Commission Regulation (EC) No 2521/98 of 24 November 1998 amending Regulation (EC) No 577/97 laying down certain detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 laying down standards for spreadable fats and of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87 on the protection of designations used in the marketing of milk and milk products
Date: 1998-11-24
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: fats, marketing standard, milk, milk product, product designation, product quality

L 315/12

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

25. 11. 98

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2521/98

of 24 November 1998

amending Regulation (EC) No 577/97 laying down certain detailed rules for the
application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 laying down standards for
spreadable fats and of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87 on the protection of
designations used in the marketing of milk and milk products

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

the average content established must comply with those
limits must be stipulated;

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are
in accordance with the opinions of the relevant manage-
ment committees,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 of
5 December 1994 laying down standards for spreadable
fats (1), and in particular Article 8 thereof,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87
of 2 July 1987 on the protection of designations used in
the marketing of milk and milk products (2), as last
amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and
Sweden, and in particular Article 4(2) thereof,

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 577/97 is hereby amended as follows:

Whereas Article 2(1) of Commission Regulation (EC) No
577/97 of 1 April 1997 laying down certain detailed rules
for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2991/
94 laying down standards for spreadable fats and of
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87 on the protection
of designations used in the marketing of milk and milk
products (3), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No
1298/98 (4), lays down the rules concerning indication of
the fat content of spreadable fats with the exception of
the products referred to in Regulation (EC) No 2991/94
having a minimum fat content of 80 %; whereas a
method for verifying compliance with those rules is laid
down in Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 577/97 and in
Annex II thereto; whereas the date of application of that
method has been deferred to 1 January 1999 in order to
allow users to gain experience with it and, on the basis of
results forwarded to the Commission, to allow a thorough
examination of its viability;

the averages of

Whereas examination of the information forwarded has
shown that the tolerances laid down for verification of the
declared fat content are too narrow; whereas the toler-
the results obtained from
ances for
samples
should be
doubled; whereas, under those circumstances, the require-
ment that each sample must comply with the limits laid
down in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 can
no longer be maintained; whereas the requirement that

taken and for

individual

results

(1) OJ L 316, 9. 12. 1994, p. 2.
(2) OJ L 182, 3. 7. 1987, p. 36.
(3) OJ L 87, 2. 4. 1997, p. 3.
(4) OJ L 180, 24. 6. 1998, p. 5.

1. Article 2 is amended as follows:

(a) paragraph 1(b)
following:

and (c)

are

replaced by the

‘(b) the average fat content may not differ by more
than one percentage point from the percentage
declared. Individual samples may not differ by
more than two percentage points from the
percentage declared;

(c) in all cases,

the average fat content must
comply with the limits laid down in the Annex
to Regulation (EC) No 2991/94.';

(b) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

‘2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the fat content
declared in respect of the products referred to in
Parts A(1), B(1) and C(1) of the Annex to Regula-
tion (EC) No 2991/94 shall correspond to the
minimum fat content of the product.';

2. Annex II is replaced by the following:

‘ANNEX II

Verification of the declared fat content of spreadable
fats

Five samples are to be taken randomly from the batch
to be checked and analysed. The following two proced-
ures are to be applied:

25. 11. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 315/13

A. The arithmetical mean of the five results obtained
is compared with the declared fat content. The
declared fat content is deemed to comply if the
arithmetical mean content does not differ by more
than one percentage point from the declared fat
content.

B. The five individual results are compared with the
tolerance (5 two percentage points of the declared
fat content) shown in Article 2(1)(b). If the differ-
and the
ence between the maximum value
minimum value of the five individual results is less
than or equal
the
requirements of Article 2(1)(b) are deemed to be
met.

to four percentage points,

Where compliance with the conditions set out under A
and B is established,
the batch being checked is
deemed to comply with the requirements of Article
2(1)(b) even where one of the five values falls outside
the tolerance range of 5 two percentage points.'

Article 2

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

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member
States.

Done at Brussels, 24 November 1998.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission