No C 73/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 21. 3. 89 
"Whereas the provisions of this Directive in no way 
prejudice the obligations placed on Member States by 
Council Directives 80/68/EEC of 17 December 1979 on 
the protection of groundwater against pollution caused 
by certain dangerous substances (') and 80/779/EEC of 15 July 1980 on air quality limit values and guide values 
for sulphur dioxide and suspended particulates (*); 
Whereas this Directive creates no special problems for 
less developed economies. 
0) OJ No L 20, 26. 1. 1980, p. 43. (2) OJ No L 229, 30. 8. 1980, p. 30. 
Amended proposal for a Council Decision adopting a research and technological development 
programme in the field of food science and technology (1989 to mid-1993) — Food-linked 
agro-industrial research (Flair) (') 
COM(89) 77 final — SYN 140 
(Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149 (3) of the EEC Treaty on 17 February 
1989) 
(89/C 73/08) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular to Article 130Q 
(2) thereof, Community actions, which include that of contributing 
to the strengthening of the economic and social cohesion 
of the Community, consistent with the pursuit of 
scientific and technical quality; 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
In cooperation with the European Parliament, Whereas a multiannual programme of research and 
development in the field of food science and technology 
(Flair) will assist in the combined progress in public 
health and consumer protection with industrial and 
economic development within the Community; 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas Article 130K of the Treaty stipulates that the 
framework programme shall be implemented through 
specific programmes developed within each of its acti­
vities; Whereas having regard to the fact that the specialized 
skills and capabilities relevant to food technology are 
numerous, and Europe's most internationally competitive 
capabilities are located in diverse Member States, general 
benefit shall be derived from collaboration in a 
Community programme; 
Whereas by its Decision 87/516/Euratom, EEC (2), the 
Council adopted a framework programme of 
Community research and technological development 
(1987 to 1991), providing for activities to be 
implemented to ensure the exploitation and maximum 
use of biological resources; Whereas four Community-COST concertation 
agreements on four concerted action projects in the field 
of food science and technology (5) have produced 
encouraging results, and further initiatives in the COST 
framework in this field, are underway; 
Whereas the framework programme sets out criteria to 
evaluate each specific programme and to select 
(') OJ No C 306, 1. 12. 1988, p. 13. 
O OJ No L 302, 24. 10. 1987, p. 1. C) OJ No L 54, 25. 2. 1978, p. 25; 
OJ No L 270, 27. 10. 1979, p. 53; 
OJ NoL39, 15. 2. 1980, p. 30; 
OJ No L 350, 23. 12. 1980, p. 54; 
OJ No L 353, 15. 12. 1982, p. 25; and 
OJNoL 151, 7. 6. 1984, p. 46. 
21. 3. 89 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 73/7 
Whereas the participation of European non-member 
States wholly or partially with projects in this 
programme is desirable; 
Whereas it is desirable to involve small- and 
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to the maximum extent 
possible in this food science and technology research and 
development programme, and to provide SMEs and 
cooperatives particularly in the Community's less-
favoured regions with a maximum amount of infor­
mation on the results of that programme; 
Whereas the Scientific and Technical Research 
Committee (Crest) has expressed its opinion on the 
Commission's proposal, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 
Article 1 
A specific research and technological development 
programme for the European Economic Community in 
the field of food technology, as defined in the Annex, is 
hereby adopted for a period of four years, from 1 July 
1989. 
Article 2 
The funds estimated as necessary for the execution of 
the programme amount to ECU 25 million, including 
expenditure on a staff of five. 
Article 3 
The programme shall consist of work carried out as 
concerted and shared-cost actions, and by training/ 
mobility grants. 
Detailed rules for implementing the programme are set 
out in the Annex. 
Article 4 
In the third year of the programme implementation and 
in the light of the interim results achieved, the 
Commission shall undertake a review and report to the 
Council and the European Parliament on the results 
thereof, together, if necessary, with any proposals for 
modification of the content and funding or prolongation. 
An evaluation of the results achieved shall be conducted 
by independent experts and published in the form of a 
communication to the Council and the European 
Parliament. 
The abovementioned reports shall be established having 
regard to the objectives set out in the Annex to this 
Decision, in particular for the improvement of food safety and quality for the consumer, and in conformity 
with the provisions of Article 2 (2) of the framework 
programme. 
Article 5 
The Commission shall be responsible for implementing 
the programme. 
The Commission shall be assisted by a committee of an 
advisory nature, hereinafter referred to as 'the 
committee', composed of the representatives of the 
Member States and chaired by the representative of the 
Commission. 
