REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the exercise of the delegation conferred on the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers
Date: 2016-03-11
Institutions: Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, European Commission
Subjects: European Commission, consumer information, delegated legislation, delegated regulation, food safety, foodstuff, foodstuffs legislation, labelling, transfer of competence

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   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 11.3.2016  COM(2016) 138 final   REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the exercise of the delegation conferred on the Commission pursuant to Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers  
 
 
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

on the exercise of the delegation conferred on the Commission pursuant to 
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers 

1. 

Introduction and legal basis 

This  report  is  supposed  to  meet  the  obligation  set  for  the  Commission  by  Article  51(2)  of 
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 
2011  on  the  provision  of  food  information  to  consumers  (hereinafter  'the  Food  Information 
Regulation')  1. Article 51(2) of the Food Information Regulation requires the Commission to 
present  to  the  European  Parliament  and  to  the  Council  a  report  on  the  exercise  of  the 
delegation conferred on the Commission by that Regulation. The report shall be drawn up not 
later  than  9  months  before  the  end  of  the  5-year  period  of  the  delegation,  running  from  12 
December 2011. The delegation of power shall be tacitly extended for periods of an identical 
duration, unless the European Parliament or the Council opposes such extension not later than 
3 months before the end of each period. 

2. 

Exercise of the delegation 

Article  51(2)  of  the  Food  Information  Regulation  empowers  the  Commission  to  adopt 
delegated  acts  referred  to  in  Article  9(3),  Article  10(2),  Article  12(3),  Article  13(4),  Article 
18(5),  Article  19(2),  Article  21(2),  Article  23(2),  Article  30(6),  Article  31(2),  Article  36(4) 
and Article 46 of that Regulation. 

Since the entry into force of the Food Information Regulation, the Commission has adopted 
three delegated acts: 

(a) 

a  Commission  Delegated  Regulation2  amending  the  Food  Information  Regulation  in 
accordance  with  Article  36(4)  as  regards  the  information  on  the  absence  or  reduced 
presence of gluten in food:  

The  objective  of  this  legal  act  was  to  provide  a  basis  for  framing  voluntary  food  
information  regarding  the  absence  or  reduced  presence  of  gluten  in  food.  Under  the 
previous Directive 2009/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 May 
2009  on  foodstuffs  intended  for  particular  nutritional  uses3,  the  provision  of  such 
information, particularly of the statements relating to "gluten free" or "very low gluten", 
had  been  regulated  by  Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  41/2009  of  20  January  2009 
concerning the composition and labelling of foodstuffs suitable for people intolerant to 
gluten4.  As  provided  in  recital  41  of  Regulation  (EU)  No  609/2013  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 on food intended for infants and young 
children,  food  for  special  medical  purposes,  and  total  diet  replacement  for  weight 

1 
2 

3 
4 

OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, p. 18. 
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1155/2013 of 21 August 2013 amending Regulation (EU) No 
1169/2011  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the  provision  of  food  information  to 
consumers  as  regards  information  on  the  absence  or  reduced  presence  of  gluten  in  food,  OJ  L  306, 
16.11.2013, p. 7 – for further information cf. also the explanatory memorandum. 
OJ L 124, 20.5.2009, p. 21. 
OJ L 16, 21.1.2009, p. 3. 

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(b) 

control5, with the repeal of Directive 2009/39/EC and Commission Regulation (EC) No 
41/2009 as of 20 July 2016, the rules on information on absence or reduced presence of 
gluten  in  food  were  to  be  transferred  under  the  Food  Information  Regulation. 
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1155/2013 allowed for this transfer, while 
the actual details for the use of the statements referred to above were then provided for 
by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 828/20146. 
a  Commission  Delegated  Regulation7  amending  Annexes  II  and  III  to  the  Food 
Information Regulation as regards certain cereals causing allergies or intolerances and 
foods with added phytosterols, phytosterol esters, phytostanols or phytostanol esters: 

This  legal  act  was  adopted  on  the  basis  of  Articles  10(2)  and  21(2)  of  the  Food 
Information Regulation with two objectives: firstly, on the basis of Article 21(2) of the 
Food  Information  Regulation,  obliging  the  Commission  to  re-examine  the  list  of 
substances  or  products  causing  allergies  or  intolerances  in  order  to  ensure  better 
consumer  information,  the  list  of  such  substances  or  products  in  Annex  II  to  the 
Regulation was updated; the reference to cereals containing gluten, namely wheat, was 
modified  to  include  spelt  as  a  variety  of  wheat  and  to  replace  the  indication  "kamut" 
which refers to a registered trademark with the actual special variety name "Khorasan". 
Secondly, on the basis of Article 10(2) of the Food Information Regulation, allowing for 
amendments  to  the  list  of  specific  labelling  obligations  for  particular  foods  in  the 
interest of the protection of consumers' health or the safe use of a food, Annex III to the 
Food  Information  Regulation  was  amended:  in  order  to  ensure  that  foods  with  added 
phytosterols,  phytosterol  esters,  phytostanols  or  phytostanol  esters  reach  the  target 
group  of  consumers  who  need  to  control  their  blood  cholesterol  level,  an  appropriate 
indication to be provided on the labelling of such foods was introduced.  

