Proposal for a Council Directive relating to certain partly or wholly dehydrated preserved milk for human consumption

(96/C 231/05)

COM(95) 722 final - 96/0116(CNS)

(Submitted by the Commission on 30 May 1996)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 43 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 certain vertical Directives relating to foods should be simplified in order to take account only of the essential requirements to be met by the products they cover in order that those products may move freely within the internal market, in accordance with the conclusions of the European Council held in Edinburgh on 11 and 12 December 1992, confirmed by those of the European Council in Brussels on 10 and 11 December 1993;

Whereas attention should be paid to the drafting of Community law so as to make it more accessible, in accordance with the guidelines emerging from the Council Resolution of 8 June 1993 (1);

Whereas Council Directive 76/118/EEC of 18 December 1975 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to certain partly or wholly dehydrated preserved milk for human consumption (2), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal, was justified by the fact that differences between national laws concerning preserved milk could result in conditions of unfair competition likely to mislead consumers, and thereby have a direct effect on the establishment and functioning of the common market;

Whereas Directive 76/118/EEC was consequently designed to lay down definitions and common rules governing the composition, manufacturing specifications and labelling of certain preserved milk, so as to ensure its free movement within the Community;

Whereas Directive 76/118/EEC should be brought into line with general Community legislation on foodstuffs, particularly legislation on labelling, authorized additives, health and the rules on health laid down in Council Directive 92/46/EEC (3), as last amended by Directive 94/71/EC (4);

Whereas, for the sake of clarity, Directive 76/118/EEC should therefore be recast;

Whereas the general food-labelling rules set out in Council Directive 79/112/EEC (5), as last amended by Commission Directive 93/102/EC (6), should apply subject to certain derogations;

Whereas the addition of vitamins to the products defined in this Directive is authorized in certain Member States; whereas, however, no decision can be taken to extend such authorization to the Community as a whole; whereas Member States are therefore free to authorize or prohibit the addition of vitamins to their national products but the free movement of goods within the Community should, in any case, be guaranteed in accordance with the rules and principles deriving from the Treaty;

Whereas, pursuant to the principle of proportionality, this Directive limits itself to what is necessary in order to achieve the objectives, in accordance with the third paragraph of Article 3b thereof;

Whereas the Commission should be given the power to effect future adaptations to this Directive, acting via the consultation procedure within the Standing Committee for Foodstuffs;

Whereas, to avoid creating new barriers to free movement, Member States should refrain from adopting more detailed rules or rules not covered by this Directive for the products in question,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

This Directive concerns partly or wholly dehydrated preserved milk as defined in Annex I.

Article 2

Member States may authorize the addition of vitamins to the products defined in Annex I.

Article 3

Directive 79/112/EEC shall apply to the products defined in Annex I, subject to the following conditions:

1. The product names listed in Annex I shall apply only to the products referred to therein and must be used in trade to designate them.

The use of the product names referred to in Annex II may also be reserved, in their territory, by the Member States concerned.

2. The net quantity of the products defined in Annex I shall be expressed in units of mass and, in the case of the products defined in Annex I points 1 (a), (b), (c) and (d), in units of mass and volume where the products are packed in anything other than metal cans or tubes.

3. The labelling shall state the percentage of milk fat, expressed by weight in relation to the finished product, except in the case of the products defined in Annex I points 1 (b), 1 (f) and 2 (b), and the percentage of fat-free dried milk extract in the case of the products defined in Annex I point 1. These particulars shall appear, in easily visible lettering, near the trade name.

4. In the case of the products defined in Annex I point 2, the label must state the recommendations as to the method of dilution or reconstitution, including details of the fat content of the product thus diluted or reconstituted.

5. Where products weighing less than 20 g per unit are packed in an outer packaging, the particulars required by this Article need appear on the outer packaging only, except for the designation required by the first paragraph of point 1.

Article 4

Member States shall refrain from adopting more detailed national provisions or provisions not covered by this Directive for the products in question.

Article 5

Any adaptations necessary to bring this Directive into line with general Community legislation on foodstuffs and adapt it to technical progress shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 6.

Article 6

The Commission shall be assisted by the Standing Committee for Foodstuffs, hereinafter referred to as 'the Committee`, composed of representatives of the Member States and chaired by a representative of the Commission.

The representative of the Commission shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft, within a time limit which the chairman may lay down according to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a vote.

The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in addition, each Member State shall be entitled to ask for its position to be recorded in the minutes.

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

Directive 76/118/EEC is hereby repealed with effect from 1 October 1997.

References to the repealed Directive shall be construed as references to this Directive.

Article 8

Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive before 1 October 1997. They shall immediately inform the Commission thereof.

The provisions shall be applied so as to:

- authorize the marketing of the products defined in Annex I if they conform to the definitions and rules laid down in this Directive, with effect from 1 October 1997,

- prohibit the marketing of products which fail to conform to this Directive, with effect from 1 April 1998.

However, the marketing of products which fail to conform to this Directive and labelled before 1 October 1997 in accordance with Directive 76/118/EEC shall be permitted until stocks are exhausted.

When Member States adopt these provisions, these shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such reference at the time of their official publication. The procedure for such reference shall be adopted by Member States.

Article 9

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 10

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

(1) OJ No C 166, 17. 6. 1993, p. 1.

(2) OJ No L 24, 30. 1. 1976, p. 49.

