Commission Directive 2007/68/EC of 27 November 2007 amending Annex IIIa to Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards certain food ingredients (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2007-11-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: consumer information, food safety, foodstuff, labelling, marketing

28.11.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 310/11

DIRECTIVES

COMMISSION DIRECTIVE 2007/68/EC

of 27 November 2007

amending Annex IIIa to Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as
regards certain food ingredients

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

the European
Having regard to Directive 2000/13/EC of
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 (1), and
in particular third subparagraph of Article 6(11) and Article 21
thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Annex IIIa to Directive 2000/13/EC establishes a list of
food ingredients which must be indicated on the label of
foodstuffs as they are likely to cause adverse reactions in
susceptible individuals.

Directive 2000/13/EC provides for
the possibility of
excluding from the labelling requirement ingredients or
substances derived from ingredients listed in Annex IIIa
for which it has been scientifically established that they
are not likely, under specific circumstances, to trigger
adverse reactions.

Commission Directive 2005/26/EC (2) establishes the list
of food ingredients or substances provisionally excluded
from the labelling requirement until the 25 November
2007.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(4)

A number of applications for permanent exemption from
the labelling requirement have been submitted to the

(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).

(2) OJ L 75, 22.3.2005, p. 33. Directive as amended by Directive

2005/63/EC (OJ L 258, 4.10.2005, p. 3).

(10)

concern substances

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Those appli-
cations
for which provisional
exemptions were granted by Directive 2005/26/EC. On
the basis of the EFSA opinions and other available infor-
mation, it can be concluded that certain ingredients or
substances derived from those ingredients listed in Annex
IIIa to Directive 2000/13/EC are not likely, under specific
circumstances, to cause adverse reactions in susceptible
individuals.

Those ingredients or
substances derived from those
ingredients should therefore be permanently excluded
from Annex IIIa to Directive 2000/13/EC.

Annex IIIa of Directive 2000/13/EC should be amended
accordingly.

should
2005/26/EC
Directive
26 November 2007 in view of
Article
2000/13/EC.

second

6(11),

subparagraph

on
repealed
be
the deadline set by
of Directive

In order to avoid disruption of the market, it is necessary
for this Directive to apply from the 26 November 2007.

It was expected that this Directive could be adopted and
published well in advance of the date of 26 November
2007 in order to give time to the industry to adapt to
the new rules. Since this has not been possible in
practice, temporary measures appear therefore necessary
to facilitate the application of
Indeed
industry, mainly
changes in labelling rules will affect
small and medium enterprises, which need an adaptation
period to smooth the transition towards new labelling
requirements.

the new rules.

The measures provided for
accordance with
Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

in this Directive are in
Standing
the

opinion

the

of

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Official Journal of the European Union

28.11.2007

HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

Article 3

Article 1

Annex IIIa to Directive 2000/13/EC is replaced by the text in
the Annex to this Directive as from 26 November 2007.

Article 2

1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations
and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this
Directive by 31 May 2008 at the latest. They shall forthwith
communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions
and a correlation table between those provisions and this
Directive.

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain
a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a
reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member
States shall determine how such reference is to be made.

2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission the
text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in
the field covered by this Directive.

Directive 2005/26/EC shall be repealed on 26 November 2007.

Member States shall allow foodstuffs placed on the market or
labelled before 31 May 2009 that comply with the provisions
of Directive 2005/26/EC to be marketed until stocks are
exhausted.

Article 4

This Directive shall enter into force on the day following that of
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Article 5

Done at Brussels, 27 November 2007.

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU
Member of the Commission

28.11.2007

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Official Journal of the European Union

L 310/13

ANNEX

‘ANNEX IIIa

Ingredients referred to in Article 6(3a), (10) and (11)

1. Cereals containing gluten (i.e. wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut or their hybridised strains) and products thereof,

except:

(a) wheat-based glucose syrups including dextrose (1);

(b) wheat-based maltodextrins (1);

(c) glucose syrups based on barley;

(d) cereals used for making distillates or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin for spirit drinks and other alcoholic

beverages.

2. Crustaceans and products thereof.

3. Eggs and products thereof.

4. Fish and products thereof, except:

(a) fish gelatine used as carrier for vitamin or carotenoid preparations;

(b) fish gelatine or Isinglass used as fining agent in beer and wine.

5. Peanuts and products thereof.

6. Soybeans and products thereof, except:

(a) fully refined soybean oil and fat (1);

(b) natural mixed tocopherols (E306), natural D-alpha tocopherol, natural D-alpha tocopherol acetate, natural

D-alpha tocopherol succinate from soybean sources;

(c) vegetable oils derived phytosterols and phytosterol esters from soybean sources;

(d) plant stanol ester produced from vegetable oil sterols from soybean sources.

7. Milk and products thereof (including lactose), except:

(a) whey used for making distillates or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin for spirit drinks and other alcoholic

beverages;

(b) lactitol.

8. Nuts, i.e. almonds (Amygdalus communis L.), hazelnuts (Corylus avellana), walnuts (Juglans regia), cashews (Anacardium
occidentale), pecan nuts (Carya illinoiesis (Wangenh.) K. Koch), Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa), pistachio nuts (Pistacia
vera), macadamia nuts and Queensland nuts (Macadamia ternifolia), and products thereof, except:

(a) nuts used for making distillates or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin for spirit drinks and other alcoholic

beverages.

(1) And products thereof, insofar as the process that they have undergone is not likely to increase the level of allergenicity assessed by the

EFSA for the relevant product from which they originated.

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28.11.2007

9. Celery and products thereof.

10. Mustard and products thereof.

11. Sesame seeds and products thereof.

12. Sulphur dioxide and sulphites at concentrations of more than 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/litre expressed as SO2.

13. Lupin and products thereof.

14. Molluscs and products thereof.’