WRITTEN QUESTION E-0401/01 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Improving safeguards against harmful effects of cholesterol-reducing margarines on some consumer groups.
Date: 2001-02-15
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: adjuvant, agro-industry, consumer information, food inspection, foodstuffs legislation, health risk, human nutrition, labelling, margarine, processed food product

13.11.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 318 E/43

This question was on the agenda of the annual bilateral meeting with the Austrian monitoring services, in
accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 2064/97 of 15 October 1997 establishing detailed
arrangements for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 4253/88 as regards the financial
control by Member States of operations cofinanced by the Structural Funds (1).

At this meeting, the Commission and the relevant national services agreed:

(i)

(ii)

to abandon on-the-spot checks by the Commission for the time being. Due to a parliamentary
investigation, all administrative documents from the Ministry and the AMS have been seized and are
now with the Federal Assembly; as a result of the police investigations under way, the managers of the
Euroteam group have the right to refuse to reply, and parallel controls are impossible without
jeopardising the investigations already taking place;

to continue with the work of an independent auditor, the internal revision work called for by the
Ministry for Economic Affairs and Labour, and the exchange of information which will be used jointly
by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the Employment and Social Affairs Directorate-
General.

As part of the process to conclude the ESF programmes, the national authorities do not rule out removing
the disputed projects from the list of cofinanced projects and having the national budget cover the costs
and risks involved in recovering sums unduly paid, so that the relevant ESF programmes can be ended.

As the Commission does not directly manage the Euroteam group(cid:146)s projects, it is not in a position to
supply a list of projects and financial details. It must also be emphasised that these data change as the
investigations progress. The Commission has not been informed either of the conclusions of the Austrian
auditing authority, whose report has not yet been published.

In the field of education and culture, Euroteam compiled a guide to placements and exchanges which was
indirectly financed (€ 6 368) in 1996 by appropriations from the Leonardo da Vinci programme via an
Austrian body: this work was assigned to Euroteam by Austria(cid:146)s national Leonardo da Vinci agency. The
Commission was satisfied with the quality of this work and approved its expenditure in the breakdown
submitted by the Austrian national agency.

No Leonardo da Vinci funding has been paid to Euroteam directly or indirectly through Austrian bodies.
Two projects submitted by Euroteam in 1997 had been rejected.

Euroteam is a partner in five projects submitted by promoters from countries other than Austria in 1996,
1997 and 1998; the contracts for these projects are not with Euroteam but with the promoters who
submitted them. In two of these cases there are sums to be recovered; the other three are currently being
examined.

(1) OJ L 290, 23.10.1997.

(2001/C 318 E/044)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0401/01

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(15 February 2001)

Subject: Improving safeguards against harmful effects of cholesterol-reducing margarines on some

consumer groups

Is the Commission aware that margarine manufacturers are promoting some of their new products

1.
on the basis that they contain a cholesterol-reducing agent?

2.
Does the Commission agree that one effect of such claims can be that, rather than consulting a doctor
who will prescribe the right doses of medicines to reduce blood cholesterol levels, some consumers will be
tempted to use quantities of a particular margarine that may be too high or too low to achieve the
desirable effect attributed to it?

C 318 E/44

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

13.11.2001

Can the Commission confirm that cholesterol-reducing margarines can be harmful to persons with
3.
special dietary requirements, in particular pregnant women, breast-feeding mothers and children under
five, and to those taking cholesterol-reducing medicines?

How does the Commission assess the call by consumer organisations for these so-called (cid:145)target-group(cid:146)
4.
products to be displayed in supermarkets only in separate, readily identifiable areas, where they will not be
bought inadvertently by those not familiar with their special characteristics?

5. Why has no action been taken hitherto requiring warnings against the harmful effects referred to in
paragraph 3 above to be printed in large characters on packaging, and why has such information hitherto
either been omitted entirely (e.g. (cid:145)Benecol(cid:146)) or printed in a minuscule font surrounded by a multiplicity of
other information (e.g. (cid:145)Becel pro-activ(cid:146))?

6. Will the Commission act to have it made compulsory for a warning about the harmful effects
referred to in paragraph 3 above to be prominently printed in large type?

(2001/C 318 E/045)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0402/01

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(15 February 2001)

Subject: Promoting the sales of foodstuffs by adding (cid:145)healthy(cid:146) substances

1.
Does the Commission intend to allow the harmful effects of ingredients such as fat and sugar in all-
butter biscuits, liquorice and hot dogs to be offset by adding sterols, with the intention that producers will
accordingly be entitled to sell these products with a note to the effect that they improve the consumer(cid:146)s
health?

2. What is the Commission(cid:146)s view of the widely varying rules on claims made by manufacturers
concerning the promotion of health, or the absence of such rules in the Member States of the European
Union, where the same large companies sell the same products with the same characteristics?

3. What opportunities are available to Member States to keep such foodstuffs off their domestic markets
if there is no European policy subjecting the production and marketing of such products to strict rules?

4. What does the Commission intend to do to contribute towards better
information on the
characteristics, the truth content and the risks of substances added to foodstuffs which producers claim
will promote health?

5.
Does the Commission see any possibility of cutting down on health claims by manufacturers and
making such claims subject to rules based on scientific research, sound information, control and sanctions?

6. What other proposals in this area can the European Parliament expect within the foreseeable future?

Joint answer
to Written Questions E-0401/01 and E-0402/01
given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(21 May 2001)

A product containing phytosterol-esters has been approved under Regulation (EC) No258/97 of the
Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 1997 concerning novel foods and novel food ingredients (1).
Under Commission Decision 2000/500/EC of 24 July 2000 on authorising the placing on the market of
food ingredient under
(cid:145)yellow fat spreads with added phytosterol esters(cid:146) as a novel

food or novel