ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(75)307
Vol.1975/0107

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUSOPEAN COMMUMTIES
COM(75)307 final .
Brussels ,19June 1975
\ .>
v •■».****••»#*#%
Proposal for a
COUNCIL DIRECTIVE
fixing themaximum level oferucic acid infats
andoilandmargarine forfood .
Proposal for a
REGULATION (EEC )OPTHECOUNCIL
/
amending Regulation (EEC)Ho657/75onthestandard
quality forcolza andrape seed
(submitted totheCouncil bytheCommission )
/
COM(75 )307final .

iJxplanatory note
Therehavebeenseveralreportsmboththepopularandscientificpressreferring
tothepossibleharmfuleffectsoftheconsumption ofrapeseedoil.The
CommissionthereforeaskedtheScientific CommitteeforFoodtospecifythe
»
stateofourknowledgeconcerningtheeffectsthatmightresultfromthe
consumption ofrapeseedoil.
TheCommitteerecommendedthatwhenrapeseedoilswereusedforhumanconsumption
preferenceshould'begivento"thevarietieswithlowlevelsoflongchainfatty
acids(C22orhigher).TheCommitteealsorecommendedthatastheeffects
reportedforrapeseedmaynotbeuniquetotheseoils,furtherresearchonlong
chainfattyacidsandonoilsandfatsusedinfoodwasnecessary.
Thepresentproposalisintendedtoimplementthisadviceinapracticalway.
ThescopeoftheDirectiveincludesallfatsandoilswhichmightcontainthis
4
acid.Itisnotintendedthatthemeasureswillpreventthecurrentpracticeof
blendingfatsandoilsforconsumption assuch,orinthemanufactureofcompound
foodscontainingfatsandoilsasingredientsorcomponents (e.g.margarine)
providingthattheleveloferucicacidinthefatoroilintheproductto
beconsumeddoesnotexceedthelevelstipulated.
Thesemeasureshavebeenproposedasamatterofprudenceuntilthefurther
research,whichhasalreadybeenputintooperationbytheCommission,hasbeen
completed.ItisenvisagedthattheScientific CommitteeforFoodwillbe
requestedtoexaminetheseandanyotherdatawhichbecomeavailableinthe
meantimeonotheroilsandfatswhichmaycontainsimilarlongchainfatty
acidswhichmayprovokethesamekindofeffect.

-2-
5»Forexpediencythisproposalisbeingconsideredinisolationfromthe
discussiononlegislationforfatsandoilsingeneral,andformargarine.V
However,themeasuresnowproposedmaybeassimilatedwithinthescopeofthe
legislation onthesematerials.
6«Consultation withtheEuropeanParliamentisrequired.
Consultation withtheEconomicandSocialCommitteeisdesirableinview
ofthenatureoftheproposalwhichrelatestofoodlaw.

ProposalforaCouncilDirectivefixingthemaximumleveloferucicacidin
fatsand.oilsandmargarineforfood.
THECOUNCILOPTHEEUROPEAN CO.*.-UNITIES,
HavingregardtotheTreatyestablishing theEuropeanEconomicCommunity,and
inparticulararticle43thereof;
HavingregardtotheproposalfromtheCommission ;
HavingregardtotheopinionoftheEuropeanParliament ;
HavingregardtotheopinionoftheEconomicandSocialCommittee 5
Whereastheingestionofhighlevelsofrapeseedoilhasbeenshowntoproduce
undesirableeffectsonexperimental animals 5buttheapplicability ofthese
undesirableeffectstomanhasnotbeencompletelydemonstrated ;
Whereastheseeffectsappeartobeprincipally duetoerucicacid,oneofthe
componentsofthisoil;
Whereasotherediblefatsandoilscontainerucicacid;
Whereasfurtherresearchisatpresentinprogress,onrapeseedoilandother
oilsandfats,butasamatterofprudence,untiltheseresultsareknown,the
ingestionoferucicacidshouldberestricted ;
Whereasthisrestriction canbeachievedbyprogressively reducingthelevel
permittedinoilsandfatsandinmargarinefordirectconsumption orusedas
ingredientsin,orcomponentsof,morecomplexfoods;
Whereasthefixingofmethodsofsamplingandanalysisnecessaryfordetermining
theleveloferucicacidintheproductconsideredareimplementing measuresofa
technicalnature 5whereastheiradoptionshouldbeentrustedtotheCommission
inordertosimplifyandexpeditetheprocedure }
WhereasinallcasesinwhichtheCouncilconfersontheCommissionauthorityto
implementrulesrelatingtofoodstuffs ,aprocedureshouldbelaid,downestablishing
closecooperation betweentheMemberStatesandtheCommissionwithintheStanding
CommitteeonFoodstuffssetupbytheCouncilDecisionof13November19^9(1)•;
Whereas,havingregardtotheresultsofcertainfurtherresearchatpresentin
progress,thelevelsoferucicacidhereinlaiddownshallbosubjecttorevision;
(1)O.J.N°L291of19.11.69,P.9.

