29. 8. 85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 218/1 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the Member 
States relating to modified starches intended for human consumption (*) 
(85/C 218/01) 
On 18 January 1985 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under 
Article 100 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the abovementioned 
proposal. 
The Section for Protection of the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Affairs, which was 
responsible for preparing the Committee's work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 4 June 1985 in 
the light of the report by Mr Zinkin. 
At its 228th plenary session (meeting of 3 July 1985) the Economic and Social Committee 
unanimously adopted the following opinion: 
1. General comments 
1.1. The Committee approves the Commission proposal 
subject to the following comments. 
1.2. The Committee believes that it would be 
advantageous to have pne Directive covering all starches as 
proposed in the original programme of 1973 since the 
problems of harmonization exist for all starches and not just 
for modified starches. 
2. Specific comments 
2.1. Articles 2 and 4 
It would make for clarity if these two articles were combined 
using some such expression as 
'Member States shall authorize the marketing and use of 
all food starches covered by this Directive as meeting the 
specification and purity criteria of Annexes 1 and 2 and 
shall authorize no others, except as provided under 
Article 5'. 
2.2. Article 7 (1) (a) 
The Committee would suggest that the Directive should lay 
down the way in which the constituents of a mixture should be designated by requiring, in the case of a straightforward 
mixture, that the components should be quoted by 
mentioning the specific names or letters linked by a plus sign 
and, in the case of dual treatment, by mentioning the specific 
names or letters linked by an oblique sign, e.g. D/H. 
2.3. Article 7 (1) (b) 
The Committee considers that were there to be a general 
Directive covering all food starches it would be sufficient to 
put the words 'food starch' on the label. 
2.4. Article 7 (1) (d) 
The Committee believes that it would make for more certain 
identification if the alternative of the date of manufacture 
were omitted. 
2.5. Article 7 (2) 
The first paragraph should refer to the information in 
paragraph 1 (e) as well as that in paragraphs 1 (a) and 
(d). . 
2.6. Report 
H OJNoC31, 1. 2. 1985, p. 6. A number of technical suggestions, including a list of 
definitions, are set out in the report. 
No C 218/2 Official Journal of the European Communities 29. 8. 85 
mis-spellings and minor errors in the Annex which need to be 
corrected. The corrections suggested are incorporated in the 
attached revised Annex I. The Committee notes also that in 
certain cases there is controversy about the technical 
provisions in the Annex, e.g. on the maximum quantity of 
propylene chlorhydrin residues where the specification for 
the finished products ref. 'K' and ref. 'R' calls for a maximum 
0,1 mg/kg residue of propylene-chlorhydrin, whereas a limit 
of 1 mg/kg was indicated in the first report on modified 
starches (1976) of the Scientific Committee for Food. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Gerd MUHR 
ANNEX 1 
LIST OF MODIFIED STARCHES 
Notes . 
1. The raw materials used may be dry, moist or in an aqueous suspension. 
2. The percentages given relate to the dry material (m/m). 
Reference 
letter 
A 
B 
C 
D 
E 
F 
G 
H Denomination 
White or yellow dextrin. 
