WRITTEN QUESTION E-3050/02

by Bart Staes (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(24 October 2002)

Subject: The use of epoxy derivatives in wine storage

In Directive 2002/16/EC(1) on the use of certain epoxy derivatives in materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs, the Commission states in its recitals that the use of epoxypropyl ether (BADGE) has raised serious questions about its safety. Test results have shown significant levels of these substances and certain derivatives thereof in some foodstuffs.

In recital 11 the Commission states that the use and/or presence of BADGE and BFDGE in plastic materials and articles, surface coatings such as varnishes, lacquers and paints, as well as adhesives, should be regulated at Community level to avoid risks to human health and barriers to the free movement of goods.

Despite these concerns, the response in a particular Member State has been the opposite. The Italian Health Service openly prohibits wine producers from making wine in concrete unless the inner surface of the container has been treated with an epoxy coating. Apart from the fact that concrete, together with wood and terracotta, is the oldest, and, some would say (a good many leading French wine producers among them), the best, way of storing wine, this means that strict biological wine production is no longer possible in Italy. The Ecocert biological label does not permit the use of epoxy coating.

Where does the Commission stand on the fact that the Italian public-health inspectorate is forcing winegrowers to apply a product (epoxy coating) that is potentially toxic in contact with foodstuffs to the internal surfaces of wine containers?

Are there any European rules and regulations applicable to wine storage in general, and to the various alternative methods in particular, such as storage in concrete, with or without epoxy derivatives?

Does the disagreement between the Italian authorities and the founder of the Ecocert organisation not point to a need for consistent European arrangements on the use of epoxy derivatives?

(1) OJ L 51, 22.2.2002, p. 27.

Joint answerto Written Questions E-3050/02 and E-3073/02given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(6 December 2002)

Storage containers for wine have to comply with the general requirements of Council Directive 89/109/EEC of 21 December 1988 on materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs(1).

Article 2 of which stipulates that under normal or foreseeable conditions of use such materials and articles must not transfer their constituents to foodstuffs in quantities that could:

- endanger human health,

- bring about an unacceptable change in the composition of the foodstuffs or a deterioration in their organoleptic characteristics.

The use of certain epoxy derivatives, notably of BADGE, BFDGE and NOGE, in materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs is regulated by Commission Directive 2002/16/EC of 20 February 2002 on the use of certain epoxy derivatives in materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs. Consumer health is protected provided that the producers of the epoxy resins comply with the provisions of Directive 2002/16/EC.

Therefore, the Commission considers that any material or article which complies with these Directives can be used for the storage of any type of food and this applies to concrete containers.

Article 37 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2392/89 laying down general rules for the description and presentation of wines and grape musts(2) sets rules applying to the storage of wines and musts that do not specify any particular nature or composition for the inner surfaces of storage containers. Nor is there any more precise Community rule elsewhere.

The disagreement between the Italian authorities and the Ecocert organisation does not point to a need for further European arrangements on the use of epoxy derivatives, as their use in materials and articles intended to come into contact with food is regulated at Community level in Directive 2002/16/EC.

(1) OJ L 40, 11.2.1989.

(2) OJ L 232, 9.8.1989.