WRITTEN QUESTION No. 357/98 by Sebastiano MUSUMECI to the Commission. Toxic coating on Spanish oranges
Date: 1998-02-06
Institutions: European Parliament, MUSUMECI
Subjects: Spain, citrus fruit, consumer protection, food additive, foodstuffs legislation, free movement of goods, health policy, human nutrition, import (EU), toxic substance

C 223/170

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

17. 7. 98

(98/C 223/221)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0357/98

by Sebastiano Musumeci (NI) to the Commission

(6 February 1998)

Subject: Toxic coating on Spanish oranges

In 1993, when border checks on goodswere abolished within the European Union, Spanish oranges began to
flood the Italian markets, heightening the crisis already affecting Italian farmers and turning Spain into Italy(cid:146)s
fiercest and most dangerous exporting rival.

For reasons of technology and economic convenience, 95% of Spanish producers use a substance to process and
preserve  oranges  which  contains  resins  converted  with  maleic  anhydride  and  esterified  with  pentaerythritol.
These  food  additives  used  by  Spanish  producers  are  not  included  in  the  European  Parliament  and  Council
Directive (95/2/EC) (1) on food additives other than colours and sweeteners used as protective coatings on fruit,
which has been incorporated into the laws of all EU Member States.

At its 108th plenary session in September 1997, the Scientific Committee for Food stated that use of this product
was not authorized owing to inadequate toxicological information and the fact that the necessary studies would
take at least a further 5 years to complete. In a note dated 24 November 1997, Mr Peter Wagstaffe, official in
charge of the Directorate-General for Consumer Policies in Brussels, rejected the idea of including the substance
used by Spanish producers among those authorized at European level.

Will the Commission therefore state what action it will take as a matter of urgency to ban exports to Italy and
other European countries of Spanish oranges treated with the abovementioned toxic agents? What penalties will
it impose on the Spanish authorities for unacceptable and repeated violations of the Community directives, which
are all the more serious when one considers the health hazard to consumers?

(1)  OJ L 61, 18.3.1995, p. 1.

Answer given by Mr Bangemann on behalf of the Commission

(10 March 1998)

The Commission understands and takes account of the issue raised by the Honourable Member.

A number of wood rosin derivatives have been examined by the scientific committee on food. It had been made
clear that while some of these could be temporarily acceptable in well defined circumstances (this is namely the
case for partially hydrogenated wood rosin and partially hydrogenated wood rosin modified by maleic acid),
rosin modified by maleic anhydride and esterified with pentaerythrol was considered unacceptable for food use
due to the lack of adequate toxicological data and the uncertainty regarding the specifications. These opinions
were issued in September 1997.

In the light of the foregoing, the Commission did not propose the inclusion of any of these substances in the lists
of additives legally authorised through Parliament and Council Directive 95/2/EC on food additives other than
colours and sweeteners.

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  since  this  Directive  is  now  completely  in  application,  only  those  substances
explicitly listed in its Annexes (principle of the positive list) may be used in foodstuffs. All other substances used
for this purpose are therefore excluded.

From a legal point of view, a detailed study must now be carried out in order to verify whether the matter raised
constitutes  an  infringement  of  the  above  Directive  or  other  Community  rules.  Therefore,  the  Commission  is
collecting all necessary information for an in-depth examination.