(c) 

a Commission Delegated Regulation on the definition of engineered nanomaterials: 

Article 18(5) of the Food Information Regulation obliges the Commission to adjust and 
adapt  the  definition  of  engineered  nanomaterials  which  was  originally  laid  down  in 
point  (t)  of  Article  2(2)  of  the  Regulation  to  technical  or  scientific  progress  or  to 
definitions agreed at international level. On this basis, the Commission adopted on 12 
December  2013  a  Commission  Delegated  Regulation  amending  Regulation  (EU)  No 
1169/2011  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  the  provision  of  food 
information  to  consumers as  regards the definition of "engineered nanomaterials"' and  
notified this legal act to the European Parliament and to the Council the same day.8  

On  12  March  2014,  the  European  Parliament  adopted  a  Resolution  objecting  to  the 
Delegated  Regulation  considering  that  the  Commission,  by  excluding  certain  food 
additives from the scope of the definition, exceeded its delegated powers9. 

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6 

7 

8 
9 

OJ L 181, 29.6.2013, p.35. 
Commission  Implementing  Regulation  (EU)  828/2014  of  30  July  2014  on  the  requirements  for  the 
provision of information to consumers on the absence or reduced presence of gluten in food, OJ L 228, 
31.7.2014, p. 5. 
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 78/2014 of 22 November 2013 amending Annexes II and III 
to Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of food 
information  to  consumers,  as  regards  certain  cereals  causing  allergies  or  intolerances  and  foods  with 
added phytosterols, phytosterol esters, phytostanols or phytostanol esters,  OJ L 27, 30.1.2014, p. 7– for 
further information cf. also the explanatory memorandum. 
C(2013)8887 final. 
B7-0185/2014 - C(2013)08887 - 2013/2997(DEA). 

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Regulation  (EU)  2015/2283  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  25 
November  2015  on  novel  foods  amending  Regulation  (EU)  No  1169/2011  of  the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  and  repealing  Regulation  (EC)  No  258/97  of 
the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  and  Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No 
1852/200110,  which  will  become  applicable  from  1  January  2018,  takes  over  the 
definition of “engineered nanomaterials” as currently laid down in the Food Information 
Regulation.  Accordingly,  the  definition  of  engineered  nanomaterial,  along  with  the 
related conferral of delegated powers to the Commission, is to be deleted from the Food 
Information  Regulation  and  replaced  by  a  reference  to  the  definition  set  out  in  the 
Regulation.11 

The Food Information Regulation provides for further delegated powers. However, so far, the 
Commission  has  not  yet  invoked  other  legal  bases12  for  adopting  delegated  acts  under  the 
Food  Information  Regulation.  It  is  important  to  note  that  the  Regulation  has  only  applied 
since  13  December  2014,  with  some  provisions  only  applicable  as  of  13  December  2016. 
More specifically: 

(a)  Under Article 13(4) of the Food Information Regulation, the Commission shall establish 
rules for the legibility of the mandatory particulars which have to be indicated, usually 
on the label, in relation to a particular foodstuff. In this respect, further experience on 
the practical application of the new rules needs to be gathered before proceeding with 
the preparation of a delegated act in relation to legibility. 

(b)  Article  21(2)  of  the  Food  Information  Regulation  obliges  the  Commission  to 
systematically  re-examine  and,  where  necessary,  update  the  list  of  substances  or 
products  causing  allergies  or  intolerances laid  down  in  Annex  II  to  the Regulation. In 
accordance with this provision, the Commission continuously assesses the need for any 
further modification to the list in Annex II. 

(c)  Article 9(3), Article 12(3), Article 19(2), Article 23(2), Article 30(6), Article 31(2) and 
Article  46  of  the  Food  Information  Regulation  enable  the  Commission  to  establish 
further  details  on  various  technical  aspects  of  the  Regulation.  Since  the  entire 
Regulation  will  only  apply  as  from  13  December  2016,  there  is  a  need  to  further 
examine  consumer  perception,  before  decisions  on  the  appropriate  use  of  those 
delegated powers can be taken. 

3.  Conclusion 

The Food Information Regulation has applied for a period of just over one year and it is not 
yet  applicable  in  its  entirety.  So  far,  the  Commission  has  adopted  delegated  acts  on  the 
absence or reduced presence of gluten in food and as regards certain cereals causing allergies 
or  intolerances  and  foods  with  added  phytosterols  and  phytostanols  or  their  esters.  A 
delegated  act  on  the  definition  of  engineered  nanomaterials  was  rejected  by  the  European 
Parliament. 

10 
11 
12 

OJ L 327, 11.12.2015, p. 1. 
See Recital 10, Article 3(2)(f) and Article 31 of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. 
Article 9(3), Article 12(3), Article 13(4), Article 19(2), Article 21(2) – with respect to other substances 
or  products,  Article  23(2),  Article  30(6),  Article  31(2)  and  Article  46  of  the  Food  Information 
Regulation.  

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