJ No L 158, 26. 6. 1979, p. 19. 
O OJ No C 163, 30. 6. 1979, p. 1. the unit price should, wherever possible, be replaced 
by such standardization; 
Whereas ranges of quantities for prepackaged 
products are laid down by Directive 80/232/EEC of 
15 January 1980 on the approximation of the laws of 
the Member States relating to the ranges of nominal 
quantities and nominal capacities permitted for 
certain prepackaged products (3), Council Directive 
75/106/EEC of 19 December 1974 on the approxi­
mation of the laws of the Member States relating to 
the making-up by volume of certain prepackaged 
liquids (4), as last amended by Directive 
79/1005/EEC (5), Council Directive 73/241 /EEC of 
24 July 1973 on the approximation of the laws of the 
Member States relating to cocoa and chocolate 
products intended for human consumption (6), as last 
amended by Directive 80/608/EEC (7), and Council 
Directive 73/437/EEC of 11 December 1973 on the 
approximation of the laws of the Member States 
concerning certain sugars intended for human 
consumption (8); 
Whereas the standardization achieved at Community 
level to eliminate technical barriers to trade helps to 
simplify the ranges of quantities of foodstuffs offered 
to the consumer; whereas provision should be made 
for the exemption of ranges of quantities established 
at Community level; 
Whereas for certain categories of foodstuffs stan­
dardization at Community level is not appropriate; 
whereas in the case of such foodstuffs provision 
should be made for the exemption of ranges of 
quantities established at national level; 
(3) OJNoL51,25. 2. 1980, p. 1. 
(4) OJNoL42, 15. 2. 1975, p. 1. 
(s) OJ No L 308, 4. 12. 1979, p. 25. 
(6) OJ No L 228, 16. 8. 1973, p. 23. 
O OJ No L 170, 3. 7. 1980, p. 33. 
(8) OJ No L 356, 27. 12. 1973, p. 71. 
No C 53/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 24. 2. 84 
Whereas the exemption of ranges of quantities 
established at national level should not be allowed to 
affect trade between the Member States either 
directly or indirectly; whereas the national ranges of 
quantities to be exempted from unit pricing should 
therefore be determined at-Community level; 
Whereas steps should be taken to exempt from the 
obligation to indicate unit prices those products for 
which such indication would be meaningless, notably 
foodstuffs sold by individual item; 
Whereas the rules laid down in this Directive are 
needed for the purposes of consumer information and 
protection and further the attainment of one of the 
objectives of the Community by contributing to the 
improvement of living conditions and the harmonious 
development of economic activites throughout the 
Community; whereas the Treaty has not provided all 
the powers necessary for this purpose, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE: 
Article 1 
Directive 79/581/EEC is hereby amended as follows: 
1. In Article 1: 
(a) Paragraph 2 is replaced by the following: 
'2. This Directive shall not apply to 
foodstuffs sold in hotels, restaurants, cafes, 
public houses, hospitals, canteens and similar 
establishments and consumed on the premises, 
or to foodstuffs which the consumer purchases 
for professional or commercial reasons, or to 
foodstuffs sold on the farm.' 
(b) Paragraph 3 is deleted. 
2. Article 7 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 7 
1. The obligation to indicate the unit price shall 
not apply in the case of the following foodstuffs: 
(a) foodstuffs for which indication of weight or 
volume is not required, in particular foodstuffs 
sold by individual item; 
(b) foodstuffs sold from automatic vending 
machines; 
(c) prepared dishes or dishes for preparation 
contained in a single package; 
(d) fancy products. 
2. Highly perishable foodstuffs may, if sold at 
reduced prices on account of the danger of their deteriorating, be exempted by the Member States 
from the obligation to indicate the new unit price. 
3. The obligation to indicate the unit price shall 
not apply to foodstuffs sold in quantities of 
50 grams or 50 millilitres or less or 10 kilograms 
or 10 litres or more.' 
3. Article 8 is replaced by the following: 
Article 8 
1. Foodstuffs prepackaged in pre-established 
quantities shall be subject to the obligation to 
indicate the unit price. 
