Commission Regulation (EC) No 445/2007 of 23 April 2007 laying down certain detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 laying down standards for spreadable fats and of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87 on the protection of designations used in the marketing of milk and milk products (Codified version)
Date: 2007-04-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: butter, codification of EU law, fats, labelling, marketing standard, product designation, product quality

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 445/2007

of 23 April 2007

laying down certain detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 laying
down standards for spreadable fats and of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87 on the protection
of designations used in the marketing of milk and milk products

(Codified version)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 of 5
December 1994 laying down standards for spreadable fats (1),
and in particular Article 8 thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87 of 2
July 1987 on the protection of designations used in the
marketing of milk and milk products (2), and in particular
Article 4(2) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 577/97 of 1 April 1997
laying down certain detailed rules for the application of
Council Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 laying down
standards for spreadable fats and of Council Regulation
(EEC) No 1898/87 on the protection of designations
used in the marketing of milk and milk products (3)
has been substantially amended several times (4). In the
interests of clarity and rationality the said Regulation
should be codified.

the sales
Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 provides that
descriptions of
the products referred to in Article 1
thereof must be those indicated in the Annex thereto.
There are exceptions to that rule. The rule does not
to designations where the exact
apply in particular
nature of
is clear from traditional usage
and/or where the designation is clearly used to describe
a characteristic quality of the product. Certain detailed
rules should be laid down for the application of that
provision.

the product

(3)

Article 1(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2991/94, which
stipulates that that Regulation is to be applied without
prejudice in particular to Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87,

(1) OJ L 316, 9.12.1994, p. 2.
(2) OJ L 182, 3.7.1987, p. 36. Regulation as last amended by the 1994

Act of Accession.

(3) OJ L 87, 2.4.1997, p. 3. Regulation as last amended by Regulation

(EC) No 568/1999 (OJ L 70, 17.3.1999, p. 11).

(4) See Annex IV.

must be complied with. The aim of the two Regulations
is essentially the same, namely to avoid any confusion in
the mind of the consumer as to the true nature to the
products in question. Therefore, in order to ensure the
consistency of Community legislation, the detailed rules
for applying Regulations (EC) No 2991/94 and (EEC) No
1898/87 regarding the use of the designation ‘butter’
should be laid down in a single text.

In order to identify clearly the scope of the derogations
referred to in Regulation (EC) No 2991/94, an exhaustive
list of the designations concerned should be drawn up,
together with a description of the products to which they
refer.

The first criterion of the derogation provided for in the
first indent of the third subparagraph of Article 2(2) of
Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 relates to the traditional
character of a designation. Such traditional character
may be considered proven where the designation has
been used for a period preceding 9 April 1997, at least
equal
to the duration usually attributed to a human
generation. The derogation must be limited to those
products for which the designation has actually been
used so that such traditional character is not lost.

The second criterion of the that derogation relates to the
use of the designations in the Annex to Regulation (EC)
No 2991/94 to describe a characteristic feature of the
marketed products.
In this case, the exception relates
logically to products which are not listed as such in
that Annex.

That derogation should be restricted to products which
were marketed on 9 April 1997. The Member States
forwarded to the Commission, before that date, the list
of products which they considered as meeting the criteria
of that derogation within their territory.

Commission Decision 88/566/EEC of 28 October 1988
listing the products referred to in the second subpara-
graph of Article 3(1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No
1898/87 (5) already contains exceptions with regard to
the designation ‘butter’. Account should be taken of
them.

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(5) OJ L 310, 16.11.1988, p. 32. Decision amended by Decision

98/144/EC (OJ L 42, 14.2.1998, p. 61).

