Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2000/13/EC as regards indication of the ingredients present in foodstuffs
Date: 2001-09-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: advertising, approximation of laws, consumer information, foodstuff, labelling, packaging

27.11.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 332 E/257

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive
2000/13/EC as regards indication of the ingredients present in foodstuffs

(2001/C 332 E/09)

(Text with EEA relevance)

COM(2001) 433 final (cid:151) 2001/0199(COD)

(Submitted by the Commission on 6 September 2001)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,

to food additives may occur and that

reactions
the
avoidance of food additives is often difficult since not
all of them are invariably included on the labelling.

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 95 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of
Committee,

the Economic and Social

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
251 of the Treaty,

Whereas:

(1) In order to achieve a high level of health protection for
consumers and to guarantee their right to information, it
must be
appropriately
informed about foodstuffs,
inter alia through the listing
of all ingredients on labels.

ensured that

consumers

are

(2) By virtue of Article 6 of 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 adver-
certain substances need not
tising of
appear in the list of ingredients.

foodstuffs (1),

allergies or

(3) Certain ingredients contained in foodstuffs are the cause
of
in the
Community, and some of those allergies or intolerances
constitute a danger to the health of those concerned.

in consumers

intolerances

(4) The Scientific Committee for Food (SCF) has stated that
the incidence of food allergies is such as to affect the lives
of many people, causing conditions ranging from very
mild to potentially fatal.

(5) The SCF has acknowledged that common food allergens
include cow’s milk, fruits, legumes (especially peanuts and
fish, vegetables
tree nuts,
soybeans), eggs, crustaceans,
the Umbelliferae family),
(celery and other
foods of
it has also noted that adverse
wheat and other cereals;

(6) The most common food allergens are found in a wide

variety of processed foods.

labelling, which is intended for consumers in
(7) Even if
general,
is not to be regarded as the only medium of
information acting as substitute for the medical estab-
lishment, it is nevertheless advisable to assist consumers
who have allergies or intolerances as much as possible by
providing them with more comprehensive information
about the composition of foodstuffs.

(8) The list of allergenic substances includes those foodstuffs
and ingredients recognised as causing hypersensitivity and
likely to benefit
from an exemption under Directive
2000/13/EC. In order to keep up with the development
of scientific knowledge, it is important to be able to revise
this list rapidly, when necessary. Such revisions should
take the form of implementing measures of a technical
nature, the adoption of which should be entrusted to the
Commission in the interest of simplifying and accelerating
the procedure.

(9) In order to provide all consumers with better information
and to protect the health of certain consumers, it should
be made obligatory to include in the list of ingredients all
ingredients present in the foodstuff and,
in the case of
ingredients known to be allergenic, to declare them by
including in alcoholic
their specific name in all cases,
drinks, allowing no possibility of using the name of the
category to which they belong, nor,
in the case of
additives, any exemption from inclusion in the list of
ingredients.

(10) In order to avoid the risk that labelling may become too
complex and difficult
to read, procedures are needed
which make it possible to avoid excessively long lists of
ingredients, but without impairing the attainment of the
abovementioned objectives. In order to take account of
the technical constraints involved in the manufacture of
foodstuffs, it is also necessary to authorise greater flexi-
bility with regard to the listing of ingredients used in very
small quantities.

(1) OJ L 109, 6.5.2000, p. 29.

accordingly,

(11) Directive 2000/13/EC should therefore be

amended

C 332 E/258

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

27.11.2001

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 1

Directive 2000/13/EC is amended as follows:

1. Article 6 is amended as follows:

(a) The following paragraph 3a is inserted:

(cid:145)(3a) Without prejudice to the rules to be established
pursuant to paragraph 3, the presence of one or more
of the ingredients listed in Annex IIIa in a drink referred
to in paragraph 3 shall be mentioned, unless
the
ingredient(s) concerned is/are included under its/their
specific name(s) in the name under which the drink is
sold. This indication shall comprise the term (cid:147)contains(cid:148),
followed by the name of the ingredient(s) concerned.

Where necessary, detailed rules for applying the first
subparagraph may be adopted, in accordance with the
following procedures:

(a) as regards the products referred to in Article 1(2), of
Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/99 (*) under the
procedure laid down in Article 75 of that Regu-
lation;

(b) as regards the products referred to in Article 2(1), of
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1601/91 (**) under the
procedure laid down in Article 13 of that Regu-
lation;

(c) as regards the products referred to in Article 1(2), of
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89 (***) under the
procedure laid down in Article 14 of that Regu-
lation;

(d) as regards other products, under the procedure laid

down in Article 20(2) of this Directive.

