COMMON POSITION (EC) No 34/98 adopted by the Council on 30 April 1998 with a view to adopting European Parliament and Council Directive 98/.../EC of ..., relating to coffee extracts and chicory extracts
Date: 1998-04-30
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: coffee, foodstuffs legislation, human nutrition, packaging, processed foodstuff

30.6.98

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

C  204/25

COMMON  POSITION  (EC)  No  34/98

adopted  by  the  Council  on  30  April  1998

with a view to adopting European Parliament and Council Directive 98/. . ./EC of . . ., relating
to  coffee  extracts  and  chicory  extracts

(98/C  204/03)

THE  EUROPEAN  PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  COUNCIL  OF
THE  EUROPEAN  UNION,

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European
Community,  and  in  particular  Article  100a  thereof,

Having  regard  to  the  proposal  from  the  Commission (1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),

Acting  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid  down  in
Article  189b  of  the  Treaty (3),

Whereas  certain  vertical  Directives  relating  to  foods
should be simplified in order to take account only of the
essential  requirements  to  be  met  by  the  products  they
cover  in  order  that  those  products  may  move  freely
within  the  internal  market,  in  accordance  with  the
conclusions  of  the  European  Council  held  in  Edinburgh
on 11 and 12 December 1992, confirmed by those of the
European  Council  in  Brussels  on  10  and  11  December
1993;

Whereas  Council  Directive  77/436/EEC  of  27  June  1977
on  the  approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States
relating  to  coffee  extracts  and  chicory  extracts (4)  was
justified  by  the  fact  that  differences  between  national
laws  on  coffee  extracts  and  chicory  extracts  could  result
in  conditions  of  unfair  competition  likely  to  mislead
consumers,  and  thereby  have  a  direct  effect  on  the
establishment  and  functioning  of  the  common  market;

Whereas 
the  aforesaid  Directive  was  consequently
designed to define coffee extracts and chicory extracts, to

(1)  OJ  C  231,  9.8.1996,  p.  24.
(2)  OJ  C  56,  24.2.1997,  p.  20.
(3)  Opinion  of  the  European  Parliament  of  23  October  1997
(OJ  C  339,  10.11.1997,  p.  129),  Council  Common  Position
of 30 April 1998 and decision of the European Parliament of
. . .  (not  yet  published  in  the  Official  Journal).

(4)  OJ L 172, 12.7.1977, p. 20. Directive as last amended by the

1985  Act  of  Accession.

determine  which  substances  may  be  added  during  their
manufacture,  to  lay  down  common  rules  concerning  the
packaging  and  labelling  of  such  extracts  and  to  specify
the  conditions  under  which  particular  designations  may
be  used  for  some  of  these  products,  in  order  to  ensure
their  free  movement  within  the  Community;

Whereas  Directive  77/436/EEC  should  be  brought  into
line  with  general  Community  legislation  on  foodstuffs,
particularly  legislation  on  labelling  and  methods  of
analysis;

Whereas  the  general  food-labelling  rules  set  out  in
Council  Directive  79/112/EEC  of  18  December  1978  on
the  approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States
relating  to  the  labelling,  presentation  and  advertising  of
foodstuffs  for  sale  to  the  ultimate  consumer (5)  should
apply  subject  to  certain  conditions;

Whereas,  pursuant  to  the  principle  of  proportionality,
this  Directive  does  not  go  beyond  what  is  necessary  in
order  to  achieve  the  objectives  pursued,  in  accordance
with  the  third  paragraph  of  Article  3b  of  the  Treaty;

Whereas,  when  this  Directive  is  adapted  in  the  future  to
general  Community  provisions  on 
the
Commission  will  be  assisted  by  the  Standing  Committee
on  Foodstuffs,  set  up  by  Decision  69/414/EEC (6);

foodstuffs, 

Whereas, 
free
to  avoid  creating  new  barriers 
circulation, Member States should refrain from adopting,
for  the  products  in  question,  national  provisions  not
provided  for  by  this  Directive,

to 

(5)  OJ  L  33,  8.2.1979,  p.  1.  Directive  as  last  amended  by
European  Parliament  and  Council  Directive  97/4/EC  (OJ  L
43,  14.2.1997,  p.  21).

(6)  OJ  L  291,  19.11.1969,  p.  9.

