WRITTEN QUESTION E-0873/03 by Joan Vallvé (ELDR) to the Commission. Designation of yoghurt.
Date: 2003-03-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Spain, consumer information, consumer protection, food standard, foodstuff, product designation, yoghourt

9.10.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 242 E/209

(2003/C 242 E/242)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0873/03

by Joan Vallvé (ELDR) to the Commission

(20 March 2003)

Subject: Designation of ‘yoghurt’

Changes made by the Spanish government last June to the quality standard for yoghurt intended for the
internal market allow pasteurised milk-based desserts to go under the name of ‘yoghurt’. Following this
change, a well-known Spanish dairy company has introduced on the market ‘yoghurt pasteurised after
fermentation’. As a result of this new state legislation, the new product can legally bear the name of
‘yoghurt’, even though it has neither of the two basic characteristics of the traditional yoghurt that are very
familiar to the consumer: being a fresh product and containing living micro-organisms that benefit health
by enriching the intestinal flora.

(in existence for over 4 000 years) has always been considered beneficial

Fresh yoghurt
to health,
as confirmed by numerous scientific studies. A large number of living and active bacteria (traditionally
fresh yoghurt and, when
Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus termophilus)
consumed, have a positive effect on health. In order for these bacteria to stay alive, they must be kept
refrigerated.

form the basis of

Yoghurt pasteurised after fermentation is produced in the same way as conventional yoghurt, but during
pasteurisation the heat destroys the living lactic ferments so that the product will keep for longer. Yoghurt
manufacturers have stated that, following the destruction of the living lactic bacteria, pasteurised yoghurt
does not bring as many benefits to the body as fresh yoghurt, although this process does turn it into a
long-life product, allowing it to be distributed outside the cold chain.

I am aware of the fact that Community guidelines tend to enforce clear and transparent consumer
information about consumables, covering not only quality and safety, but also nutritional value. On this
basis, does the Commission not think that the designation ‘yoghurt pasteurised after fermentation’
is
unclear and amounts to misleading advertising, which leads to confusion among consumers who associate
‘yoghurt’ with products containing living organisms? What does the Commission intend to do to solve this
problem and protect consumers from this kind of confusion?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(14 April 2003)

The Commission would refer the Honourable Member to its answer to Written Question P-0027/03 by
Mr Pasqua (1).

(1) OJ C 192 E, 14.8.2003, p. 147.

(2003/C 242 E/243)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0903/03

by María Sornosa Martínez (PSE) to the Commission

(24 March 2003)

Subject: Application of the precautionary principle in respect of electromagnetic pollution

The pollution caused by electromagnetic fields and the effect it has on human health are issues which
continue to worry the people of Europe and, in particular, the many groups within Spain’s population who
have expressed their alarm by drawing up complaints and petitions and submitting them to the EU
institutions. Such is the case with the local people living in Bacarot (Alicante region), who are extremely
concerned about the proliferation in their area (illegal under local urban-planning laws) of installations
which generate electromagnetic fields.