WRITTEN QUESTION E-0457/01

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) and Gianfranco Fini (UEN) to the Commission

(19 February 2001)

Subject: food monitoring

In view of the numerous cases of fraud which have come to light in Italy and other countries, can the Commission say what measures it has taken to check that banned products are not used in food in the EU and to monitor the situation?

Such cases of fraud have included:

- olive oil diluted with seed oils or olive residues;

- dried ox blood for colouring wine (France, 1999);

- meal derived from mineral oils;

- chickens, hams and pigs contaminated by carcinogens such as polychlorobiphenyl, of which dioxin is a derivative;

- the use of powdered milk in the production of cheeses, ice creams, etc.

Can the Commission also specify which of these cases of fraud relate to products imported from non-member states?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(16 May 2001)

Blends of olive oil with other vegetable oils that are declared and sold as such are not prohibited under Community legislation and pose no health risk.

As regards blends with oils obtained from the second pressing, these are everyday virgin olive oils which are in any case refined and thus pose no health risk.

As regards blends which are fraudulent, i.e. not declared as such and sold as olive oil, it is the Member States themselves who are responsible for measures and controls to combat fraud at the level of consumption.

However, the Commission has regulated a whole series of methods for detecting blends and promotes the improvement of analysis methods. In addition, Community legislation provides for controls on over 30 % of mills.

The use of blood albumin (not powdered blood), now banned by Community legislation, was legal until 1997 as a processing aid to clarify wine, i.e. without leaving any residue in the wine. The use of colouring agents in wine has always been prohibited.

Wine sector products, and notably wines, are subject to all the controls applicable to foodstuffs. In addition, Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine(1) lays down specific provisions in its Article 72 regarding controls in the wine sector, notably to ensure compliance with product composition and production methods. Commission Regulation (EC) No 2729/2000 of 14 December 2000(2) specifies how these controls shall be organised and implemented. The control measures may focus in particular on the composition and organoleptic characteristics of the product, its description and presentation, and compliance with the rules governing its production and marketing. Also, Article 72 of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 provides for the creation of a body of specific Commission officials in order to ensure the uniform application of the rules in the wine sector. The Commission has no knowledge of this type of fraud in imported wines.

Concerning the question on meals and mineral oils the Commission thinks that the Honourable Members refer to findings by Swiss researchers reporting the presence of residues of possibly mineral oils in feedingstuffs (September 2000). The issue, which was not reported as a fraud, has been discussed in the Standing Committee for Animal Nutrition of September 2000. It was concluded that many questions still need to be resolved, in particular with regard to the interpretation of the analytical results obtained and with regard to the analytical method used, before considering a specific monitoring programme.

During the dioxin crisis, Community measures obliged Member States to perform strict monitoring of suspected meat and meat products from Belgium. In the event of contamination, the product had either to be destroyed in the Member State concerned or sent back for destruction in Belgium. Cases of fraud are investigated under the judicial procedures of the Member State in question.

Article 7 of Council Directive 92/46/EC of 16 June 1992 laying down the health rules for the production and placing on the market of raw milk, heat-treated milk and milk-based products(3) lays down the health rules for the production of milk-based products obtained from milk or from milk-based products that satisfy the requirements of Article 6 or Article 7.

This does not exclude, from a health point of view, the use of powdered milk intended for human consumption in the processing of cheeses or ice cream.

Furthermore, in the absence of Community legislation on the production and marketing of cheeses or ice cream, the use of powdered milk as an ingredient for these products is subject to national legislation on the matter.

In this respect, the Commission would like to refer in particular to products covered by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 of 14 July 1992 on the protection of geographical indications and designations of origin for agricultural products and foodstuffs(4) or by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2082/92 of 14 July 1992, on certificates of specific character for agricultural products and foodstuffs(6). In those particular cases, it may be that Member States grant protected designation to certain foodstuffs provided that they obey specifications which may be, for example, the prohibition of the use of milk powder in certain traditional cheeses (Article 4 or 6).

Articles 10 and 14 state that if a designated inspection authority and/or private body in a Member State establishes that an agricultural product or a foodstuff bearing a protected name in that Member State does not meet the criteria of the specification, they shall take the steps necessary to ensure that this Regulation is complied with. It then belongs to the responsibility of each Member State to monitor the situation.

The fraud cases cited by the Honourable Members almost all originated in Member States. As regards fraud cases related to products imported from third countries, the Commission refers the Honourable Members to certain of its annual reports on protecting the Communities' financial interests and the fight against fraud, particularly with regard to olive oil(5).

(1) OJ L 179, 14.7.1999.

(2) OJ L 316, 15.12.2000.

(3) OJ L 268, 14.9.1992.

(4) OJ L 208, 24.7.1992.

(5) Notably the annual report for 1998; COM(1999) 590.

(6) OJ L 208, 24.7.1992.