C  204/26

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

30.6.98

HAVE  ADOPTED  THIS  DIRECTIVE:

Article  1

minimum coffee-based dry matter content and, in the
case  of  the  products  defined  in  points  2(b)  and  (c)  of
the  Annex,  the  minimum  chicory-based  dry  matter
content.  These  contents  shall  be  expressed  as  a
percentage  by  weight  of  the  finished  product.

This  Directive  concerns  coffee  extracts  and  chicory
extracts  as  defined  in  the  Annex.

Article  3

This  Directive  does  not  apply  to  cafe´ torrefacto  soluble.

For  the  products  defined  in  the  Annex,  Member  States
shall  not  adopt  national  provisions  not  provided  for  by
this  Directive.

Article  2

Article  4

1. Directive  79/112/EEC  shall  apply  to  the  products
defined 
following
conditions:

the  Annex 

subject 

the 

to 

in 

The  decision  to  bring  this  Directive  into  line  with  the
general  Community  provisions  applicable  to  foodstuffs
shall  be  made  in  accordance  with  the  procedure  laid
down  in  Article  5.

(a)  the  product  names  listed  in  the  Annex  shall  apply
only  to  the  products  referred  to  therein  and  must  be
used in trade to designate them. Those names shall be
supplemented  by  the  words:

Article  5

—  ‘paste’  or  ‘in  paste  form’  or

—  ‘liquid’  or  ‘in  liquid  form’

as  appropriate.

However,  product  names  may  be  supplemented  by
the  term  ‘concentrated’:

—  in the case of the product defined in point 1(c) of
the  Annex,  provided  that  the  coffee-based  dry
matter  content  is  more  than  25 %  by  weight,

—  in the case of the product defined in point 2(c) of
the  Annex,  provided  that  the  chicory-based  dry
matter  content  is  more  than  45 %  by  weight;

(b) the  labelling  must  include  the  term  ‘decaffeinated’  in
the  case  of  the  products  defined  in  point  1  of  the
Annex,  provided  that  the  anhydrous  caffeine  content
does  not  exceed  0,3 %  by  weight  of  the  coffee-based
dry matter. This information must be within the same
field  of  vision  as  the  sales  description;

(c)  in  the  case  of  the  products  defined  in  points  1(c)  and
2(c)  of  the  Annex,  the  label  must  include  the  terms
‘with  . . .’,  ‘preserved  with  . . .’,  ‘with  added  . . .’  or
‘roasted  with  . . .’  followed  by  the  name(s)  of  the
types  of  sugar(s)  used.

This  information  must  be  within  the  same  field  of
vision  as  the  sales  description;

(d) the labelling must indicate, in the case of the products
defined  in  points  1(b)  and  (c)  of  the  Annex,  the

1. The  Commission  shall  be  assisted  by  the  Standing
Committee  on  Foodstuffs,  hereinafter  referred  to  as  ‘the
Committee’,  composed  of  representatives  of  the  Member
the
States  and 
Commission.

representative  of 

chaired  by  a 

2. The representative of the Commission shall submit to
the  Committee  a  draft  of  the  measures  to  be  taken.  The
Committee  shall  deliver  its  opinion  on  the  draft  within  a
time  limit  which  the  chairman  may  lay  down  according
to  the  urgency  of  the  matter.  The  opinion  shall  be
delivered  by  the  majority  laid  down  in  Article  148(2)  of
the  Treaty  in  the  case  of  decisions  which  the  Council  is
required  to  adopt  on  a  proposal  from  the  Commission.
The  votes  of  the  representatives  of  the  Member  States
within the Committee shall be weighted in the manner set
out  in  that  Article.  The  chairman  shall  not  vote.

The  Commission  shall  adopt  the  measures  envisaged  if
they  are 
the
Committee.

in  accordance  with 

the  opinion  of 

If  the  measures  envisaged  are  not  in  accordance  with  the
opinion  of  the  Committee,  or  if  no  opinion  is  delivered,
the  Commission  shall  forthwith  submit  to  the  Council  a
proposal  relating  to  the  measures  to  be  taken.  The
Council  shall  act  by  a  qualified  majority.

If, on the expiry of three months from the date on which
the  matter  was  referred  to  it,  the  Council  has  not  acted,
the  proposed  measures  shall  be  adopted  by 
the
Commission.

30.6.98

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

C  204/27

Article  6

Directive 77/436/EEC is hereby repealed with effect from
. . . (*).

References to the repealed Directive shall be construed as
references  to  this  Directive.

