WRITTEN QUESTION E-0172/02 by Alexander de Roo (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Safety of irradiated foodstuffs.
Date: 2002-02-06
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: chemical product, foodstuff, health risk, irradiated product, irradiation, public health

C 160 E/192

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.7.2002

(2002/C 160 E/238)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0166/02

by Mihail Papayannakis (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Implementation of Directive 90/314/EEC on package travel

(6 February 2002)

Can the Commission say when and to what extent Greece transposed Directive 90/314/EEC (1) on package
travel, package holidays and package tours in its legislation and whether it is implementing it correctly?

(1) OJ L 158, 23.6.1990, p. 59.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(5 March 2002)

Council Directive 90/314/EEC of 13 June 1990 on package travel, package holidays and package tours (1)
was transposed in Greece by presidential decreeNo339/96. Having examined this legislation,
the
Commission felt that the transposal of Article 7 of the Directive, which exempts shipping companies
from the obligation of providing a financial guarantee in the event of insolvency in order to ensure
infringement
reimbursement/repatriation, was inadequate. For this reason the Commission brought
proceedings and referred the matter to the Court of Justice (Case C-467/99). When Greece adopted
presidential decreeNo129/2000 to amend its legislation as suggested by the Commission, the Commission
dropped the proceedings.

The Commission is not currently in possession of any further information.

(1) OJ L 158, 23.6.1990.

(2002/C 160 E/239)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0172/02

by Alexander de Roo (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(6 February 2002)

Subject: Safety of irradiated foodstuffs

When foodstuffs and condiments are irradiated, a group of chemicals known as cyclobutanones is
produced. They are not found in food which has not been irradiated and do not even occur in nature. This
fact has been known for 30 years now.

Recent experiments conducted by German scientists working for the German government have shown that
one of the cyclobutanones, 2-dodecylcyclobutanone (2-DCB), can cause genetic damage in rats and to
human cells. One of the researchers is Henry Delincée of the Federal Nutrition Research Institute in
Karlsruhe.

It has also been shown that two other chemical substances in the cyclobutanone family, 2-TCB and
2-TDCD, can cause genetic damage and damage human cells.

Is the Commission aware that such research is being carried out?

Is it prepared to have research carried out into the potential risks these cyclobutanones pose to human
health?

Is it prepared to abandon proposals for legalising the irradiation of foodstuffs in the European Union until
comprehensive research has been carried out into the probability that cyclobutanones damage human
health?

4.7.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 160 E/193

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(14 March 2002)

The Commission is aware of the new toxicological studies on cyclobutanones. Upon request of the
Commission, the authors have submitted their report on these studies to the Scientific Committee on Food.

On 8 August 2001, the Commission adopted a Communication on food irradiation addressed to the
Parliament and the Council in order to launch an open debate about the foods which should be authorised
for treatment by ionising radiation. The above-mentioned report on cyclobutanones was finalised in
November 2001. The Commission will wait for the evaluation of the Scientific Committee on Food and for
the conclusion of the debate following its Communication before considering any further action.

Information about food irradiation is available on the following web site of DG Health and Consumer
Protection of the European Commission: http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sfp/sfp_index_en.html.

(2002/C 160 E/240)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0181/02

by Stavros Xarchakos (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(6 February 2002)

Subject: Commission’s answers concerning pirated compact discs (CDs)

In his answer of 18 December 2001 to my question (E-3094/01) (1) concerning counterfeit compact discs,
Commissioner Bolkestein provided some information about the Commission’s activities in this respect but
did not give any figures on the extent of piracy in Greece and the other Member States, as I had requested.
I was, therefore, astonished to find that the Commission had provided detailed figures in response to a
question on exactly the same subject by my distinguished colleague, Mrs Myrsini Zorba (H-0867/01) (2).

I feel compelled, therefore, to reiterate my question and ask the Commission what data it has on CD piracy
in Greece and the other 14 Member States, and whether the Greek authorities have informed the
Commission of the extent of the problem. Why exactly did the Commission decide not to include the
figures referred to in its answer to Mrs Zorba in its answer to this author’s question?

(1) OJ C 93 E, 18.4.2002, p. 216.
(2) Written answer of 11.12.2001.

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(13 March 2002)

Compact Disc (CD) piracy is a matter of concern for the Commission and an issue to which it is paying
particular attention. Mrs Zorba’s oral question asked in a general way for the amount of revenue lost in the
Union as a whole due to intellectual property theft. In its answer the Commission merely referred to
figures given by the International Chamber of Commerce for worldwide counterfeiting and piracy which
date from 1997 (5-7 % of world commerce at a cost of € 200 G € 300 billion and 200 000 jobs per year).
The Commission gave an estimate concerning the Internal Market as a whole (a loss of between € 400 and
€ 800 million).

At present the Commission does not have what it considers to be verifiable nor neutral figures at its
disposal on a Member State basis. However, according to the latest figures on 2000 provided by the music
industry on the percentage of sales that pirated CDs represent: in Greece, domestic piracy of CD’s amounts
to 50 % of sales; in Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Finland, it accounts for 10-25 % of sales and in the
other Member States it stands at less than 10 %.