(3) OJ No L 268, 14. 9. 1992, p. 1.

(4) OJ No L 368, 31. 12. 1994, p. 33.

(5) OJ No L 33, 8. 2. 1979, p. 1.

(6) OJ No L 291, 25. 11. 1993, p. 14.

ANNEX I

DESIGNATIONS AND DEFINITIONS OF PRODUCTS

1. Partly dehydrated milk

This means the liquid product, whether or not sweetened, obtained directly by the partial removal of water from milk, from wholly or partly skimmed milk or from a mixture of these products, which may have an admixture of cream or of wholly dehydrated milk or both, the addition of wholly dehydrated milk not to exceed, in the finished product, 25 % of total milk solids.

- Types of unsweetened condensed milk:

(a) Condensed milk

Partly dehydrated milk containing, by weight, not less than 7,5 % fat and not less than 25 % total milk solids.

(b) Condensed skimmed milk

Partly dehydrated milk containing, by weight, not more than 1 % fat and not less than 20 % total milk solids.

(c) Concentrated, partly skimmed milk, concentrated semi-skimmed milk

Partly dehydrated milk containing, by weight, more than 1 % and less than 7,5 % fat, and more than 20 % total milk solids. The only milk which may be sold retail with this designation is partly dehydrated milk containing, by weight, between 4 and 4,5 % fat and not less than 24 % total milk solids.

(d) Condensed high-fat milk

Partly dehydrated milk containing, by weight, not less than 15 % fat, and more than 26,5 % total milk solids.

- Types of sweetened condensed milk:

(e) Sweetened condensed milk

Partly dehydrated milk with an admixture of sucrose (semi-white sugar, white sugar or extra white sugar) and containing, by weight, not less than 8 % fat and not less than 28 % total milk solids. The only milk which may be sold retail with this designation is partly dehydrated milk with an admixture of sucrose and containing, by weight, not less than 9 % fat and not less than 31 % total milk solids.

(f) Sweetened condensed skimmed milk

Partly dehydrated milk with an admixture of sucrose (semi-white sugar, white sugar or extra white sugar) and containing, by weight, not more than 1 % fat and not less than 24 % total milk solids.

(g) Sweetened concentrated, partly skimmed milk, sweetened, concentrated semi-skimmed milk

Partly dehydrated milk with an admixture of sucrose (semi-white sugar, white sugar or extra white sugar) and containing, by weight, more than 1 % and less than 8 % fat, and more than 24 % total milk solids. The only milk which may be sold retail with this designation is partly dehydrated milk with an admixture of sucrose (semi-white sugar, white sugar or extra white sugar) and containing, by weight, between 4 and 4,5 % fat and not less than 28 % total milk solids.

2. Totally dehydrated milk

This means the solid product, where the water content does not exceed 5 % by weight of the finished product, obtained directly by the removal of water from milk, from wholly or partly skimmed milk, from cream or from a mixture of these products. Its fat content may vary.

(a) Dried whole milk or whole milk powder

Dehydrated milk containing, by weight, not less than 26 % fat.

(b) Dried skimmed milk or skimmed-milk powder

Dehydrated milk containing, by weight, not more than 1,5 % fat.

(c) Dried partly skimmed milk or partly skimmed-milk powder

Dehydrated milk with a fat content more than 1,5 % and less than 26 % by weight.

(d) Dried high-fat milk or high-fat milk powder

Dehydrated milk containing, by weight, not less than 42 % fat.

3. A quantity of lactose not greater than 0,02 % by weight of the finished product, with the addition, where appropriate, of a quantity of tricalcium phosphate not exceeding 10 % of the lactose added, is authorized for the manufacture of the products defined in points 1 (e) to (g).

4. Without prejudice to the provisions of Council Directive 92/46/EEC laying down the health rules for the protection and placing on the market of raw milk, heat-treated milk, and milk-based products (1), the preservation of the products referred to in points 1 and 2 shall be achieved:

- by sterilization, for the products referred to in points 1 (a) to (d),

- by the addition of sucrose, for the products referred to in points 1 (e) to (g),

- by dehydration, for the product referred to in point 2.

(1) OJ No L 268, 14. 9. 1992, p. 1.

ANNEX II

PARTICULAR DESIGNATIONS

- The English term 'evaporated milk` means condensed milk containing, by weight, at least 9 % fat and 31 % total milk solids.

- The French terms 'lait demi-écrémé concentré` and 'lait demi-écrémé concentré non sucré` and the Dutch term 'geëvaporeerde halfvolle melk` mean the product defined in Annex I point 1 (c).

- The Danish term 'Kondenseret Kaffefloede` and the German term 'Condensierte Kaffeesahne` mean the product defined in Annex I point 1 (d).

- The Danish term 'floedepulver`, the German terms 'Rahmpulver` and 'Sahnepulver` and the French term 'crème en poudre` mean the product defined in Annex I point 2 (d).

- The French term 'lait demi-écrémé concentré sucré` and the Dutch term 'gecondenseerde halfvolle melk met suiker` mean the product defined in Annex I point 1 (g).

- The French term 'lait demi-écrémé en poudre` and the Dutch term 'halfvolle-melkpoeder` mean the product defined in Annex I point 2 (c) with a fat content between 14 % and 16 %.

- The Portuguese term 'leite em po meio gordo` means dehydrated milk with a fat content between 13 % and 26 %.