Article  7

1. Member  States  shall  bring  into  force  the  laws,
regulations  and  administrative  provisions  necessary  to
comply  with  this  Directive  not  later  than  . . . (*).  They
shall  immediately  inform  the  Commission  thereof.

The  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions  shall
be  applied  so  as  to:

—  authorise the marketing of the products defined in the
Annex  if  they  conform  to  the  definitions  and  rules
laid  down  in  this  Directive,  with  effect  from  . . . (*),

—  prohibit  the  marketing  of  products  which  fail  to
conform  to  this  Directive,  with  effect  from  . . . (**).
However, the marketing of products failing to comply
with  this  Directive  but  labelled  before  . . . (**)  in
accordance  with  Directive  77/436/EEC  shall  be
permitted  until  stocks  are  exhausted.

When  Member  States  adopt  these  measures,  the  latter
shall  contain  a  reference  to  this  Directive  or  shall  be
accompanied  by  such  reference  at  the  time  of  their
official  publication.  The  procedure  for  such  reference
shall  be  adopted  by  Member  States.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission
the  text  of  the  main  provisions  of  domestic  law  which
they  adopt  in  the  field  governed  by  this  Directive.

Article  8

This  Directive  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  day  of  its
publication  in  the  Official  Journal  of  the  European
Communities.

Article  9

This  Directive  is  addressed  to  the  Member  States.

Done  at  . . .

For  the  European  Parliament

For  the  Council

The  President

The  President

(*)  18  months  after  the  entry  into  force  of  this  Directive.
(**) 30  months  after  the  entry  into  force  of  this  Directive.

C  204/28

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

30.6.98

ANNEX

PRODUCT  DESCRIPTIONS,  DEFINITIONS  AND  CHARACTERISTICS

1.  ‘Coffee-extract’,  ‘soluble  coffee  extract’,  ‘soluble  coffee’  or  ‘instant  coffee’

This means the concentrated product obtained by extraction from roasted coffee beans using only water
as the medium of extraction and excluding any process of hydrolysis involving the addition of an acid or
a base. Apart from those insoluble substances which it is technically impossible to remove, and insoluble
oils  derived  from  coffee,  coffee  extract  must  contain  only  the  soluble  and  aromatic  constituents  of
coffee.

The  coffee-based  dry  matter  content  must  be:

(a)  not  less  than  95 %  by  weight  in  the  case  of  dried  coffee  extract;

(b) from  70 %  to  85 %  by  weight  in  the  case  of  coffee  extract  paste;

(c)  from  15 %  to  55 %  by  weight  in  the  case  of  liquid  coffee  extract.

Coffee  extract  in  solid  or  paste  form  must  contain  no  substances  other  than  those  derived  from  the
extraction  of  coffee.  Liquid  coffee  extract  may  contain  edible  sugars,  whether  or  not  roasted,  in  a
proportion  not  exceeding  12 %  by  weight.

2.  ‘Chicory  extract’,  ‘soluble  chicory’  or  ‘instant  chicory’

This  means  the  concentrated  product  obtained  by  extraction  from  roasted  chicory  using  only  water  as
the medium of extraction and excluding any process of hydrolysis involving the addition of an acid or a
base.

‘Chicory’  means  the  roots  of  Cichorium  Intybus  L.,  not  used  for  the  production  of  witloof  chicory,
usually  used  for  the  preparation  of  beverages,  suitably  cleaned  to  be  dried  and  roasted.

The  chicory-based  dry  matter  content  must  be:

(a)  not  less  than  95 %  by  weight  in  the  case  of  dried  chicory  extract;

(b) from  70 %  to  85 %  by  weight  in  the  case  of  chicory  extract  paste;

(c)  from  25 %  to  55 %  by  weight  in  the  case  of  liquid  chicory  extract.

Chicory  extract  in  solid  or  paste  form  may  contain  not  more  than  1 %  by  weight  of  substances  not
derived  from  chicory.

Liquid chicory extract may contain edible sugars, whether roasted or not, to a proportion not exceeding
35 %  by  weight.

30.6.98

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

C  204/29

STATEMENT  OF  THE  COUNCIL’S  REASONS

I. 

INTRODUCTION

1.  On 30 May 1996 the Commission submitted to the Council a proposal for a European
Parliament  and  Council  Directive  based  on  Article  100a  of  the  EC  Treaty,  relating  to
coffee  extracts  and  chicory  extracts (1).

2.  The  European  Parliament  delivered  its  first-reading  opinion  on  23  October  1997 (2).

The  Commission  did  not  accept  any  of  the  amendments  proposed  by  the  European
Parliament,  and  therefore  did  not  submit  an  amended  proposal.