HASADOPTSDTIIISDIRECTIVE
....... . i.rticjc 1
Thisdirectiveappliestofats,oilsandtiioirmixturesandtomargarinewhich
a)asfinishedproductsareintended ,tobeccnrjiroddirectlybym^n;
b)without "beingsubmittedpreviouslytootherpreparationsortransformations ,
areusedassuchinthefabrication ofcompoundfoods,
Article2
Theleveloferucic,acidoftheproductsreferredtoinArticle 1,calculatedon
thetotalleveloffattyacidsinthefatcomponent,shallbenotgreatertl-an
a)15/oduringtheperiodfrom1July1976until30June1977*
b)10$from1July1977.
Article3
Thesamplingproceduresandmethodsofanalysisforthedetermination ofthelevel
oferucicacidoftheproductsreferredtoinArticle 1shallbedeterminedin'
accordancewiththeprocedurelaiddowninArticleA.
Article4
- S
1.WheretheprocedurelaiddowninthisArticleistobefollowed,themattershal
bereferredtotheStandingCommitteeonFoodstuffs,setupbytheCouncil
Decisionof13November1969(hereinaftercalled"theCommittee")byitsChairmai
eitheronhisowninitiativeorattherequestofarepresentative ofaMemberSi
2.Therepresentative oftheCommission'shallsubmittotheCommitteeadraftoft!i
measurestobetaken.TheCommitteeshallgiveitsopiniononthatdraftwithin
thetimelimitrjetbytheChairmanhavingregardtotheurgencyofthemaiter.
Opinionsshallbeadoptedbyamajorityofforty-onevotesthevotesofthe
iiomberStatesbeingweightedasprovidedinArticle148(2)oftheTreaty.The
Chairmanshallnotvote.
3.(a)Wherethemeasuresenvisagedareinaccordancewiththeopinionofthe
Committee,theCommissionshalladoptthem.
(b)Wherethemeasuresenvisagedarenotinaccordancewiththeopinionofthe
Committee,orifnoopinionisdelivered,theCommissionshallwithoutdelay
submittotheCouncilaproposalonthemeasurestobetaken.TheCouncil
sha.llactbyaqualifiedmajority.
(c)If,withinthreemonthsoftheproposalbeingsubmittedtoit,theCouncil
hasnotacted,theproposedmeasuresshallbeadoptedbytheCommission.

-3-
Article5
1.MemberStatesshallifnecessary,before;1April,1975*amendtheirlaws
toconformwiththeprevisionsofthisDirectiveandshallimmediately inform
theCommission .
2.Thelawsthusamendedshallapplyinaccordancewiththedateslaiddownin
Article2.
However,MemberStatesmay*permit«up-tcBecrember "1*976"the"saleatretail
stageofproductswhichdonotcomplywiththeprovisionsofthisDirective
ifitisestablishedthattheseproductshadbeenmanufactured before1July1976.
Article6
ThisDirectiveisaddressedtotheIlemberStates.
I

EXPLÂNATORY NOTE
Inaccordancewiththeresolutionadopted "bytheCouncilon11February1975»
theCommissionherebypresentstotheCouncilthemeasureswfiiohitconsiders^
appropriatetoresolvetheproblemstowhichthepresenceoferucjoacid
incolzaseedgivesrise.