___________

(*) OJ L 179, 14.7.1999, p. 1.
(**) OJ L 149, 14.6.1991, p. 1.
(***) OJ L 160, 12.6.1989, p. 1.(cid:146)

(b) The second subparagraph of paragraph 5 is amended as

follows:

(i) The fourth indent is replaced by the following text:

(cid:145) (cid:151) where fruit or vegetables, none of which
significantly predominates in terms of weight,
are used in a mixture as ingredients of a
they may be grouped together in
foodstuff,
the list of
ingredients under the designation
(cid:147)fruit(cid:148) or (cid:147)vegetables(cid:148), immediately followed by
a list of the fruit or vegetables present and a
phrase such as (cid:147)in varying proportions(cid:148); in such
cases, the mixture shall be included in the list of
ingredients
first
in accordance with
subparagraph, on the basis of the total weight
of the fruit or vegetables present,(cid:146)

the

(ii) The following sixth and seventh indents are added:

(cid:145) (cid:151) ingredients constituting less than 5 % of

the
finished product may be listed in a different
order after the other ingredients,

(cid:151) where ingredients which are similar or mutually
substitutable are likely to be used in the manu-
facture or preparation of a foodstuff without
altering its composition, and in so far as they
constitute less than 5 % of the finished product,
they may be referred to in the list of ingredients
by means of the phrase (cid:147)contains . . . and/or
. . .(cid:148), where at least one of no more than two
ingredients is present in the finished product, or
following
least one of
(cid:147)contains
the
ingredients:
. . .:(cid:148), where at least one
of no more than three ingredients is present
in the finished product.(cid:146)

at
. . .,

. . .,

(c) Paragraph 8 is amended as follows:

(i) The

following sentence

is

added to the

first

subparagraph:

(cid:145)However, where the ingredients of the compound
ingredient are already listed as single ingredients in
the list of ingredients, repetition is not compulsory,
as long as an explanatory note, placed near the list
of
ingredients, clearly informs the purchaser that
they are present in the foodstuff as single ingredients
and as ingredients of the compound ingredient.(cid:146)

(ii) The

second subparagraph is

replaced by the

following text:

(cid:145)The list referred to under the first subparagraph
shall not be compulsory:

(a) where

the

the

composition of

compound
is defined in current Community
ingredient
legislation, and in so far as the compound
ingredient constitutes
the
finished product; however, this provision shall
not apply to additives, subject to paragraph 4(c);

than 5 % of

less

(b) for the compound ingredients listed below, with
the exception of additives, subject to paragraph
4(c):

(i) preparations of sauces or mustards consti-
tuting less than 5 % of the finished product,

(ii) mixtures of spices or herbs constituting less

than 2 % of the finished product;

(c) where the compound ingredient is a foodstuff
for which a list of ingredients is not required
under Community legislation.(cid:146)

(d) The following paragraph 10 is added:

(cid:145)10.
Paragraph 4(c)(ii) and (iii), the first indent of the
second subparagraph of paragraph 6, and the second
subparagraph of paragraph 8 shall not apply to the
ingredients listed in Annex IIIa.

Annex IIIa may be amended in accordance with the
procedure referred to in Article 20(2).(cid:146)

2. In Annex I,

and
(cid:145)vegetables(cid:146), and the corresponding definitions, are deleted.

(cid:145)crystallised fruit(cid:146)

the designations

3. Annex IIIa, the text of which is set out in the Annex to this

Directive, is inserted.

27.11.2001

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 332 E/259

Article 2

Member States shall bring into force, by 31 December 2003 at
the latest, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions
necessary to:

(cid:151) permit, as from 1 January 2004, the sale of products that

comply with this Directive;

(cid:151) prohibit, as from 1 January 2005, products that do not
comply with this Directive; any products which do not
comply with this Directive but which have been placed
on the market or
to this date may,
labelled prior
however, be sold while stocks last.

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain
a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a
reference on the occasion of
their official publication.
Member States shall determine how such reference is to be
made.

Article 3

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

Article 4

They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

ANNEX

(cid:145)ANNEX IIIa

INGREDIENTS REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 6(3a) AND (10)

Cereals containing gluten and products thereof

Crustaceans and products thereof

Eggs and products thereof

Fish and products thereof

Peanuts and products thereof

Soybeans and products thereof

Milk and dairy products (including lactose)

Nuts and nut products

Sesame seeds and products thereof

Sulphite at concentrations of at least 10 mg/kg(cid:146)