Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on materials and articles intended to come into contact with food’ (COM(2003) 689 final – 2003/0272 COD)
Date: 2004-04-28
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: food safety, labelling, packaging product, preparation for market, public awareness campaign, traceability

30.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 117/1

II

(Preparatory Acts)

EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE

408TH PLENARY SESSION, 28 AND 29 APRIL 2004

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘proposal for a Regulation of the
European Parliament and of the Council on materials and articles intended to come into contact
with food’

(COM(2003) 689 final – 2003/0272 COD)

(2004/C 117/01)

On 28 November 2003, the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee,
under Articles 53 and 54 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the ‘Proposal for a Regu-
lation of the European Parliament and of the Council on materials and articles intended to come into
contact with food’ (COM(2003) 689 final – 2003/0272 COD).

The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, which was responsible for preparing
the Committee's work on this subject, adopted its opinion on 5 April 2004. The rapporteur was
Ms Sharma.

At its 408th plenary session of 28 and 29 April 2004 (meeting of 28 April 2004), the European Economic
and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 84 votes to 2.

1.

Introduction

1.1 Directive 89/109/EEC provided the basis for the assur-
ance of a high level of protection of human health and of
consumers'
in relation to materials and articles
intended to come into contact with food whilst ensuring the
effective functioning of the internal market.

interests

1.4
The evaluation of substances is currently carried out by
the Scientific Committee on Food (SCF). It is however neces-
sary, for reasons of transparency, to establish more detailed
procedures for the safety assessment and authorisation of
substances used for the manufacture of food contact materials.

1.5
Food contact materials and articles need to be traceable
at all stages of manufacture, processing and distribution and
general rules of traceability for food contact materials, in line
with similar traceability provisions for food and feed estab-
lished in Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002.

1.2
Technological progress have produced materials to main-
tain or improve the condition of the food and prolong its shelf
life – ‘active’ materials. Other new packaging applications
known as ‘intelligent’ food contact materials and articles are
used to give information about the condition of the food.

1.6
Some additional provisions of labelling are proposed to
better inform the consumers and the users of the food contact
materials.

‘intelligent’

It is currently unclear under Directive 89/109/EEC,

if
1.3
‘active’ or
types of packaging are covered by
national or Community legislation. The new proposal clarifies
that these two types of food contact materials and articles are
covered by the Regulation and sets basic rules for their use. It
also foresees the possibility of drafting specific implementing
measures for them.

2. Gist of the Commission proposal

The Commission document proposes to replace the
2.1
existing framework directive on packaging legislation and addi-
tionally consider regulation for the traceability of active and
intelligent packaging.

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2.2
Active and intelligent packaging can be summarised
simplistically in two main forms: Absorbers – packaging which
removes excesses ( for example oxygen absorbing materials) or
Releasers – packaging which has a slow release mechanism of
preservatives or flavourings into the food contents. In all cases,
it is important to highlight that the packaging and either the
absorbers or release ingredients must comply with both food
and labelling EU legislation and therefore be safe for food. As
such the Proposal must be in line with Regulation (EC) No 178/
2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council
laying
down the general principles and requirements of food law,
establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying
down procedures in matters of food safety.

2.3
The present proposal aims at modifying Directive
89/109/EEC to take into account the issues mentioned above.
It also integrates for reasons of simplicity the symbol which
should accompany food contact materials and articles deter-
mined in Directive 80/590/EEC. The proposed Regulation will
therefore
and repeal Directives 89/109/EEC and
80/590/EEC.

replace

The Council Directive 89/109/EEC on the approximation
2.4
of the laws of the Member States relating to materials and arti-
cles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs (Framework
Directive) establishes the general principles applicable to all
food contact materials including principles of ‘inertness’ of the
together with lists of
materials and ‘purity of
authorised substances used in the manufacture of food contact
materials to the exclusion of all others (positive lists) and the
groups of materials and articles to be regulated by imple-
menting measures (specific directives), including the evaluation
of substances by the Scientific Committee on Food (SCF) and
the opinion of the Standing Committee on Foodstuffs.

the food,

The overall policy objective in terms of expected impacts

2.5
is:

— To secure a high level of protection of human health and

the interests of the consumer.

