CELEX: 51996PC0270
Language: en
Date: 1996-06-10
Title: Amended proposal for a EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) laying down a Community procedure for flavouring substances used or intended for use in foodstuffs

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                           Brussels, 10 06 1996
                                           COM(96) 270 final - COD 478
                 OPINION OF THE COMMISSION
        pursuant to Article 189 b (2) (d) of the EC Treaty,
              on the European Parliament's amendments
          to the Council's common position regarding the
                            proposal for a
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL REGULATION (EC)
  laying down a Community procedure for flavouring substances
                used or intended for use in foodstuffs.
     AMENDING THE PROPOSAL OF THE COMMISSION
           pursuant to Article 189 a (2) of the EC Treaty
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak--- On 22 May 1996           the European Parliament adopted 2 amendments to the common
position adopted by the Council on 22 December 1995 in respect of the Commission
proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council laying down a
Community procedure for flavouring substances used or intended for use in foodstuffs1.
In accordance with paragraph 2 (d) of Article 189b of the EC Treaty, the Commission is
able to give a favourable opinion on the 2 amendments adopted by Parliament for the
following reasons:
     the Commission can accept the addition of a recital on the re-evaluation by the
     Scientific Committee for Food of already authorised flavounng                                  substances,
     produced by different methods. This principle is already applied in the directive on
     purity criteria for food additives recently adopted by the Commission.
     the Commission can accept the amendment concerning the designation of substances
     in the positive list. The Commission agrees that intellectual property shall be
     protected. It will however be necessary to elaborate an appropriate and transparent
     procedure which at the same time protects intellectual properties and the interests of
     the consumer.
 1
   COM (93) 609 final; COD 478; O J . N ° C 1„ 4.1.1994. COM (94) 236 final; O.J. N° C 171. 24.6.1994, p. I 1
 ---pagebreak---                           Amended proposal for a
    EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL REGULATION (EC)
      laying down a Community procedure for flavouring substances
                   used or intended for use in foodstuffs.
(presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 189 A (2) of the EC Treaty)
                                    -3-
 ---pagebreak---              Current Proposal                              Amended Proposal
                                          Recital 9
Whereas this list must be open-ended and      Whereas this list must be open-ended and
capable of being amended in the light of      capable of being amended in the light of
scientific and technical developements        scientific and technical developements.
                                              Whereas already authorised flavouring
                                              substances, which are to be produced in
                                              processes or with primary substances
                                              which were not the basis for the Scientific
                                              Committee for Food's assessment, shall be
                                              resubmitted to the Scientific Committe for
                                              Food for a complete assessment.
                                        Article 3(2)
On the basis of the notification provided     On the basis of the notification provided
for in paragraph 1, and following              for in paragraph 1, and following
Commission scrutiny of the notification,      Commission scrutiny of the notification,
in the light of subparagraph (c), flavouring   in the light of subparagraph (c), flavouring
substances, the legal use of which in one      substances, the legal use of which in one
Member State must be recognized by the         Member State must be recognized by the
other Member States shall be entered in a     other Member States shall be entered in a
register which shall be adopted in            register which shall be adopted in
accordance with the procedure laid down       accordance with the procedure laid down
in Article 7 within a year of the end of the   in Article 7 within a year of the end of the
notification period provided for in            notification period provided for in
paragraph 1. If necessary, this register       paragraph 1. If necessary, this register
may comprise conditions of use.                may comprise conditions of use.
                                               Flavouring substances shall be designated
                                               in such a way as to protect the intellectual
                                               property     rights of the        flavouring
                                               substances' producer.
 ---pagebreak---                                                                   ISSN 0254-1475
                                                            COM(96) 270 final
                                              DOCUMENTS
EN                                                                            m
                                     Catalogue number : CB-CO-96-280-EN-C
                                                             ISBN 92-78-05358-9
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities
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