WRITTEN QUESTION E-2304/02 by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission. Combating the presence of carcinogenic acrylamide in chips, crisps and other baked or roasted foods.
Date: 2002-07-25
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: cancer, carcinogenic substance, chemical product, food safety, foodstuff, foodstuffs legislation, health risk

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in 1998 a proposal for a Directive on port reception facilities for ship-generated waste and cargo
residues (1). The Directive, which was adopted by the Parliament and the Council in November 2000 (2),
shall be implemented by the Member States by 28 December 2002 at the latest.

As explained in its reply to the Honourable Members written question E-2246/01, this Directive ensures
the availability of adequate waste reception facilities in all Community ports and introduces an obligation
on ships to deliver their waste ashore. The Directive also introduces an obligation for ships to notify the
port of on-board quantities of wastes prior to arrival. This, coupled with port-based checks and
appropriate sanctions, will greatly improve the possibilities to control compliance with the international
rules. However, since the Directive has not yet been transposed into national law by the Member States the
Commission does not at this stage dispose of concrete figures relating to numbers of inspection carried out
by specific Member States for this purpose, or of the nationality of the ships involved in discharges.

Apart from Directive 2000/59/EC, a number of complementary measures have been taken to reduce illegal
discharges from ships:

(cid:1) The Directive establishing a Community vessel traffic monitoring and information system (3), requires
Member States to exchange information on ships in respect of which there is proof or presumptive
evidence of deliberate discharges of oil and to carry out any appropriate inspection on board such
ships when they enter a Community port.

(cid:1) The Commission in the aforementioned Directive on traffic monitoring, has also included an
obligation for ships to provide information on spotted oil slicks and for authorities to take appropriate
action. The Commission is currently also exploring other ways to set up a system for monitoring oil
spills, including tracing oil based on surveillance and tracking.

(cid:1) The setting up of the European Maritime Safety Agency will play an important role in this respect, in
particular as regards ensuring a harmonised implementation of Community legislation and collecting
and managing data relating to ship-source pollution.

(cid:1) Finally, Decision 2850/2000/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 2000, setting
up a Community framework for co-operation in the field of accidental or deliberate marine
pollution (4) will improve the exchange of information on the efficiency of the prosecution systems
applied in the different Member States. It will also allow the development of joint initiatives such as
workshops or training courses in order to improve the techniques for identifying contravening vessels.
This will create synergies at Community level and should ultimately permit the implementation of
dissuasive sanctions against the parties responsible for such criminal acts.

Furthermore, the Commission is finalising a Communication to Parliament and Council ‘Towards a strategy
to protect and conserve the marine environment’ (foreseen in the 6th Environmental Action Programme).
In this context, proposals will be made and action will be initiated aimed at phasing out of illegal
discharges by ships.

(1) OJ C 271, 31.8.1998.
(2) Directive 2000/59/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2000 on port reception facilities for

ship-generated waste and cargo residues.

(3) Directive 2002/59/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2002 establishing a Community vessel traffic

monitoring and information system and repealing Council Directive 93/75/EEC, OJ L 208, 5.8.2002.

(4) OJ L 332, 28.12.2000.

(2003/C 92 E/205)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2304/02

by Erik Meijer (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(25 July 2002)

Subject: Combating the presence of carcinogenic acrylamide in chips, crisps and other baked or roasted

foods

1.
Is the Commission aware that the findings of the Swedish research into the presence of acrylamide in
carbohydrate-rich foods, such as chips and crisps, which are cooked at very high temperatures, has now

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been confirmed by research carried out
Inspectorate (KvW), and that,
concerns?

for example by the Netherlands Food
in late June, a panel of Geneva-based WHO experts expressed similar

in other countries,

Does the Commission give credence to the claim made by the KvW and the Netherlands National
2.
Institute of Public Health and the Environment
individuals consume
27 micrograms of acrylamide every day, 80 % of which is accounted for by chips (especially deep-fried)
and crisps? That could result in the deaths from cancer of 110 persons per year out of a total population
of the Netherlands of 16 million. Of that number, most would be children, since it is they who consume
large quantities of such products. If that figure were extrapolated to cover the European Union as a whole,
the result would be upwards of 2 250 deaths per year.

that, on average,

(RIVM)

3.
Acrylamide is found not in boiled foods but only in baked, roasted and grilled foods. The extent to
which it occurs in products cooked in this way varies significantly. Does the Commission feel that those
facts provide an opportunity for measures to be taken which would influence the production process in
such a way that the presence of acrylamide in foodstuffs would be restricted to a minimum and that
lessons can be learned from the way in which some particular manufacturers manage to prevent the
formation of acrylamide better than others?