Roasted or dextrinized 
starch 
Acid treated starch 
Alkali treated starch 
Oxidized starch 
Bleached starch 
Monostarch phosphate 
Acetylated starch, 
starch acetate 
Acetylated distarch 
adipate Treatment 
Dry heat treatment in the presence of not more than 
0,15 % hydrochloric acid or not more than 0,17 % 
orthophosphoric acid (E 338) 
Treatment with not more than 7 % hydrochloric acid or 
not more than 2 % sulphuric acid or not more than 7 % 
orthophosphoric acid (E 338) 
Treatment with not more than 1 % sodium hydroxide or 
potassium hydroxide 
Treatment with sodium hypochlorite, using not more 
than 5,5 % available chlorine 
Treatment with peracetic acid and/or hydrogen peroxide 
using not more than 0,45 % active oxygen, or with 
sodium hypochlorite using not more than 0,82 % avail­
able chlorine, or with 0,5 % maximum sodium chlorite; 
or with sulphur dioxide (E 220) or other permitted forms 
of sulphites (E 221 - E 227); 
or with not more than 0,2 % potassium permanganate, 
or with not more than 0,075 % ammonium 
persulphate 
Esterification with orthophosphoric acid (E 338), 
sodium (E 339) or potassium (E 340) orthophosphate or 
sodium tripolyphosphate (E 450 b) 
Esterification with not more than 10 % acetic anhy­
dride 
Esterification with not more than 7,5 % vinyl acetate 
Esterification with not more than 10 % acetic anhydrides 
and not more than 0,12 % adipic anhydrides Specification of the 
finished product 
Final pH of 2,5 to 7,0 
Final pH of 4,8 to 7,0 
Final pH of 5,0 to 7,5 
Not more than 1,1 % of carboxyl 
groups 
Not more than 0,1 % of added 
carboxyl groups 
No residual reagent 
Not more than 50 mg / kg of residual 
manganese 
Not more than 0,5 % residual 
phosphate, calculated as 
phosphorus in the case of potato 
starch or wheat starch, or not more 
than 0,4 % in the case of other 
starches 
Not more than 2,5 % acetyl 
groups 
Not more than 2,5 % acetyl 
groups 
Not more than 2,5 % acetyl 
groups 2.7. Annex 1 
2.7.1. The Committee would ask the Commission to 
decide whether or not starch sodium octenyl succinates can 
be added to the list in this Annex before the Directive is 
issued. This starch is already permitted in certain Member 
States of the Community and Article 5 allows this permission 
to be continued. It should therefore be possible to come to a 
decision reasonably quickly. -
2.7.2 The Committee notes that there are various 
Done at Brussels, 3 July 1985. 
29. 8. 85 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 218/3 
Reference 
letter 
I 
J 
K 
N 
R Denomination 
Distarch phosphate 
Acetylated distarch 
phosphate 
Hydroxypropyl starch 
Phosphated distarch 
phosphate 
Hydroxypropyl distarch 
phosphate Treatment 
Esterification with sodium trimetaphosphate 
Esterification with not more than 0,1 % phosphorus 
oxychloride 
Esterification with sodium trimetaphosphate or with not 
more than 0,1 % phosphorus oxychloride combined 
with esterification with not more than 10 % acetic 
anhydride or not more than 7,5 % vinyl acetate 
Etherification with more than 10 % propylene oxide 
Combination of the treatment under F and I 
Esterification with sodium trimetaphosphate or phos­
phorus oxychloride, combined with etherification with 
not more than 10 % propylene oxide Specification of the 
finished product 
Not more than 0,14 % residual 
phosphate, calculated as 
phosphorus in the case of potato 
starch and wheat starch, or not 
more than 0,04 % in the case of 
other starches 
Not more than 0,14 % residual 
phosphate, calculated as 
phosphorus in the case of potato 
starch and wheat starch, or not 
more than 0,04 % in the case of 
other starches 
Not more than 2,5 % acetyl groups 
and not more than 0,14 % residual 
phosphate, calculated as phos­
phorus in the case of potato starch 
and wheat starch, or not more than 
0,04 % in the case of other 
starches 
Not more than 0,1 mg/kg 
(0,1 ppm) propylene chlorhy-
drins (*) 
Not more than 0,5 % residual 
phosphate, calculated as 
phosphorus in the case of potato 
and wheat starch, or not more than 
0,4 % in the case of other 
starches 
Not more than 0,1 mg/kg 
(0,1 ppm) propylene chlorhy-
drin (*), and not more than 0,14 % 
residual phosphate, calculated as 
phosphorus in the case of potato 
starch and wheat starch, or not 
more than 0,04 % in the case of 
other starches 
(') See paragraph 2.7.2 of text. 
Opinion on the 
— proposal for a Council Regulation on the promotion, by the granting of financial support, of 
demonstration projects relating to the exploitation of alternative energy sources and to energy 
saving and the substitution of hydrocarbons 
and on the 
— proposal for a Council Regulation on the promotion, by the granting of financial support, of pilot 
industrial projects and demonstration projects relating to the liquefaction and gasification of solid 
fuels 0) 
(85/C 218/02) 
On 6 March 1985 the Council decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article 
198 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, on the abovementioned 
proposals. 
The Section for Energy and Nuclear Questions which was responsible for preparing the Committee's 
work on the subject adopted its opinion on 7 June 1985. The rapporteur was Mr Flum. 
At its 228th plenary session (meeting of 3 July 1985) the Economic and Social Committee 
unanimously adopted the following opinion: 
(») OJ No C 109, 3. 5. 1985, pp. 3 to 11.