Article 6 
1. The Commission shall submit to the committee a 
draft of the measures to be taken. The committee shall 
deliver its opinion within a time limit which the chairman 
may lay down according to the urgency of the matter, if 
necessary by taking a vote. 
2. The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes of the 
committee; in addition, each Member State shall have 
the right to have its position recorded in the minutes. 
3. The Commission shall take the utmost account of 
the opinion delivered by the committee. It shall inform 
the committee of the manner in which its opinion has 
been taken into account. 
Article 7 
The Commission is authorized to negotiate, in 
accordance with Article 130N of the Treaty, agreements 
with international organizations, with those non-member 
States participating in European cooperation in the field 
of Scientific and Technological Research (COST) and 
with those European countries having concluded 
framework agreements in S/T cooperation with the 
Community, with a view to involving them wholly or 
partially in the concerted actions within this programme. 
Where framework agreements for scientific and technical 
cooperation between non-Community European 
countries and the European Community have been 
concluded, organizations and enterprises established in 
these countries may, under appropriate conditions to be 
defined by the Commission, become partners to a 
shared-cost project within this programme. 
No participant in shared-cost projects, who is established 
outside the Community, shall be entitled to Community 
financing. 
Article 8 
This Decision is addressed to the Member States. 
No C 73/8 Official Journal of the European Communities 21. 3. 89 
ANNEX 
for a specific research and technological development programme in the field of food science and technology 
(1989 to mid-1993) 
Objectives 
The objectives of the programme are to contribute to Europe's competitiveness in the food industry, to the 
improvement of food safety and quality for the consumer and to the strengthening of the food science and 
technology infrastructures in Europe. The programme will also contribute, in the context of the 
harmonious development of the internal market and, in the medium and longer terms, to strengthening 
economic and social cohesion in the Community. 
The programme is targetted at complementing existing initiatives in Member States through the devel­
opment of further collaborative linkages between different research groups and industries, and shall 
concentrate on the interface between food processing, food distribution and the consumer. The consumer 
demands for more natural and healthy foods with greater diversity, shall be met by the combined efforts of 
researchers and the food industry. 
This should contribute also to a better control of processes (including chemical treatment and additives) 
and a reduction of harmful residues while safeguarding food safety and quality. 
The programme shall avoid adverse effects on public health and the environment, and the creation of 
problems in respect of the protection and enhancement of nature. 
Content 
The research activities in this programme have been divided into three sectors. New or improved techno­
logies and processing innovations, which enhance food quality, safety and nutritive values, shall also be 
supported in each sector. 
1. Assessment and enhancement of food quality and diversity shall consist of research and development on: 
— quantitative measures of 'quality', 
— objective organoleptic and sensory criteria and their relationship to quality, 
— quantitative measurement of 'freshness' of processed foods, 
— the quality aspects of raw materials as they affect processing and end products, and 
— new or improved technologies and processing innovations which enhance food quality while also 
facilitating processing, and building consumer confidence, or which make possible greater diversity 
in the supply of foodstuffs. 
2. Food hygiene, safety and toxicological aspects shall concern research and development on: 
— improved rapid screening tests to predict potential toxicity factors, for example residues from agri­
cultural production, processing and environmental pollution, 
— the occurence of natural plant toxins and their effects on food, 
— predicting micro-organism growth rates, accelerated methods for specific organisms and total 
counts, 
— improved understanding of the relationship between food constituents and food allergies, and 
— the application of these tests in food processing and new food product development to ensure the 
safety of both processes and products. 
3. Nutrition and wholesomeness aspects shall consist of research and development on: 
— the evaluation of the effects of new or improved processing technologies and/or ingredient 
substitution on dietary, nutritional values and wholesomeness aspects of food, 
21. 3. 89 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 73/9 
— methodologies for the nutritional evaluation of foods, 
— the bioavailability of the nutritional constituents (e.g. vitamins and minerals) and the effects of 
processing, distribution, catering, storage and domestic use, 
— the nutritional and wholesomeness value of foods designed for particular uses (e.g. slimming or 
athletics) or important to sub-groups in the population (e.g. infants and the elderly), and 
— those new or improved processes and technologies which enhance the nutritional value and whole­
someness of foods. 
Implementation 
The programme shall consist of work carried out as concerted and shared-cost actions, and by training/ 
mobility grants. All projects shall be carried out by participants from more than one Member State (irres­
pective of participants from third countries), and shall aim at the creation of European networks of centres 
investigating the properties of foodstuffs. 
Participation in a concerted action is open to all Member States, to non-member European States which 
have concluded framework agreements in scientific and technological cooperation with the Community, 
and COST participating States. 
