COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty concerning the common position of the Council on the adoption of a directive of the European Parliament and the Council amending Directive 2000/13/EC as regards indication of the ingredients present in foodstuffs

2001/0199 (COD)

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 251 (2) of the EC Treaty concerning the common position of the Council on the adoption of a directive of the European Parliament and the Council amending Directive 2000/13/EC as regards indication of the ingredients present in foodstuffs

1- BACKGROUND

Date of forwarding of the proposal to the EP and Council (document COM(2001) 433 final - 2001/0199 (COD)): // 6 September 2001

Date of the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee: // 16 January 2002

Date of the opinion of the European Parliament (first reading): // 11 June 2002

Date of forwarding of the amended proposal (document COM(2002) 464 Final - 2001/0199 (COD)): // 3 September 2002

Date of adoption of the common position: // 20 February 2003

2- AIM OF THE COMMISSION'S PROPOSAL

The Commission's proposal is intended to make far more comprehensive labelling of foodstuff ingredients compulsory in order to ensure that consumers are better informed and, at the same time, to help solve the problem of food allergies and intolerances. To this end, it amends the rules for labelling ingredients laid down in Directive 2000/13/EC and mainly comprises the following points:

* It does away with the exemption from labelling of components of compound ingredients accounting for less than 25% of the finished product, which, in turn, establishes the principle that all the ingredients should be identified.

* It upholds a limited number of exemptions for some compound ingredients used in small quantities.

* It draws up a list of ingredients causing the majority of food allergies or intolerances, for which no labelling exemption is permitted, even when these ingredients are present in alcoholic beverages.

* It provides for a procedure for updating the above-mentioned list after an opinion has been obtained from the European Food Safety Authority.

* As regards labelling ingredients which are used in small quantities, it makes provisions for measures to enable manufacturers to comply more easily with the additional labelling requirements.

3- COMMENTS ON THE COMMON POSITION

3.1. General remark

The common position adopted by the Council by a qualified majority represents a balanced compromise, including the majority of the measures proposed by the Commission whilst restricting the scope of the exemptions provided for, and is in keeping with the requests for amendments made by the European Parliament at first reading in order to increase the accuracy of the information which foodstuff labels must carry.

3.2. Amendments made by the European Parliament at first reading

Amendments incorporated in the Commission's amended proposal:

The Commission has included in its amended proposal the amendments adopted at first reading by the European Parliament and accepted by the Commission. All these amendments appear in the common position in a form which should satisfy the European Parliament.

Differences between the common position and the amended proposal:

- Exemptions from the obligation to indicate the components of certain compound ingredients (ingredients whose composition is governed by Community legislation in force) and to comply with the presentation requirements for the list of ingredients are allowed only for ingredients accounting for less than 2% of the finished product, instead of the 5% proposed by the Commission. This compromise stems from the European Parliament's wish to dispense with the exemptions in question in order to provide consumers with more detailed information and affords a certain amount of flexibility, which the Commission advocates to enable manufacturers to meet the much more stringent foodstuff labelling requirements.

- It is no longer possible not to repeat an ingredient as long as the label carries an explanatory note. This was in response to the European Parliament's request. The Commission initially upheld this measure but, given the practical difficulties in applying it, accepts its being deleted.

- The list of allergenic ingredients should be reviewed and updated systematically to reflect scientific advances and not just every two years. Moreover, when the list is updated, ingredients may be taken off it if there is scientific evidence that they are no longer allergenic. The Commission also accepted the request of several Member States to make a declaration on this matter. This declaration is attached. The Commission endorses this approach which establishes the principle that the list should be revised whenever it is necessary and is also in keeping with that advocated by the European Parliament, whose amendment could not be accepted in its original form.

- Celery and mustard and their derived products are added to the list of allergenic substances. This is also in line with the European Parliament's request.

The Commission takes the view that any addition to the list must be based on the opinion of the Scientific Committee on Food, which it has asked to recommend suitable criteria. However, it accepts the addition of the two ingredients mentioned above, since all the Member States report an increase in cases of allergies to these foodstuffs.

4- CONCLUSIONS

For the above reasons, the Commission supports the common position adopted by the Council.

5- COMMISSION DECLARATIONS

At the request of several delegations in the Council, the Commission has made the following declarations:

- Declaration on the opinion requested from the Scientific Committee on Food.

- Declaration on the definition of Community legislation under Article 1(1)(d) of the common position.

These declarations are attached to this Communication.

ANNEX

COMMISSION DECLARATIONS

1. The Commission declares that it has already asked for the opinion of the Scientific Committee on Food with a view to adapting Annex I (which will become Annex IIIa of Directive 2000/13/EC) as soon as possible, if this is justified from a scientific point of view. This request also covers all the ingredients listed in Annex IIIa, including products derived from cereals, and the Scientific Committee on Food is asked to say whether it is possible for certain derived ingredients to have lost their allergenic effect as a result of the production process or being incorporated in certain foods and whether these ingredients can be removed from Annex IIIa and hence be exempt from the labelling requirement.

2. The Commission declares that the "Community legislation" referred to in Article 1(1)(d) is the legislation laying down harmonised standards for the composition of certain foodstuffs.

The texts currently covered by this definition are the directives on :

- cocoa and chocolate products,

- fruit juices and certain similar products,

- fruit preserves, jellies and marmalades.