WRITTEN QUESTION E-1248/01 by Paulo Casaca (PSE) to the Commission. Adulteration of food products.
Date: 2001-04-26
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: food additive, food inspection, foodstuff, product quality

20.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 364 E/67

Mrs Magda Aelvoet, Federal Minister of Consumer Affairs, Public Health and the Living Environment stated
on Thursday 22 March that the promotion campaigns by the manufacturers of baby formula foods are in
conflict with the Decree. The distribution of free samples (cid:129) and thus advertising for baby formulae (cid:129) still
seems to be a very common practice in Belgian maternity wards. This approach is not only unlawful, it is
also in conflict with the EU Treaty (regarding distortion of competition), as well as going directly against
the central aim of the WHO code, which is to promote breast feeding in the interest of public health.

Does the Council acknowledge that this approach by the producers of and traders in baby formulae
conflicts with the EC Treaty and leads to a distortion of competition between the various maternity
hospitals, manufacturers and traders? If so, what measures does the Council propose to take to deal with
this distortion of competition? If not, what are the Council(cid:146)s arguments for regarding the free distribution
of baby formulae by manufacturers and traders in maternity hospitals as compatible with the EC Treaty in
spite of
the distortion of competition which it creates between the various maternity hospitals,
manufacturers and traders?

(1) OJ L 175, 4.7.1991, p. 35.

Reply

(27 September 2001)

It is the role of the Commission, and not the Council, to monitor the implementation of Community
legislation and to take appropriate action where such legislation may have been incorrectly or
incompletely transposed into national legislation.

The Council can therefore take no position on the question raised, since it is a matter which falls under the
competence of the Commission.

(2001/C 364 E/074)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1248/01

by Paulo Casaca (PSE) to the Commission

(26 April 2001)

Subject: Adulteration of food products

A few months ago I received a publication from the Commission entitled (cid:145)Letter from the JRC(cid:146), which
contained an extensive list of research activities carried out by the Commission in order to combat fraud,
particularly in connection with the adulteration of wine.

Could the Commission say whether or not it is promoting any research activities into the detection of
deodorised hazelnut oil used in the adulteration of olive oil?

Could it also say whether or not the Community(cid:146)s research programme includes methods for detecting
adulteration and other types of fraud involving skimmed milk, casein subsidies, butter and other dairy
products?

Answer given by Mr Busquin on behalf of the Commission

(1 August 2001)

In addition to the activities of the European Office for Wine, Alcohol and Spirit drinks which addresses
questions regarding the authenticity of wine and alcoholic beverages, the Commission through its Joint
Research Centre (JRC) has been investigating various analytical methods for
suitability for
quantification of foreign oils in olive oil since a few years. Preliminary work has been carried out with
sophisticated methods, such as stable isotope ratio mass spectrometry or nuclear magnetic resonance.

their

C 364 E/68

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.12.2001

As those results demonstrated the capacity of such techniques for screening the adulteration of olive oil
with hazelnut oil, a shared cost action project was recently initiated (financed by Directorate General for
Research following a dedicated call published in October 1999), involving 14 laboratories from seven
Member States besides the JRC. This project aims to consolidate the preliminary results and to elaborate
other techniques. It started in January 2001 and has a duration of three years.

In addition to the project mentioned above on the determination of hazelnut oil
in olive oil, the
Commission through its Measurements and Testing generic activity also finances a project on the
determination of glycerol in wine and a project related to the development of sensors to control milk
quality and detect some specific type of milk adulteration started in February 2001 (G6RD-CT2000-00420
anti-fraude milk (cid:145)A Framilk(cid:146)).

In June 2001 the Commission will review the results of another project financed by the Standards
Measurements and Testing (SMT) programme and certify five new reference materials that are important
tools for the detection of wine chaptalisation (authentication of wines and sugars).

The JRC laboratory also has experience in the elaboration of analytical methods in the field of dairy
products. The JRC was a partner in two such shared-cost actions on the determination of added casein/
caseinate to cheese and development and validation of methods to determine the origin of milk, butter and
cheese (Fourth framework programme for research and technological development, SMT programme;
projects CT97-2208 and CT98-2236). It is not allowed to add these products to fresh cheese at all, but
they can be added to cheese preparations by up to 5 %. As those products derive from skimmed milk and
are therefore the same ingredients found in milk products, it has been demonstrated that this task is very
challenging even when very sophisticated methods are applied.

Attention is also drawn to the fact that Commission Regulation (EC) No 213/2001 of 9 January 2001
laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 as regards
methods for the analysis and quality evaluation of milk and milk products and amending Regulations (EC)
No 2771/1999 and (EC) No 2799/1999 (1) contains a comprehensive list of reference methods for the
analysis of milk and milk products under the common market organisation. This list contains methods for
the detection of adulterations developed by the Experts Group of the Management Committee for Milk and
Milk Products, e.g. methods for the detection of non-milk fat in milk fat, whey powder and buttermilk
powder in milk powder or cows(cid:146) milk in cheeses from ewes(cid:146), goats(cid:146) and buffalo(cid:146)s(cid:146) milk. Other methods are
presently being developed by the Experts Group to reinforce controls. These methods play an essential role
in the control procedures operated in the framework of the different aid schemes in the milk sector.

The JRC is currently also carrying out the validation of methods for the determination of fat content in
spreadable fats (mixtures of butter and margarine).

An overview of recent activities of the JRC in the field of food products is available from the Food
Products Unit, Institute for Health and Consumer Protection of the Joint Research Centre.

(1) OJ L 37, 7.2.2001.

(2001/C 364 E/075)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1252/01

by Carmen Cerdeira Morterero (PSE) to the Council

(27 April 2001)

Subject: Aid to Namibia and fundamental rights

Namibia is a country which benefits from European funds, being allocated a sum of € 52 million over the
period 1996-2000. The second priority of the agreement between the European Union and the Namibian
Government is the development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law, as well as respect for