No C 175/6 Official Journal of the European Communities 6. 7. 91 
Amended proposal for a Council Directive on sweeteners for use in foodstuffs 
(91/C 175/06) 
COM(91) 195 final — SYN 296 
(Submitted by the Commission pursuant to Article 149 (3) of the EEC Treaty on 6 June 1991) 
In response to the opinion delivered by the European 
Parliament on the proposal for a Council Directive on 
sweeteners for use in foodstuffs (l) and in accordance 
with the third paragraph of Article 149 of the Treaty 
establishing the European Economic Community, the 
Commission has decided to amend the abovementioned 
proposal as follows: 
1. The second recital is replaced by the following: 
'Whereas the prime consideration for any rules on 
sweeteners and their conditions for use should be the 
need to protect and inform the consumer';. 
2. The sixth recital is replaced by the following: 2b. This Directive applies to sugar-free and 
energy-reduced food. A foodstuff is considered to be 
energy-reduced if its calorific value has been reduced 
by 33 % by comparison with a reference foodstuff of 
the same weight.' 
5. The following Article 2 (4a) is added: 
'4a. Table-top sweeteners containing polyols (E 
420, E 421, E 953, E 965, E 966, E 967) shall be 
labelled with the following: "excessive consumption 
may induce laxative effects". 
Table-top sweeteners containing aspartame (E 951) 
shall be labelled with the following: "contains a 
source of phenylalanine — counter-indicated in the 
case of phenylketonuria".' 
'Whereas the use of sweeteners to replace sugar is 
justified for the production of energy-reduced food, 
non-carcinogenic foodstuffs or food without the 
addition of sugar, for the extension of shelf-life 
through the replacement of sugar, for the widening 
of consumer choice and for the production of 
diabetic and dietetic products';. 
3. The following seventh recital is added: 
'Whereas "sugar free" means food additives 
containing monosaccharides, disaccharides or 
honey';. 
4. The following Article 1 (2a) and (2b) are added: 6. The following Article 3a is added: 
'Article 3a 
By way of derogation from Article 3 (2) (a) and (b) 
of Directive 89/107/EEC, where it is proposed, 
following the opinion of the Scientific Committee 
for Food, to add a new substance to the list of 
approved sweeteners in the Annex, to create a new 
category of food in which sweeteners may be used 
or to adjust the existing list of permitted sweeteners, 
this shall be done according to the procedure laid 
down in Article 6. The Commission shall report to 
the European Parliament every year on the modifi­
cations agreed under this procedure.' 
'2a. Table-top sweeteners are considered as 
additives sold to the final consumer and will be 
subject to particular labelling provisions as set out in 
Directive 89/107/EEC and in Article 2 (4a) of this 
Directive. 
(') OJ C 242, 27. 9. 1990, p. 4. 7. The following new Article 7 is added: 
'Article 7 
Member States shall within three years of the 
adoption of this Directive establish systems of 
consumer surveys in order to monitor sweetener 
consumption. 
6. 7. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 175/7 
The Commission shall report to the European 
Parliament within five years of the adoption of the 
Directive on the changes which have taken place in 
the sweeteners market, the levels of use, and whether 
there is a further need to restrict the conditions of 
use to ensure that use does not exceed the acceptable 
daily intake. On the basis of information from 
Member States, the Commission may make recom­
mendations to modify this Directive.' 
8. Article 7 becomes Article 8 and its first paragraph is 
replaced by: 
'Member States shall bring into force the laws, regu­
lations and administrative provisions necessary to 
comply with this Directive not later than 1 January 
1992 in order to: 
— allow trade in and use of products conforming to 
this Directive no later than 1 January 1992, 
— prohibit trade in and use of products not 
conforming to this Directive no later than 1 
January 1993, or after expiry of the shelf date on 
the packaging.' 
9. Article 8 is renumbered as Article 9. 
10. In Column 3 of the Annex, 'sugar free' is replaced 
by 'no added sugar'. 11. The following is added to the table on acesuflame (E 
950): 
Low alcohol beer (with an alcohol 
content of less than 2,5 °/o volume) 350 mg/1 
Alcohol-free beer 350 mg/1 
12. The following is added to the table on aspartame 
(E951): 
Low alcohol beer (with an alcohol 
content of less than 2,5 % volume) 200 mg/1 
Alcohol-free beer 200 mg/1 
13. The following is added to the table on saccharin 
(E954): 
Low alcohol beer (with an alcohol 
content of less than 2,5 % volume) 80 mg/1 
Alcohol-free beer 80 mg/1 
14. The following is added to the table on neohesperidin 
DC (E 959): 
Low alcohol beer (with an alcohol 
content of less than 2,5 % volume) 10 mg/1 
Alcohol-free beer 10 mg/1 
15. The note at the top of the Annex is replaced by: 
'NB: with no added sugar = without any added 
mono-, oligo- and disaccharides or sweeteners. 
Energy-reduced = the energy removed is 
equivalent to at least 33 % of the energy 
supplied by similar products of the same 
weight or the energy that would have been 
supplied by such foodstuffs had the calorific 
value not been reduced. 
In foods presented for diabetics, sugar-free 
means: without added mono-and disaccharides 
except fructose.'