2000/440/EC: Commission Decision of 30 June 2000 on a draft Regulation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands relating to the naming and labelling of lemonades and soft drinks (notified under document number C(2000) 1700) (Text with EEA relevance) (Only the Dutch text is authentic)
Date: 2000-06-30
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: United Kingdom, aerated drink, coffee, labelling, non-alcoholic beverage

L 176/48

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

15.7.2000

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 30 June 2000

on a draft Regulation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands relating to the naming and labelling of
lemonades and soft drinks

(notified under document number C(2000) 1700)

(Only the Dutch text is authentic)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2000/440/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to 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 (1),
as last amended by Directive 97/4/EC of the European Parlia-
ment and of the Council (2), and in particular Articles 16(2) and
17 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
16(2) of Directive 79/112/EEC, the Netherlands authori-
ties have notified the Commission of a draft Regulation
which includes specific labelling provisions for soft
drinks.

to Article II.B of

Pursuant
the aforementioned draft
Regulation, the labelling of soft drinks containing at
least 150 mg/l of caffeine, and no more than 350 mg/l,
should include the following information: ‘contains 150
to 350 mg/l of caffeine, corresponding to 2 to 4 cups of
coffee’.

In accordance with Article 16(2) of Directive 79/
the Commission has consulted the other
112/EEC,
Member States through the Standing Committee on
Foodstuffs.

The Member States and the Commission have recog-
nised that it is important for consumers to be informed,
through a specific warning on the labelling, that a food-

(1) OJ L 33, 8.2.1979, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 43, 14.2.1997, p. 21.

stuff contains certain substances, where it is known that
excessive consumption of those substances can produce
undesirable health effects in certain individuals. Caffeine
is one such substance.

It would therefore be useful to make it compulsory for
the labelling of the products concerned to emphasise the
presence of certain substances by means of an explicit
warning which consumers could not overlook.

However, such a measure applied unilaterally by the
Netherlands in respect of caffeine would be sure to
hinder intra-Community trade. In addition, the reference
to an equivalent number of cups of coffee appears
imprecise and ambiguous, indeed liable to be misinter-
preted by consumers.

This finding has prompted the Commission to deliver a
negative opinion in accordance with the second subpara-
graph of Article 16(2) of Directive 79/112/EEC.

The most satisfactory solution to the problem posed by
the draft Netherlands Regulation will be to draw up a
Community labelling provision. The Commission will do
all it can to reach a satisfactory solution such as this
within the time period laid down in Article 1 of this
Decision.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

It is therefore necessary to suspend any national initia-
tive in this field for an appropriate period of time.

(10)

The measures
laid down in this Decision are in
conformity with the opinion of the Standing Committee
on Foodstuffs,

15.7.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 176/49

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The Kingdom of the Netherlands is hereby required to suspend, for a period of 12 months from the date of
notification of this Decision, the adoption of that part of its draft Regulation which concerns labelling
provisions making it compulsory to indicate ‘contains 150 to 350 mg/l of caffeine, corresponding to 2 to
4 cups of coffee’ on soft drinks containing caffeine.

This Decision is addressed to the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Article 2

Done at Brussels, 30 June 2000.

For the Commission

David BYRNE

Member of the Commission