3.  The  Economic  and  Social  Committee  delivered  its  opinion  on  31  October  1996 (3).

4.  On 30 April 1998, the Council adopted its common position in accordance with Article

189b  of  the  Treaty.

II.  OBJECTIVE

The  proposal  for  a  Directive,  which  was  submitted  to  the  Council  together  with  six  other
proposals  for  Directives (4),  is  part  of  a  simplification  of  the  vertical  Directives  on  food.
The  purpose  of  the  draft  Directive  is  to  replace  Council  Directive  77/436/EEC  of  27  June
1977  on  the  approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to  coffee  extracts
and  chicory  extracts (5).

The draft Directive is confined to the essential requirements necessary for the operation of
the  internal  market  and  refers  to  the  existing  general  provisions  applicable  to  all  foods.

III.  ANALYSIS  OF  THE  COMMON  POSITION

A.  GENERAL  COMMENT

The  Council  followed  the  Commission  in  not  accepting  any  of  the  three  amendments
proposed  by  the  European  Parliament.

B.  SPECIFIC  COMMENTS

1.  Concerning  the  European  Parliament’s  amendments

—  The  Council  could  not  accept  amendments  22  and  23  designed  to  introduce
particular  nominal  weights  for  packages  of  coffee  and  chicory  extract.  The
Council  considers  horizontal  legislation  to  be  the  place  for  such  provisions  and

(1)  OJ  C  231,  9.8.1996,  p.  24.
(2)  OJ  C  339,  10.11.1997,  p.  128.
(3)  OJ  C  56,  24.2.1997,  p.  20.
(4)  Proposals  for  Directives  relating  to:
—  cocoa  and  chocolate  products,
—  certain sugars,
—  honey,
—  fruit  juices  and  similar  products,
—  preserved milk,
—  jams,  jellies,  marmalades  and  chestnut  pure´e.

(5)  OJ  L  172,  12.7.1977,  p.  20.

C  204/30

EN

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities

30.6.98

feels  that  they  should  not  be  included  in  a  vertical  Directive,  bearing  in  mind
that  the  aim  of  the  present  Directive 
is  simplification.  Moreover,  the
Commission  is  willing  to  examine  the  question  of  the  range  of  pre-packagings
for  coffee  and  chicory  extracts  in  a  horizontal  context,

—  in  the  case  of  amendment  24,  the  Council  shared  the  Commission’s  opinion
that, given the rapid evolution of technology, methods of analysis should not be
included  in  legislative  acts.

In  this  connection  the  Council  and  the  Commission  made  a  statement  referring
to  possible  updating  of  methods  of  analysis.

2.  Changes  to  the  Commission  proposal

(a) The  main  amendment  made  by  the  Council  concerns  the  scope  of  the
implementing  powers  conferred  on  the  Commission  in  respect  of  technical
adaptation  and  the  procedure  adopted  for  that  purpose:  it  has  restricted  those
powers to the adaptations necessary to bring the provisions of the Directive into
line with the general Community provisions applicable to foodstuffs (Article 4),
excluding more substantial adaptations, which remain subject to the co-decision
procedure,  and  has  laid  down  that  those  powers  should  be  exercised  under  the
type  IIIa  committee  procedure  (Article  5).

(b) The  other  amendments  concern  minor  aspects,  namely:

—  Article  1,  clarification  of  the  scope  of  the  Directive  by  the  express  exclusion

of  ‘cafe´ torrefacto  soluble’,

—  regarding  the  labelling  of  the  products  in  question,  the  inclusion  in  Article
2(a)  of  an  additional  specification  defining  the  form  in  which  the  coffee  or
chicory  extract  is  presented  (e.g.  ‘in  paste  form’,  ‘liquid’),

—  in  point  1  of  the  Annex,  with  regard  to  the  composition  of  coffee  extracts,
the Council has suggested using the wording of the current legislation which
includes  ‘insoluble  oils  derived  from  coffee’.

NB:  The  amendments  made  to  the  text  of  Articles  2  and  3  and  the  Annex  are

drafting  amendments.

IV.  CONCLUSIONS

The Council, whose reasons for not accepting the European Parliament’s amendments were
ones  of  methodology  rather  than  substance,  considers  that  as  a  whole  the  text  adopted
corresponds  to  the  objective  sought,  namely  the  simplification  of  food  legislation.