On the basis of the further research into the carcinogenic nature of acrylamide referred to in the
4.
answers to Written Questions E-1350/02 (1) and 1404/02 (2), does the Commission have any plans to draw
up, at a very early date, provisions with which manufacturers of food produced at high temperatures
would have to comply under European food safety rules in order for them to be permitted to place their
products on the market without any threat to public health?

(1) See page 47.
(2) OJ C 277 E, 14.11.2002, p. 201.

Answer given by Mr. Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(30 September 2002)

The Commission is fully aware of the recent scientific developments regarding acrylamide in food. It is in
close communication with relevant parties and is working to identify how to reduce levels by as much as
possible. This follows the advice of the Scientific Committee on Food given in its opinion of 3 July 2002.
The scientific opinion also outlines the areas where further studies are needed and endorses the
recommendations from the World Health Organisation/Food and Agriculture Organisation (WHO/FAO)
meeting held in Geneva in late June 2002. Follow-up on these aspects is ongoing.

It is important to note that the formation of acrylamide in food has been only recently highlighted. This is
a result of new analytical technology helping us to better understand the ways in which traditional cooking
practices affect the food we eat. It is inevitable that more studies are needed before we can better
understand the level of risk posed.
the possible implications regarding cancer, some
organisations have made varying attempts to quantify this. However, the Scientific Committee on Food
concluded that the available information is too limited and it is not possible to accurately estimate the
likely contribution towards numbers of cases of cancer.

In terms of

Nevertheless, it is important to reduce levels of acrylamide in food without delay. The Commission is
planning a co-ordination of Community activities.
It aims to ensure that work being carried out is
complementary and that progress is made as quickly as possible. A meeting of the Member States and
external organisations, including the industry and consumer groups, is being planned for 15/16 October
2002. The Commission is presently consulting stakeholders in preparation. An important short-term aim
of the meeting will be to discuss the possibility of developing a guide of good practice to prevent the

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formation of high levels of acrylamide in food. When sufficient scientific understanding is reached it will
be possible to consider whether limits should be set
for acrylamide in food. The Commission is
considering possible support for the identified long-term research needs in its 6th Framework Programme
for Research and Technological Development. The need to set limits will be kept under review in the light
of the latest scientific evidence.

(2003/C 92 E/206)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2307/02

by Erika Mann (PSE) to the Council

(25 July 2002)

Subject: Mandatory data retention

According to the views of European Data Protection Commissioners, mandatory data retention as adopted
recently in the EP constitutes a clear change from the current practice whereby operators cooperate with
law enforcement agencies on a case-by-case and individual basis following an authorisation or warrant.

Could the Council clarify how this issue will, in future, be dealt with under the first and third pillars, and
how it will ensure that any EU initiative in the area of data retention is carried out in a coordinated and
transparent way involving full consultation of all
interested parties (law enforcement agencies, data
protection officials, users, and industry), services (DGs JHA, InfSo, Internal Market, SanCo) and Parliament?

How will the Council address the issue of the cost of keeping the data secure against external and internal
misuse?

How will the Council address the liability implications of data retention for communications companies,
should data be misused or in instances where data that is forwarded to LEAs turns out to be wrong and
leads to misinterpretation and even wrong judgments?

How will the Council ensure that compliance costs are not prohibitive to new market entrants and small
ISPs?

Reply

(16-19 December 2002)

On 12 July 2002 the European Parliament and the Council adopted Directive 2002/58/EC concerning the
processing of personal data and the protection of privacy in the electronic communications sector. This
Directive will
replace Directive 97/66/EC, which has been adapted to market and technological
developments.

As far as the retention of data is concerned, the aspect to which the Honourable Member refers, the new
Directive makes no substantive changes to the current provisions. Like Directive 97/66/EC, it lays down
the principle (Article 6) that traffic data must be erased when it is no longer needed for the purpose of the
transmission of a communication; at the same time, it provides for a number of exceptions. One of these
is that Member States may adopt legislative measures to restrict the scope of certain rights and obligations
under the Directive, when such restriction constitutes a necessary, appropriate and proportionate measure
within a democratic society to safeguard national security, defence, public security, and the prevention,
investigation, detection and prosecution of criminal offences. The main changes introduced here by
Directive 2002/58/EC (Article 15) consist in specifying, firstly, that the retention of traffic data for a limited
period is one of the measures that may be taken, and, secondly, that all restrictive measures must be in
accordance with the general principles of Community law. It should also be noted that recital 11 of the
Directive sets out the strict conditions with which those measures must comply. The provisions do not
therefore impose an obligation to retain traffic data.