COMMtXHTCATION "FRC&ITHECQHMISSIOU TOTHECOUNCIL concerning theproblemes presented J
"bythepresence oferucic acid incolza seeds . !
!
1.-When adopting theagricultural prices forthemarketing year 1975/76on11February
J19751"theCouncil adopted thefollowing Resolution :
"TheCouncil ofMinisters oftheCommunity notes therecommendations made "bythe
Scientific Committee forFood initsopinion oncolza oilissued on16.12.1974 *
TheCouncil considers that further research isnecessary onlong-chain fatty .acids
and fat oils used inhuman foodstuffs#
Pending theoutcome ofsuch research theCouncil nevertheless calls ontheCom­
\
tmission .inaspirit ofcaution ,tosubmit health proposals assoon aspossible
along thelines oftheopinion oftheScientific Committee forFood totheeffeot i
that ,where colza oilis-used infood ,preference should begiven tocolza oil !
having alowerucic acid,.content . |
TheCouncil also asks thiCommission toinvestigage the advir.sability ofmodifying j
i
«theorganization ofthemarket .inoils andfats ,soastoencourage colza producers j
touse varieiiss having alowerucic acid content ,andtosubmit appropriate pro­
posals "before 1July 1975 *
2.-Inaccordance with this Resolution ,theCommission presents totheCouncil a
proposal foradirective ,thedraft ofwhich isattached tothis Communication ,
onthefiKing ofamaximum erucic acid content foroils andfats ,andalso for
margarine ,intended forhuman consumption .
This directive isscheduled toenter into force on1July 1976 .Theaimofthedi­
rective istogive practical effect totheOpinion oftheScientific Committee for
Food .Itapplies toalloils andfats which maycontain this aoid .Theproposed
measures arenotintended toprohibit the common practice ofblending oils and
fats which aretobeconsumed in vanunaltered state orwhich aretobeused inthe I
manufacture ofmore complex foodstuffs ofwhich fats oroils areingredients or
components (e.g. ,margarine ),provided that theerucic acid content ofthefator
oilcontained intheproduct when ready forconsumption does notexoeed the \
I'
prescribed limit .Itisequally necessary toproceed gradually towards thelimi- i
ting oftheerucic acid content byfixing amaximum content beginning with the
1976/77marketing year ,taking into aocount thenecessity toprotect theconsumers'
interest .
dhese provisions areproposed asaprecautionary measure pending theoutcome of
further studies which the Commission has inhand .The Scientific Committee on
Food v;ill beinvited toconsider theresults ofthis work andalso anyother in­
formation becoming available inthe inteiim asregards other oils andfats which
maycontain similar long-chain fatty acids likely toproduce the same king of
effects .

-2-
Forthesakeofconvenience ,thisdraftdirectiveisbeingkeptseparatefromthe
discussiononthelegislationrelatingtooilsa^dfatsingeneralandalsoto
margarine.However,theproposedmeasuresmaybeincorporated inthetextofthe
legislationrelatingtothoaeproducts.
3.-TheCommissionconsidersthatthedirectiveonoilsandfatswillencouragepro­
ducerstousevariHtiesofcolzaseedswithalowerucicacidcontent.Morethan
ofthecolzaoilusedintheCommunityareusedinfoodstuffs andthelimit
imposedbythedirectivewillmakeitmoredifficulttodisposeofcolzaseeds
withahighacidcontentonthemarketinoilsforhumanconsumption.
However,thedirectivedoesnotseem^itselfasufficientfactortobringabouta
generalconversionofproducerstothenewvarieties.
4.-Duringthediscussions heldintheCouncil,itwassuggestedthatthesubsidyon
colzaseedswithahigherucicacidcontentshouldbeabolishedofdifferentiated .
Suchameasurecannotbecontemplated ,forthereisaspecificdemandfromthe
chemicalindustryforcolzaseedswithahigherucicacidcontentandthis
industrymustbeallowedto"obtainthebasicmaterialwhiohitrequireswithin
theCommunity.
Thisspecificdemandisforbetween80000and120COOmetrictonsofcolzaseeds.
Furthermore ,adifferentiated subsidyaccordingtotheerucioacidcontentwould
presentdifficultproblemsofcontrol.
Inordertoencourageproducerstousethenewvarieties,theCommissionproposes
"-hat,fromthemarketingyear197^/77»interventionshouldapplyonlytocolza
fjeeasnotexceedinganerucicacidcontenttobedetermined ,andthataguarantee
shouldbegiventotheproducersofcolzawithahigherucicacidcontentby
meansoftheconclusionofcontractsbetweenproducersandtheprocessingindus­
triesconcerned.Theresultingamendmenttotherules,whichisnowaydetracts
fromtheoverallguaranteegiventoCommunityproducersofcolza,willbeadopted
inaccordancewiththeprocedurecontainedinArticle38ofCouncilRegulation
Ho136/66/rHCof22September1966ontheestablishment ofacommonorganization
ofthemarketinoilsandfats,i.e.,inaccordancewiththeprocedureofthe
Management CommitteeforOilsandFats.
5.-ProducersofcolzaseedsinsomeMemberStateshavebeenledbycircumstances
nottoawaittheCommunitymeasuresbeforebeginningtocoverttheiroropsof
colzaandusevarietieswithalowerucicacidcontent.ThisistrueofFrance,
whereproducerschangedvarietieswhensowingthecropsinautumn1973andof
GermanyandtheUnitedKingdom,wherethesameoperationtookplaceinautumn1974»
Althoughthechangewasonlypartialinthethreecasesandtheoldandnew