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(9)

(10)

(11)

(12)

In the Community list provided for in Regulation (EC)
No 2991/94,
in
question should be listed only in the Community
language in which those designations may be used.

the designations of

the products

The designations on the labelling of foodstuffs containing
products as defined in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No
2991/94 or concentrated products as defined in the
second indent of the third subparagraph of Article 2(2)
of that Regulation may refer to the corresponding desig-
nations given in that Annex, provided that Directive
the
2000/13/EC of
Council of 20 March 2000 on the approximation of
the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling,
presentation and advertising of foodstuffs (1) is complied
with. There is therefore no need for the list of the above-
mentioned exceptions to mention such foodstuffs.

the European Parliament and of

(15)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of
the Management
Committees concerned,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1.
The list of products covered by the derogation provided
for in the first indent of the third subparagraph of Article 2(2)
of Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 shall be as shown in Annex I
hereto.

The designations

listed in the Annex to Decision
2.
88/566/EEC which contain the word ‘butter’
in one of the
Community languages shall not be affected by this Regulation.

In view of present technical conditions, any obligation to
fat content without any tolerance
indicate the exact
would
difficulties.
practical
considerable
Therefore, certain special rules should be laid down in
that regard.

involve

Article 2

1.
The indication of the fat content as provided for in Article
3(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 shall comply with the
following rules:

Regulations (EC) No 2991/94 and (EEC) No 1898/87
cover composite products of which an essential part is
butter. Therefore, those products should be dealt with
consistently, whilst adhering to the approach employed
in Article 2(3) of Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87. The
scope of
that paragraph should therefore be defined
more clearly with regard to composite products of
which an essential part is butter, by laying down an
objective criterion for determining whether an essential
part of the composite products is actually butter and
whether the designation ‘butter’ is therefore justified. A
minimum milk-fat content of 75 % in the final product
seems to be the most appropriate criterion.

(a)

the average fat content shall be declared without the use of
decimals;

(b) the average fat content may not differ by more than one
percentage point from the percentage declared. Individual
samples may not differ by more than two percentage
points from the percentage declared;

(c)

in all cases,
the average fat content must comply with
the limits laid down in the Annex to Regulation (EC)
No 2991/94.

(13)

The second subparagraph of Article 2(2) of Regulation
(EC) No 2991/94 provides that the sales descriptions
listed in the Annex thereto are to be reserved for
products which meet the criteria set out in that Annex.
Therefore, trade marks which employ those designations
may continue to be used in the future solely for products
which meet those criteria.

Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the fat content declared in
2.
respect of the products referred to in Parts A(1), B(1) and C(1)
of the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 shall correspond
to the minimum fat content of the product.

The procedure to be applied to verify compliance with

3.
paragraph 1 shall be as set out in Annex II.

(14) Actual market conditions will show whether or not it
will be appropriate to lay down measures at a later
date with regard to composite products of which the
main ingredient is margarine or composite fats.

(1) OJ L 109, 6.5.2000, p. 29. Directive as

last amended by
Commission Directive 2006/142/EC (OJ L 368, 23.12.2006,
p. 110).

Article 3

The designation ‘butter’ may be used for composite
1.
products of which an essential part within the meaning of
Article 2(3) of Regulation (EEC) No 1898/87 is butter if the
end product contains at
least 75 % milk fat and has been
manufactured solely from butter within the meaning of Part
A(1) of the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 2991/94 and the
other added ingredient(s) mentioned in the description.

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The designation ‘butter’ may be used for composite
2.
products containing less than 75 % but at least 62 % milk fat
if the other requirements specified in paragraph 1 are met and if
the product designation includes the term ‘butter preparation’.

The term ‘butter preparation’ in paragraph 2 and the indi-
5.
cations in paragraph 4 must appear in a conspicuous place and
be easily visible and clearly legible.

3.
By derogation from paragraphs 1 and 2, the designation
‘butter’ may be used in association with a word or words to
designate the products listed in Annex III containing at least
34 % milk fat.

Article 4

Regulation (EC) No 577/97 is repealed.

References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as
references to this Regulation and shall be read in accordance
with the correlation table in Annex V.

The use of the designation ‘butter’ under paragraphs 1, 2
4.
and 3 shall be subject to the requirement to indicate in the
labelling and presentation of
the milk fat
content and,
if the other added ingredients contain fat, the
total fat content.

the products

Article 5

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 23 April 2007.