— To ensure the free movement of materials and articles

intended to come into contact with food.

— To take into account important technological developments

in the area of food packaging.

— To ensure better traceability as well as labelling of materials

and articles intended to come into contact with food.

— To improve the transparency of the authorisation process

by specifying the various phases of the procedure.

— To give the possibility to the Commission to adopt for the
implementing measures not only directives, but also deci-

sions and regulations, as the latter are more appropriate for
provisions, such as positive lists.

— To ensure better enforceability of the rules through the
establishment of Community and national Reference
Laboratories.

3. General comments

3.1
The provisions on active and intelligent food contact
materials and articles are general and establish the regulatory
status of these packaging applications in the Community to the
benefit of
the consumers and the
Member States.

the concerned industry,

3.2
The additional labelling requirements will ensure a more
informed use of the food contact materials and articles by the
purchaser and the final consumer.

3.3
Improving traceability of food contact materials will be
beneficial for the consumer in case of a problem, and will
allow a more limited withdrawal of deficient products by the
companies.

3.4
The basic approach suggested to reach the above-
mentioned objectives is to improve and harmonise Community
legislation on materials and articled intended to come into
contact with food by introducing the proposed rules.

In terms of respecting the subsidiarity and proportion-
3.5
ality principles
the Framework Directive 89/109/EEC was
adopted on the grounds that differences between national laws
of the Member States impended the free movement of these
materials and articles. Directive 89/109/EEC approximated
those laws to achieve the free movement of food contact mate-
rials and articles whilst protecting consumer's health and inter-
ests. This Directive also established a list of materials and arti-
cles to be covered by specific directives. This approach was
successful and should be continued.

The adoption of a Regulation instead of a Directive is
3.6
justified by the technical nature of the act and will lead to the
direct application of the proposed rules throughout the Com-
munity. This is important in the perspective of an enlarged
Community that will soon comprise 25 Member States and
from homogenous and directly
that will certainly benefit
applicable rules throughout its territory.

Community authorisation for the substances used in the
3.7
manufacture of food contact materials is already foreseen in
Directive 89/109/EEC. Thus, no new obligations arise for busi-
ness from the provisions on the authorisation procedure.

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The Commission's Proposal contains

3.8
general obligations for applicants:

the

following

ment of the proposal. However, the EESC additionally would
request the Commission to consider that the current proposal
lacks clarity in the initial paragraphs on three main issues:

3.8.1
To send the application for the authorisation of a
substance to the national competent authority of a Member
State, in first place.

3.8.2
To inform the Authority about new information which
may influence the evaluation of the safety in the use of an
authorised substance.

3.9
The general obligations for business operators respon-
sible for the manufacture, processing, importation, or distribu-
tion of food contact materials, include the following:

3.9.1
To label all materials and articles that are intended to
come into contact with food, including those for which this
use is obvious by their nature and which were so far excluded
from this obligation by Directive 89/109/EEC.

i. The document proposes to replace the existing framework
directive on packaging legislation and additionally consider
regulation for the traceability of active and intelligent
packaging. The EESC understands that further examination
of plastic packaging will also be under review in the near
future.

ii. A clear definition of active and intelligent packaging and
how they work. Although consultations with consumer
groups have taken place, clear
simple definitions and
consumer education leaflets would be valuable to remove
ignorance and fear.

3.9.2
To instruct on the permitted uses of active and intelli-
gent materials and articles, in order to enable the users of those
materials and articles to comply with relevant legislation applic-
able to food.

iii. Clarity that in all cases, the packaging and either the absor-
bers or release ingredients must comply with EU legislation
on food safety and food labelling. All migrating ingredients
to and from the packaging must be listed on the ingredients
label and be food safe.

3.10

Business operators are obliged:

3.10.1
To comply with the conditions of use and restrictions
attached to the authorisation of substances for manufacturing
food contact materials.

3.10.2
To have in place systems to identify the suppliers to
their businesses of materials and articles and where appropriate
the substances and products used for their manufacture. On
request, they should be able to make this information available
to the competent authorities.

