WRITTEN QUESTION E-2809/02 by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Commission. Food allergies and restaurant ingredients.
Date: 2002-10-07
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: allergy, catering industry, consumer protection, food safety, foodstuff, foodstuffs legislation, labelling, nutritional disease

C 52 E/218

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

6.3.2003

Has Directive 2000/35/EC already been transposed into law in all the Member States? If not, in which
Member States has it not been transposed and what does the Commission intend to do?

(1) OJ L 200, 8.8.2000, p. 35.

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(21 October 2002)

More than half the Member States have already transposed Directive 2000/35/EC of the Parliament and of
the Council of 29 June 2000 on combating late payment in commercial transactions. However, as of
30 September 2002, the Commission had still received no notification from the following: Greece, Spain,
Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Austria and Portugal.

Since this subject is of great interest to the public in general, and small and medium-sized enterprises
(SMEs) in particular, the Commission has developed an internet web site accessible to the public. Among
other information is a list of national transposing legislation which is updated as the Commission receives
this information from the Member States. The website can be found at the following address: http://
europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/regulation/late_payments/index.htm

In the case of those Member States that have not yet transposed, the Commission opened infringement
procedures under Article 226 of the EC Treaty on 30 September 2002.

(2003/C 52 E/242)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2809/02

by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Commission

(7 October 2002)

Subject: Food allergies and restaurant ingredients

Would the Commission consider taking steps to ensure that, in an attempt to alleviate the problems faced
by food allergy sufferers, restaurants and other eating places are bound by a legal responsibility to declare
ingredients used in their dishes?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(12 November 2002)

Directive 2000/13/EC of the Parliament and of the Council of 20 March 2000 (1) names the particulars
which must be indicated on the labelling of pre-packaged foodstuffs and provides,
inter alia, for the
indication of a list of ingredients.

A proposal amending Directive 2000/13/EC (2) is currently under discussion within the Parliament and the
Council. The Parliament completed its first reading in June 2002. This proposal aims to establish more
detailed labelling requirements in terms of ingredients, in order to take account of the problem of food
allergies and intolerances.

As set out in Article 1, Directive 2000/13/CE concerns the labelling of foodstuffs to be delivered as such to
the ultimate consumer; however, it does not apply to meals served in restaurants, which are not foodstuffs
‘delivered as such to the ultimate consumer’.

Nevertheless, to the extent that the Directive also applies to foodstuffs which are delivered to restaurants
and used in the preparation of meals, restaurateurs are already in a position to provide the information
requested of them with regard to the ingredients of these foodstuffs.

(1) 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, OJ L 109,
6.5.2000.

(2) COM(2001) 433 final.