No C 204/40 Official  Journal  of the European  Communities 30. 8. 76 
2.10.  Article  11 this method  and  any  ambiguities  could,  therefore, 
give rise  to considerable  difficulty  in enforcement. 
The Committee  recommends  that  a new  reference 
test method  be developed  by the Commission  as soon 
as possible,  taking  into  account  the  comments  made 
by WHO  of their  report,  'Air  quality  criteria  and 
guides  for urban  air pollutants'. 2.10.1.  Considerable  doubt  exists  as to whether 
the method  proposed  for  spm  (black  smoke)  will 
give unambiguous  results  in all the circumstances  in 
which  it is to be used.  The  Directive  is to be legally 
enforceable  on the  basis  of the  results  obtained  by 
Done  at Brussels,  30 June  1976. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic  and  Social  Committee 
Henri  CANONGE 
Opinion  on the  proposal  for  a Council  Directive  for  a 12th  amendment  to Council 
Directive  64/54/EEC  on  the  approximation  of the  laws  of the  Member  States 
concerning  the  preservatives  authorized  for  use  in foodstuffs  intended  for  human 
consumption 
The text  referred  to the Committee  has  been  published  in Official  Journal  No C 133  of 
14 June  1976,  page  35. 
On 20  May  1976  the  Council  referred  the  abovementioned  proposal  to  the 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  in accordance  with  Article  100  of the  Treaty 
establishing  the European  Economic  Community. 
B. OPINION  OF  THE  ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  COMMITTEE 
The Economic  and  Social  Committee  prepared  its opinion  on the  above  matter  at its 
140th  plenary  session,  held  in Brussels  on 30 June  and  1 July  1976. 
The full  text  of the opinion  is as follows: A. LEGAL  BASIS  FOR  THE  OPINION 
THE  ECONOMIC  AND  SOCIAL  COMMITTEE, Having  regard  to the decision  taken  by its Bureau  on 
24 May  1976,  instructing  the  Section  for  Protection 
of the  Environment,  Public  Health  and  Consumer 
Affairs  to draw  up an opinion  on the matter, Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the 
European  Economic  Community,  and  in particular 
Article  100  thereof, 
Having  regard  to the request  for an opinion  made  by 
the Council  of the European  Communities  on 20 May 
1976, Having  regard  to the  basic  Council  Directive  64/54; 
EEC  of 5 November  1963, 
30. 8. 76 Official  Journal  of the  European  Communities No C 204/41 
Having  regard  to its opinion  on a proposal  for  a 
Council  Directive  for  a 10th  amendment  to  the 
Directive  on the  approximation  of the  laws  of the 
Member  States  concerning  the  preservatives  author-
ized for  use  in foodstuffs  intended  for  human 
consumption, 
Having  regard  to the  opinion  issued  by the  Section 
for Protection  of the  Environment,  Public  Health 
and Consumer  Affairs  on 8 June  1976  and  the  oral 
report  made  by the rapporteur,  Mr Jaschick, 
Having  regard  to the  discussions  at its 140th  plenary 
session,  held  on 30 Tune  and  1 July  1976  (meeting 
of 30 June  1976), 
HAS  UNANIMOUSLY  ADOPTED  THE  FOLLOWING 
OPINION: 
The Economic  and  Social  Committee  approves  the 
proposal,  subject  to the comments  set out below: 
1. The  Committee  would  point  out  that,  in its 
opinion  on the  proposal  for  a Directive  for  a 10th 
amendment  to the basic  Directive,  the Committee  had 
accepted,  though  with  some  reservations,  the proposal 
that the  use  of thiabendazole  should  continue  to be allowed  temporarily,  firstly  until  December  1973  and 
then  until  31 July  1976. 
2. The  Committee  regrets,  now  that  this  extension 
is about  to expire,  that  the  Commission  has,  despite 
its previous  statements,  not  been  able  to complete 
more  thorough  research  into  the  effectiveness  of this 
additive  and  the dose  to be used  definitively. 
3. The  Committee  would  also  point  out  that  in its 
opinion  of 23 April  1970  (*) it — at first  sight  — 
thought  thiabendazole  (E 233)  to  be  safer  than 
diphenyl  (E 230)  from  a toxicological  point  of view. 
The Committee  also  felt,  however,  that  thiabendazole 
ought  to replace  diphenyl  in the  EEC's  list  of addi-
tives  instead  of being  simply  added  to this  list. 
4. In  this  connection,  the  Committee  would  urge 
the Commission  to complete,  as soon  as possible,  its 
studies  of whether  and  how  far  it may  be better  to 
use thiabendazole  instead  of diphenyl. 
5. In addition,  the  Committee  would  stress  that  the 
amount  of fungistatic  products  that  may  be used  on 
citrus  fruit  is restricted  and  that  it is not  allowed  to 
use such  products  without  informing  the  consumer. 
Since  the latter  condition  is not  always  satisfied,  the 
Committee  would  urge  the  Commission  to ensure 
observance  of the Directive  by the Member  States. 
Done  at Brussels,  30 June  1976. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic  and  Social  Committee 
Henri  CANONGE 
(') OJ No C 108,  28. 8. 1970.