varieties were often mixed ,theCommission isnevertheless pleased atthevolun­
tary effort byproducers tofollow theguideline laid down bytheCommunity ,
aneffort which isallthemore praiseworthy inthat ,when aneworop issubsti­
tuted foraconventional crop ,difficult technical problems often occur which
until overcome canlead todisappointing yields andrevenue .
TheCommission hasinfact been informed that thenewvarieties have ayield
per hectare andanoil content which islower than those ofthe conventional
varieties .
Responsibility forthedecrease inyield perhectare which wasrecorded in
Frence last year andwhich ,according tothesurveys carried outonthespot ,
seems likely tooccur this jcear ,particularly inGermany ,should notbeattributed
entirely tothenewvarieties ,since badweather andtechnical difficulties may
have played animportant part .
Inthese circumstances theCommission provisionally considers that theproblem
which apossible reduction inyield perhectare maypresent toproducers cannot
besolved inthecontext oftheorganization ofthemarket .
SheCommission therefore wonders whether some steps could perhaps betaken to
help producers toovercome thetechnical problems presented bythenewvarieties
ofcolza .
Experience hasshown ,however ,that thenewvarieties ofcolza have alower oilcon­
tent .For1975/75,thenewvarieties represent two-thirds oftheCommunity produc­
tion ofcolza .Inthese circumstances ,andinview oftheeffort byproducers ,
theCommission feels that there isjustification fortaking into account theeffeot
upon producers' income ofthelower oilcontent ofthenewvarieties .Although
theprices ofthemarketing year 1975/76have already been fixed bytheCouncil
andalthough those prices arebased onthestandard quality (2/&impurities ,
9/6moisture content and42$oil),theCommission considers that theoircumstances
.justify anamendment totheCouncil decision ,namely thechanging oftheoil
content ofthestandard quality from 42to40$.This deoision must betaken in
time toenter into force on1July 1975 *
Inview oftheurgency oftheproblem ,theCommission hasdeoided toattach to
this Ccmmuni cationadraft proposal foraregulation amending Council Regulation
(ESC)ITo657/75fixing thetarget prices andbasic intervention prioes foroils
seeds forthe1975/76marketing year .

-4-
Furthermore ,topreventthebenefitsresultingfromtheamendmentofthestandard ,
qualityfromdevolvingentirelyuponproducersofoolzawithahigheruoioaoid
content,theCommissionintendstoadopt,undertheManagementCommitteeproce­
dure,aprovisionwherebytherewouldbenopriceincreaseforcolzaseedswhich
hadanoilcontentbetween4042Joandwhichwasputupforintervention
duringthemarketingyear1975/76*
Inthelightofexperienceinthemarketingyear1975/76,theCommissionreserves
therighttoproposeanynecessaryamendmentstotheorganization ofthemarket
inordertoensurethattheobjectivessetbytheCouncilinitsResolifcaonof
11February1975arefullyattained.

