WRITTEN QUESTION E-1425/01 by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission. Bread and food safety.
Date: 2001-05-17
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: approximation of laws, bread, consumer protection, food safety, labelling, product quality

20.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 364 E/107

(2001/C 364 E/117)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1420/01

by Luciano Caveri (ELDR) to the Commission

(17 May 2001)

Subject: Bilateral agreements between the European Union and Switzerland

The bilateral agreements between the European Union and Switzerland have important implications for
relations between the two sides and cover various spheres.

When are the individual agreements due to come into force and via what procedures?

What other discussions have been opened between the two sides and what sectors are being envisaged for
greater integration?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(26 July 2001)

The seven agreements signed with Switzerland on 21 June 1999 will enter into force all together once
they have been ratified. One of the agreements, the one on free movement of persons, needs to be ratified
by all Member States. These ratifications have not yet been completed. The Commission hopes that all
ratifications will have been completed by the end of this year or early next year.

During the course of this spring the Commission has held exploratory talks with Switzerland in eight
further sectors: Swiss participation in the European Environment Agency, co-operation on statistics, co-
operation against fraud, trade in processed agricultural products, trade in services, Swiss participation in
Community programmes (media, youth, education, training), taxation on savings, and the issues falling
under the Schengen acquis and Dublin convention. For the first four sectors, the Council has given or is
about to give negotiating directives to the Commission. In these sectors negotiations can start as soon as
the Swiss side has adopted its own negotiating mandates. The exploratory talks in the other sectors are less
advanced.

(2001/C 364 E/118)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1425/01

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission

(17 May 2001)

Subject: Bread and food safety

Recent scares concerning the safety of food products, which have necessitated drastic decisions affecting
certain animal species, must not make us forget that the issue of safety, in particular consumer protection,
also concerns the product commonly sold as bread, but which sometimes is not bread, at least until the
ingredients of bread have been clearly defined. The continually expanding production of (cid:145)industrial(cid:146) bread,
no longer made solely with wheat flour, is leading to the opening of new sales outlets, to the detriment of
the small-scale bakeries. However, the need to ensure food safety, product quality, proper consumer
information and genuine competition should lead the legislators to define more clearly what is meant by
(cid:145)bread(cid:146).

Does the Commission not consider it appropriate and useful to propose a revision of the legislation on
bread and a clear definition of (cid:145)home-baked bread(cid:146) compared with (cid:145)industrial bread(cid:146).

Does it agree that only the product made from wheat flour, water, yeast, olive oil (or butter or lard), with
or without salt, should be defined as bread?

C 364 E/108

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.12.2001

Does it not consider that in order to ensure the authenticity of the product and proper information to
consumers industrial bread should bear a label indicating where it was made?

Does it not consider that (cid:145)home-baked(cid:146) bread should be sold where it is made?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(23 July 2001)

There is no Community legislation establishing standard provisions on the composition of bread.

In the Commission(cid:146)s view, it would be difficult to pass such legislation given that the products concerned
are so varied and there are so many local customs and traditions in this regard.

However, as with all foodstuffs, bakery products are covered by Directive 2000/13/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 20 March 2000 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States
relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs (1).

Prepackaged products of this kind must therefore bear a label providing certain mandatory information in
keeping with the stipulations of the Directive, particularly a list of ingredients, so that the consumer has
the information he needs to make an informed choice.

Where the products are not prepackaged, the information for the consumer must still be provided but, as
indicated in Article 14 of Directive 2000/13/EC, the Member States must adopt rules concerning the
manner in which the information is shown.

As regards particulars of the product(cid:146)s place of origin or provenance, Article 3(8) of the aforementioned
Directive stipulates that these must be indicated on the label where failure to give such particulars might
mislead the consumer.

Finally, the Commission takes the view that imposing an obligation to sell certain types of products where
they are made would run counter to the basic principle of freedom of trade and industry.

(1) OJ L 109, 6.5.2000.

(2001/C 364 E/119)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1426/01

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission

(17 May 2001)

Subject: Trafficking in children

Unicef recently announced a that a ship (rightly called a (cid:145)ship of horrors(cid:146)) with 250 children on board,
hungry and crammed in like cattle, was looking for somewhere to dock in the Gulf of Guinea. It is now
known that the ship docked in the port of Cotonou in Benin, without any trace of the children being
found on board. The media have raised a number of questions as to what has become of them. Until the
current investigations throw light on the incident there remains a strong feeling of indignation regarding
a dreadful phenomenon which, according to Unicef, makes slaves of about 250 million children in the
world.

In view of the lack of practical measures to combat this kind of phenomenon, is the Commission aware of
its existence and seriousness?

Will it endeavour to ensure that political pressure is brought to bear on countries which are known to
allow child slavery?

Does it envisage, in collaboration with other international organisations working on behalf of children, to
carry out projects to combat this appalling trade as a whole, tackling it both at source and at the final
destinations (which unfortunately include Europe)?