Participants in a project conducted as a shared-cost action, may be industrial enterprises, research 
institutions, universities or combinations of them, established in the Community or in those non-member 
European States which have concluded framework agreements in scientific and technological cooperation 
with the Community. 
As a general rule, research institutes and universities shall participate in a group together with one or more 
industrial organizations. Research institutes which are funded principally or exclusively by industrial 
organizations shall be considered as industrial participants. 
For those actions which are conducted on a shared-cost basis, the Community contribution shall not 
normally exceed 50 % of the total expenditure, the remainder to be provided mainly from industrial 
sources. In the case of universities and similar institutions this contribution alternatively may be up to 
100 % of the marginal costs. 
Training/mobility grants shall be included to facilitate the assembly of relevant skills at appropriate 
locations for the work of the projects, and to promote effective diffusion of the knowledge resulting from 
them. The programme shall also include coordination activities such as the organization of meetings, 
consultation with national experts and studies on related topics, such as structural and social effects of 
applications of the programme results. 
Special attention will be paid to the dissemination of the programme results, in order to maximise the 
effects of this work, and to allow all enterprises, particularly SME's, in all Member States to benefit 
directly. In this respect special efforts will be devoted to the less-favoured regions of the Community. 
The contracts entered into by the Commission shall regulate the rights and obligations of each party, in 
particular the methods of disseminating, protecting and exploiting the research results. 
Cooperation between the participants in project and consumer protection groups shall be encouraged. 
Evaluation criteria 
The Commission's communication to the Council, concerning a Community plan of action relating to the 
evaluation of Community research and development activities for the years 1987 to 1991 (COM(86) 660 
final), states that the objectives and milestones of each researchprogramme have to be set out in a testable 
form. These are set out below. 
1. The long-term objective of this programme is to contribute to the competitiveness of Europe's food 
industries, and to improved consumer protection and confidence, by strengthening the links between 
them through research and development. The Commission proposes to achieve this objective by 
launching a programme of concerted actions and shared-cost actions. The projects seek to promote 
the close collaboration between research and industrial groups, by their participation in research 
and technological development on food quality, hygiene, safety, toxicology, nutritional and 
wholesomeness values. 
No C 73/10 Official Journal of the European Communities 21. 3. 89 
2. The primary short-term objective is that the programme should succeed in eliciting proposals, for 
concerted actions (with national agreements) and for R&D shared-cost projects (with commitments to 
co-finance from industry), on a scale commensurate with the Community resources proposed. This 
objective shall be testable in 1991 to 1992. 
At this time, the programme should also demonstrate its promotion and encouragement of inter-
sectoral collaboration across the Member States and in Europe, in particular between enterprises 
including SMEs. 
3. Particular objectives to be attained within three years of the programme implementation are as 
follows: 
3.1. that improved food evaluation and assessment techniques have been developed, in particular sensory 
analysis, and that the results have given grounds to expect that they will find applications which will 
benefit industry and/or the consumer, 
3.2. that new or improved, rapid tests for food hygiene, safety and toxicological aspects have been 
developed; that advantages in terms of precision, effectiveness, or the avoidance of possible adverse 
side-effects have been indicated; and that as a result of the tests the products, techniques or services 
have practical applications for industry and/or the consumer; 
3.3. that research and development has been conducted on the nutritional value of foods; that useful tests 
have been developed to measure the nutritional value of food constituents, including the effects of 
processing; and that as a result the nutritional and wholesomeness values of those foods are enhanced; 
and 
3.4. that studies and tests have been conducted for the development of new or improved, novel processing 
technologies or innovations which enhance food quality, safety and nutritional value and that, as a 
result of such studies and projects, new applications have been found. 
4. In addition, the programme should ensure that the following general criteria are met: 
4.1. that the potential increase in market opportunities, in the medium or long-term, as a result of the 
improvements or benefits demonstrated, is of a size to justify the Community expenditures committed; 
4.2. that the consumer confidence in food research and industry is encouraged and high standards for 
consumer protection are maintained; 
4.3. that studies have been carried out on the potential structural and social effects of the application of the 
results; 
4.4. that the execution of the programme has avoided harmful effects on public health and the environ­
ment, and has not created problems with respect to the protection and enhancement of nature; 
4.5. taking account of the results of Community, national or private sector research activities in food 
science and technology, the evaluation panel shall consider whether the Flair programme has 
contributed to the application of the results of the said research activities in regions of the Community 
other than those in which the research was conducted, and has produced added value attributable to 
the Community character of the programme (i.e. not readily obtainable via Member State actions 
alone).