WRITTEN QUESTION P-0724/01

by Luciana Sbarbati (ELDR) to the Commission

(6 March 2001)

Subject: Regulations governing food and typical food products

The spread of BSE and foot and mouth disease in the European Union raises serious questions about the large-scale production and sale of food products intended for human consumption.

The standardisation of markets has had an adverse effect on the quality of products and their safety. Locally made products and typical products, on the other hand, could prove to be a good alternative for consumers whose confidence in the safety of the food they buy needs to be restored.

These products have always offered a guarantee of high quality and are produced with great care using methods handed down from generation to generation. They are not subject to any kind of adulteration and are often made using organically produced ingredients.

Niche products, in Italy at least, are in danger of disappearing because of recent European directives, which are having an adverse effect on small businesses and undermining regional and cultural traditions. Because such products are not protected, food products can be sold in the EU (cheeses, honey, pork meat products, etc.), including products from countries outside the EU, which are produced using ingredients of dubious quality and which hijack traditional product names for the purposes of marketing standardised imitations.

BSE and foot and mouth disease have revealed the shortcomings in the system of large-scale agricultural production and have shown that directives need to be accompanied by rigorous checks.

Can the Commission say how it intends to deal with this emergency and what steps it intends to take to protect consumers?

To what extent the new Commission proposals in the area of hygiene (07/00) will guarantee the degree of flexibility required by traditional producers and how much leeway will be given to Member States in the application of the directives?

Given that PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) and PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) products in the Member States need to be given a higher profile, what measures does the Commission have at its disposal to regulate the production of such products, which are part of our heritage, offer a guarantee of quality and which must be preserved; and what steps can it take to prevent the placing on the market of imitation products which are sold using traditional names?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(5 April 2001)

The Commission has adopted a series of measures aimed at dealing with both bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and the recent outbreaks of Foot-and-Mouth Disease in a number of member States. The European Parliament is regularly informed of these measures and also acts as co-legislator on key proposals under the co-decision process.

Assuring that the Community has the highest standards of food safety is a key priority for the Commission. This is reflected in the Commission's White Paper on food safety(1), where a radical new approach is proposed. It announces the establishment of a European Food Authority and actions in areas such as food safety legislation, food safety controls and consumer information. Many of the actions that were announced in the White Paper are well underway and the implementation of their adoption will enable food safety to be organised in a more co-ordinated and integrated manner with a view to achieving the highest possible level of health protection.

The Commission proposals in the area of food hygiene(2) are a response to the need to create a high level of consumer protection. In addition to the creation of a high level of consumer protection the proposals provide, more than the existing food hygiene rules contained in Council Directive 93/43/EEC of 14 June 1993 on the hygiene of foodstuffs(3), for the flexibility that is needed to accommodate the needs of businesses that are involved in traditional ways of food production. This flexibility applies without compromising the objectives of food safety. Since traditional food production is a matter that by nature differs from one Member State to another, and even within Member States, it is up to Member States to decide upon the level of flexibility that is needed. In order to ensure the correct implementation of the principle of flexibility, Member States that have recourse to this possibility shall inform the Commission and the other Member States thereof.

Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 of 14 July 1992(4) lays down rules on the protection of designations of origin and geographical indications of agricultural products and foodstuffs at Community level. This Regulation has three main objectives: the development of regional and speciality products, the encouragement of more diversified agricultural output and the promoting of the development of rural areas. The Regulation also envisages the protection of both consumers and producers.

Many consumers care about agricultural products and foodstuffs produced and/or processed in a particular geographical area due to the fact that the specific characteristics of these products are attributable to this region. Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 provides the legal framework to guarantee that consumers are not misled in this regard. But this Regulation also backs up marketing efforts of producers who make it possible to individualise products by protecting them from abuse and unfair appropriation. In fact, the Regulation grants producers with an exclusive right to use a registered name for their products.

(1) COM(1999) 719 final.

(2) OJ C 365 E, 19.12.2000.

(3) OJ L 175, 19.7.1993.

(4) OJ L 208, 24.7.1992.