2. The obligation referred to in paragraph 1 
shall not apply to the following: 
— the foodstuffs prepackaged in pre-established 
quantities listed in Annex I (points 1, 2 and 3) 
to Directive 80/232/EEC, where they are sold 
in the ranges of nominal quantities of contents 
given in the said Annex, or where they are sold 
in quantities of 50 grams or 50 millilitres or 
less or 10 kilograms or 10 litres or more, 
-— the foodstuffs prepackaged in pre-established 
quantities referred to in Annex II (points 1 and 
2) to Directive 80/232/EEC, where they are 
sold in rigid containers in the capacity ranges 
given in the said Annex and are not listed in 
Annex I to the said Directive and where 
Community filling standards have been laid 
down for such foodstuffs, 
— the foodstuffs prepackaged in pre-established 
quantities listed in Annex III to Directive 
75/106/EEC, where they are sold in the 
nominal volumes given in column I of the said 
Annex, 
— the foodstuffs prepackaged in pre-established 
quantities referred to in Article 6 (1) of 
Directive 73/241/EEC, where they are sold in 
the range of nominal quantities of contents 
given in the said Article, or where they are sold 
in quantities of 50 grams or less or 1 kilogram 
or more, 
— the foodstuffs prepackaged in pre-established 
quantities referred to in Article 1 (points 1 to 
3) of Directive 73/437/EEC, where they are 
sold in the range of nominal quantities of 
contents given in Article 8 of the said Directive 
or where they are sold in quantities of 50 
grams or less or 10 kilograms or more.' 
24. 2. 84 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 53/9 
4. Article 9 is replace by the following: 
'Article 9 
Where Community measures are adopted 
concerning the standardization of ranges of 
nominal quantities of contents relating to 
foodstuffs not referred to in Article 8 the Council, 
acting on a proposal from the Commission, shall, 
if necessary, amend Article 8.' 
5. Article 10 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 10 
At the request of the Member State concerned and 
after having consulted the other Member States, 
the Commission shall take a decision to exempt 
from the obligation to indicate unit prices 
foodstuffs prepackaged in pre-established 
quantities for which ranges of nominal quantities 
of contents have been established in a Member 
State, in so far as: 
— these ranges satisfy the criteria set out in the 
Council resolution of 19 June 1979 ('), 
— the proposed exemption is not likely to affect 
trade between Member States either directly or 
indirectly. 
(') OJ No C 163, 30. 6. 1979, p. 1.' 
6. Article 11 is replaced by the following: 
'Article 11 
1. Member States may exempt from the 
obligation to indicate the unit price foodstuffs sold 
by certain small retail businesses and handed 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 100 thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European 
Parliament, directly by the seller to the purchaser, where the 
indication of prices: 
— is likely to constitute an excessive burden on 
such businesses, or 
— appears to be most impracticable owing to the 
number of foodstuffs offered for sale, the sales 
area, its layout or the conditions peculiar to 
certain forms of trade, such as certain cases of 
itinerant dealers. 
2. The exemptions referred to in paragraph 1 
shall be without prejudice to obligations to 
indicate prices existing under national or 
Community provisions at the time of the adoption 
of this Directive.' 
7. Articles 9, 10 and 11 become Articles 12, 13 and 
14 respectively. 
Article 2 
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, 
regulations and administrative provisions necessary to 
comply with this Directive by 31 March 1986. They 
shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof. 
2. Member States shall communicate to the 
Commission the texts of the provisions of national 
law which they adopt in the field covered by this 
Directive. 
Article 3 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States. 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas the production, manufacture, marketing and 
use of foodstuffs intended for human consumption 
are of the utmost importance in the European 
Economic Community; 
Whereas it is the responsibility of the public auth­
orities to ensure compliance with the provisions 
relating to the composition, conditions of manu­
facture, packaging and labelling of foodstuffs; Proposal for a Council Directive concerning the introduction of Community methods of 
sampling and analysis for the monitoring of foodstuffs intended for human consumption 
COM(84) 39 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 6 February 1984) 
(84/C 53/04)