3.10.3
To identify to whom their products have been
supplied and, upon request, to make this information available
to the competent authorities.

3.10.4
To adequately label or identify the materials and arti-
cles placed on the market in the Community to allow their
traceability.

4. Specific comments

The

EESC supports

the Commission

4.1
document
COM(2003) 689 and praises the Commission for its continued
consultation with trade associations and consumer representa-
tive organisations
final document. The
in reaching its
Committee also welcomes the introduction of the positive list.

The EESC notes that

4.2
the Commission has identified
problematic issues (contained within this document for refer-
ence) and is aware that there will not be an extended assess-

The implications of additional regulation and procedures
4.3
for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)
in the food
manufacturing and packaging industries will impose additional
auditing procedures on food manufactures and reflective costs
for packaging manufactures, many of which are difficult to
absorb for smaller companies.

4.4
The implications of the new authorisation procedures
for materials and designs in an industry not traditionally accus-
tomed to such regulation, in particular time scales, security of
design and the restrictive procedures may lead to reduced inno-
vation and competitiveness in the industry. Tight checks on
imported products must be made to retain a productive and
competitive global industry.

4.5
The EESC understands that it is the Commission's inten-
tion to reduce onerous auditing procedures, requiring only a
’Certificate of Conformity‘ or ’Compliance Approval Certificate‘
to be issued ’one–step before and one–step after‘ in the supply
chain. However, in the Commission document this is open to
misinterpretation with the use of the words ’whereby at least‘.
Guidelines to assist the food industry, with reference to the
correct checks required, should be laid down by the Commis-
sion together with clear information to assist them, enforce-
ment officers, and Member States on the specific provision for
traceability to prevent any extension of requirement or due dili-
in reviewing the correct information from packaging
gence,
manufacturers throughout the supply chain. This should be
done in an assistive manner, rather than further regulation
imposed on an already heavily regulated industry.

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4.6
The EESC would request the Commission to consider
some additional funding to support both a public and industry
campaign. The public awareness campaign is to educate consu-
mers and the users of the food contact materials on the addi-
tional provisions of labelling, and how to dispose of the packa-
ging with environmental consideration. An awareness raising
campaign for the food industry and consumers should be
supported by Member States and Regional Development Agen-
cies The EESC raises concerns in relation to the correct label-
ling of active and intelligent materials and articles, with provi-
sions to rule out that such systems may mislead the consumers
in relation to the quality or condition of the food. In no case
may the use of active packaging mask natural spoilage. The
EESC would additionally request the Commission to conduct
trials on the nutritional value of product contained in active
packaging verses unpackaged product, so that the consumer
can be can have an informed choice. Currently consumers are
unaware whether active package retains or depletes nutritional
content. The EESC understands that comprehensive labelling
for active and intelligent packaging is currently under consid-
eration and believe that product testing for nutritional risk or
benefit should be carried out in conjunction with the new legis-
lation.

4.7 Whilst the EESC accepts that the packaging is subject to
current food legislation, it highlights that this must be legible,

Brussels, 28 April 2004.

clear and understandable. However, further clarity on labelling
is required immediately. It must not be open to misinterpreta-
tion or false claims. Whilst not directly related to this Commis-
sion document, the EESC would wish to highlight the need for
further labelling on plastic packaging to prevent misuse, parti-
cularly on heating when in contact with food and fats. This
consideration could be made with the additional labelling legis-
lation and the review of plastic packaging and labelling regula-
tions.

4.8
Particular attentions should be paid to imported food
products where the ’symbol‘ which should accompany food
contact materials and articles should be determined as genu-
inely being used on authorised products. This responsibility has
been designated to the importer, however complete traceability
from a non-EU source may be more difficult to determine. This
combined with foreign language labelling may lead to inferior
products appearing in the EU, harming EU food and packaging
manufacturers, and potentially health risks for the consumer.

4.9
The EESC understands that a long lead time for both the
food and packaging industries to allow for the use of packaging
currently in stock will be made. This is essential to avoid envir-
onmental consequences and industry costs
for packaging
removal and destruction particularly for items, which cannot
be recycled.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Roger BRIESCH