proposaifora
REGULATION (EEC)No..../75OPTHECOUNCIL
amendingRegulation (EEC)NO657/75onthestandardqualityforcolzaand
rapeseed
THECOUNCILOPTHEEUROPEANCOMMUNITIES,
HavingregardtotheTreatyestablishing theEuropeanEeonomioCommunity,andin.
particularArticle43thereof;
HavingregardtoCouncilRegulationNo136/66/ESC^^of22Septembre1966onthe
establishment ofacommonorganization ofthemarketinoilsandfats,aslast
amendedbyRegulation(EEC)No1707/73,andinparticularthethirdsubpara­
graphofArticle22(l)thereof;
HavingregardtotheproposalfromtheCommission }
HavingregardtotheOpinionoftheEuropeanParliament;
HavingregardtotheOpinionoftheEconomicandSocialCommittee;
WhereasCouncilRegulation(EEC)No657/75^^of4March1975fixingthetarget
pricesandbasicinterventionpricesforoilseedsforthe1975/76marketing
yearlaiddowninArticle2thereofthestandardquantitiesforwhiohthese
pricesarefixed;
Whereasitappearsthat,duetotheusageofnewvarietiesofcolzawhichhave
aloweracicacidcontent,theaveragequalityofcolzaseed.willbelowerthanthe
averagequalityofpreviousharvests;whereas,inparticularwithregardtothe
oilcontent,thisdifferencewouldcausealosstotheproduoers;whereas
toavoidthisdisadvantage thestandardqualityofcolzaandrapeseedshouldbe
adapted,
HASADOPTES (MISREGULATION Ï
(1)OJNo172,30.9.1966,p.3025/66
(2)OJNoL175,29.6.1973,P.5
(3)OJNoL72,20.3.1975 »P.3

"Article1
With,effectfrom1July1975»"thetextofArticle2(a)ofRegulation(EBC)NO657/75
shall "bereplaced "bythefollowingtext:
"a)withanimpuritycontentof2%and,forseedsassuch,ahumidityandoil
11contentof9$andA&forespectivelyinthecaseofcolzaandrapeseeds."
Article2
ThisRegulationshallenterintoforceonthethirddayfollowingitspublication
intheOfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities.
ThisRegulationshallbebindinginitsentiretyanddirectlyapplicableinall
MemberStates.
Doneat FortheCounoil

Date * 12.6.1975
1*Ligne "budgétaire concernée : 'jj «jArt»633Interventions graines oléagineuses (aide production ;
2.Intitulé del'action î . -
Projet derèglement duConseil modifiant le,règlement (CEE)n657/75enoequi
conoerne laqualité type desgraines deoolza etdenavette .
3.Base juridique :Résolution duConseil du11*2.1975
4.Objectifs del'action : ,Incitation auxproducteurs àneplusutiliser lesanciennes variétés deoolza à
forte teneur enacide éruoique .
5«0Cout del'aotion tipendant lacampa-!exeroioe encours exercice suivant
gne (1975 ) (1976 )
Iàlacharge duBudget delaCE 5,25 mioÜC 2,5mioUC 2,75 mi0UC
Iàlaoharge desaûm»nationales1
I
Iàlacharge d'autres seoteurs 4
1 nationaux
I5*1Eohéanoes pluriannuelles s année 197" annee 1977 année 197°
5,3 HiioUC 5,3mioUC 5,3 raioUC
5.2Mode decalcul
Lechangement delaqualité type apour effet d'augmenter l'aide pour lesgraines
deoolza etdenavette de0,525 UC/lOOkg.
Suruneréoolte de1,1miotonnes ,ladépense supplémentaire sera de5»25 UC.
6.1Financement possible parcrédits inscrits auchapitre concerné dans leBudget en
cours d'exécution OUI*
possible parvirement entre chapitres diTBudget "en
6^3Nécessité d'tmBudygj^aj>g»4rénrgrr^Tre •• T
6.4Crédits àinscrire dans lesbudgets futurs
OUI
Observations :*Lesdépenses quirésultent despropositions sont donc denature a
pouvoir être financées moyennant lescrédits disponibles pour 1975 »
Elles concernent leposte suivant :
Crédits 1975 Avances 1.1-30.6.75 Dépenses 1974
poste 633aide àlaproduction 70*000.000 (l) 2.036.000 10.263.000
(l)Ilestànoter quedans lecadre del'incidence financière despropositions de
prix ilaététenu compte d'uneéconomie autitre delaconjoncture de30mioUC
(doo.COM(74 )2001 ,p.57)