For the Commission
The President

José Manuel BARROSO

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ANNEX I

I. (Spanish)

‘Mantequilla de Soria’ or ‘Mantequilla de Soria dulce’, ‘Mantequilla de Soria azucarada’: for a sweetened
aromatised milk product with a minimum milk-fat content of 39 %

II. (Danish)

III.

(German) — ‘Butterkäse’: for cow's milk cheese which has a semi-soft, fatty consistency and a minimum milk-fat

content in the dry matter of 45 %

— ‘Kräuterbutter’: for a butter-based preparation containing herbs and a minimum milk-fat content of

62 %

— ‘Milchmargarine’: for margarine containing at least 5 % whole milk, skimmed milk or other suitable

milk products

IV.

(Greek)

V. (English) — ‘Brandy butter’, ‘Sherry butter’ or ‘Rum butter’: for a sweetened, alcoholic product with a minimum

milk-fat content of 20 %

— ‘Buttercream’: for a sweetened product with a minimum milk-fat content of 22,5 %

VI.

(French)

‘Beurre d'anchois, de crevettes, de langouste, de homard, de crabe, de langoustine, de saumon, de
saumon fumé, de coquille Saint-Jacques, de sardine’:
for products containing sea foods and a
minimum milk-fat content of 10 %

VII. (Italian)

VIII. (Dutch)

IX.

(Portuguese)

X. (Finnish)

‘Munavoi’: for a product containing eggs and a minimum milk-fat content of 35 %

XI.

(Swedish) — ‘flytande margarin’: for a product of a liquid consistency containing at least 80 % vegetable fats such

as margarine yet whose composition is such that the product is not spreadable

— ‘messmör’: for a whey-based milk product, whether or not sweetened, of a minimum milk-fat

content of 2 %

— ‘vitlökssmör’,

‘persiljesmör’ or ‘pepparrotssmör’:
flavouring effect and of a minimum milk-fat content of 66 %

for a product containing foodstuffs having a

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ANNEX II

Verification of the declared fat content of spreadable fats

Five samples are to be taken randomly from the batch to be checked and analysed. The following two procedures are to
be applied:

A. The arithmetical mean of the five results obtained is compared with the declared fat content. The declared fat content
is deemed to comply if the arithmetical mean content does not differ by more than one percentage point from the
declared fat content.

B. The five individual results are compared with the tolerance (± two percentage points of the declared fat content)
shown in Article 2(1)(b). If the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the five individual
results is less than or equal to four percentage points, the requirements of Article 2(1)(b) are deemed to be met.

Where compliance with the conditions set out under A and B is established, the batch being checked is deemed to
comply with the requirements of Article 2(1)(b) even where one of the five values falls outside the tolerance range of ±
two percentage points.

ANNEX III

Products referred to in Article 3(3)

Type of product

Composition of product

Minimum milk fat content

Alcoholic butter (butter containing
alcoholic beverages)

Butter, alcoholic beverage, sugar

34 %

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ANNEX IV

Repealed Regulation with list of its successive amendments

Commission Regulation (EC) No 577/97

(OJ L 87, 2.4.1997, p. 3)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1278/97

(OJ L 175, 3.7.1997, p. 6)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2181/97

(OJ L 299, 4.11.1997, p. 1)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 623/98

(OJ L 85, 20.3.1998, p. 3)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1298/98

(OJ L 180, 24.6.1998, p. 5)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2521/98

(OJ L 315, 25.11.1998, p. 12)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 568/1999

(OJ L 70, 17.3.1999, p. 11)

ANNEX V

Correlation Table

Regulation (EC) No 577/97

This Regulation

Articles 1 to 3

Article 5

Article 5a

—

Article 6

Annexes I-III

—

—

Articles 1 to 3

—

—

Article 4

Article 5

Annexes I-III

Annex IV

Annex V