WRITTEN QUESTION E-0150/01

by Reimer Böge (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(31 January 2001)

Subject: Additional information in the labelling of beef

A major German food retailer which already conducted voluntary BSE tests on all slaughtered cattle prior to the entry into force of the current rules in Germany has been refused permission by the federal office responsible to provide information concerning this on labels pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000(1).

The company in question had submitted four different proposed versions for approval. The Federal Office of Agriculture and Food rejected all four alternatives on the grounds that, under Article 16(2) of Regulation 1760/2000, misleading or insufficiently clear information is not permitted to be approved.

The proposed alternatives were as follows:

1. This meat has been tested for BSE. The test does not guarantee absolute safety, but does ensure greater safety!

2. Voluntarily tested for BSE (Prionics test). Our contribution towards reducing the risks.

3. Voluntarily tested for BSE (Prionics test). Greater consumer safety.

4. Greatest possible consumer protection. Voluntarily tested for BSE. No absolute safety.

What does the Commission think of the decision to reject the application?

Does the Commission agree with the federal office that the four proposed versions are contrary to Regulation 1760/2000 and therefore impermissible? Or does the Commission consider that the federal office's interpretation of the regulation is rather restrictive?

(1) OJ L 204, 11.8.2000, p. 1.

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(4 April 2001)

The Commission is aware that, in a number of Member States, operators have made representations to their authorities with a view to labelling beef voluntarily with information pertaining to the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) status of the animals from which the beef was derived. In the case of Germany, formal permission has been requested for making labels referring to the testing for the presence of BSE in the source animals and relating it to the reduced risk to health of such beef.

Firstly, the Commission would like to recall that the wide range of public health measures adopted up to now at a Community and national level have, as their overriding objective, that of ensuring that all beef released on to the Community is equally safe to eat.

Permitting an operator to distinguish his beef from that of his competitor on the basis of announcing his compliance with a public health measure, which applies equally to all operators, would, in the opinion of the Commission, give rise to an unfair advantage to such an operator and ultimately confuse the consumer. This is because such an indication gives the misleading allusion that the beef sold by any other operator, who does not happen to use this label, is less safe.

It should be recalled that it is a principle of Community labelling legislation, as laid down in Article 2(1) of Directive 2000/13 EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 20 March 2000 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs(1) that labels shall not mislead the purchaser to a material degree by suggesting that the foodstuff possesses special characteristics when in fact all similar foodstuffs possess such characteristics.

Furthermore, since the second subparagraph of Article 16(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the Parliament and of the Council of 17 July 2000 establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 820/97(2) specifically states that voluntary labels containing misleading or insufficiently clear information shall be refused by the Member State, the Commission believes that the German authorities have a clear legal base on which to reject any voluntary indications, relating to the BSE status of the animals from which the beef was derived.

(1) OJ L 109, 6.5.2000.

(2) OJ L 204, 11.8.2000.