CELEX: 51986PC0089
Language: en
Date: 1986-04-14
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE AMENDING DIRECTIVE 79/112/EEC ON THE APPROXIMATION OF THE LAWS OF THE MEMBER STATES RELATING TO THE LABELLING, PRESENTATION AND ADVERTISING OF FOODSTUFFS FOR SALE TO THE ULTIMATE CONSUMER

23. 5. 86                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                  No C 124/5
                                                                  II
                                                          (Preparatory Acts)
                                                   COMMISSION
                 Proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 79/112/EEC on the approximation of the
                 laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs
                                                 for sale to the ultimate consumer
                                                         COM(86) 89 final
                                 (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 17 April 1986)
                                                           (86/C 124/05)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                              Whereas in the case of flavouring matters, however, the
                                                                      mandatory use of a generic name constitutes adequate
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                 information, and it will be for the labeller, where
Economic Community, and in particular Article 100                     applicable, to supplement such information by more
thereof,                                                              specific particulars, should he so wish;
                                                                      Whereas if a foodstuff has been treated with ionizing
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
                                                                      radiation, consumers should be so informed, but whereas
                                                                      practical difficulties, in particular of an analytical nature,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-                     prevent the extension of such an obligation to compound
liament,                                                              foodstuffs containing an ingredient that has previously
                                                                      been treated;
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,                                                     Whereas, with a view to facilitating trade between
                                                                      Member States that have different official languages, it
Whereas Council Directive 79/112/EEC (') makes                        may be provided that, at stages prior to sale to the
provision for national derogations in a number of cases;              ultimate consumer, the mandatory particulars that must
                                                                      appear on a prepackaged foodstuff need appear only on
                                                                      the accompanying documents;
Whereas, with the dual aim of completing the inter-
national market and providing improved information for                Whereas Directive 79/112/EEC was designed as a piece
all consumers in the Community, these derogations                     of horizontal legislation and therefore provides only for
should be eliminated;                                                 those particulars which, in principle, should appear on
                                                                      the labels of all foodstuffs;
Whereas, in particular, experience acquired since the
adoption of Directive 79/112/EEC enables it to be made                Whereas, in addition to general provisions, it may be
applicable to restaurants, hospitals, canteens and other              necessary to lay down specific provisions concerning
similar mass caterers throughout the Community;                       certain foodstuffs only;
Whereas the principles of the date of minimum durability              Whereas, in the absence of Community provisions
should be generalized, and the manner of its indication               governing each of those foodstuffs, the specific
standardized, with a view to avoiding errors on the part              provisions relating thereto should be adopted in the form
of consumers; whereas certain derogations from this rule              of additions to Directive 79/12/EEC,
may nevertheless, be granted in a small number of cases
in which a date is not an essential item of information;              HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Whereas mention, in the list of ingredients, of the                                               Article 1
specific name or official number of any additives used
should be generalized in order to enable consumers to                 Directive 79/112/EEC is hereby amended as follows:
ascertain the exact composition of foodstuffs containing
such additives;                                                         1. Article 1 (2) is replaced by the following:
                                                                           '2.   This Directive shall apply also to foodstuffs
                                                                           intended for supply to restaurants, hospitals,
(') O J N o L 3 3 , 8. 2. 1979.                                            canteens and similar mass caterers.'
 ---pagebreak--- No C 124/6                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                  23.5.86
 2. Article 2 (1) (b) is replaced by the following:                 11. The following paragraph 7 is added to Article 8:
     '(b) subject to Community provisions applicable to                  '7.    The Community provisions referred to in
           natural mineral waters and foodstuffs for                     paragraphs 1, 2 (b) and (d), and 5 shall be adopted
           particular nutritional uses, attribute to any                 in accordance with the procedure laid down in
           foodstuff the property of preventing, treating                Article 17.'
           or curing a human disease, or refer to such
           properties.'                                             12. The second and third subparagraphs of Article 9 (2)
                                                                         are deleted.
 3. The following paragraph 3 is added to Article 4:
                                                                    13. Article 9 (5) is delected.
     '3.     The Community provisions referred to in
    paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be adopted in accordance               14. Article 9 (6) is replaced by the following:
    with the procedure laid down in Article 17.'
                                                                         '6.    Subject to Community provisions governing
 4. The following subparagraph is added to Article 5                    other types of date indication, an indication of the
     (3):                                                               minimum durability date shall not be required for:
    'A foodstuff that has been exposed to ionizing                      — fresh fruit and vegetables, including potatoes,
    radiation shall in all cases bear a reference to such                    which have not been peeled, cut or similarly
    treatment.'                                                              treated,
                                                                        — wines, liqueur wines, sparkling wines, aromatized
 5. The first sentence of Article 6 (5) (b) is replaced by                   wines and similar products obtained from fruits
    the following:                                                           other than grapes,
    '(b) ingredients shall be designated by their specific              — beverages containing 10 % or more by volume of
           name, where applicable, in accordance with the                    alcohol,
           rules laid down in Article 5, to the exclusion of
           that provided for in the second subparagraph of              — bakers' or pastry cooks' wares which, given the
           paragraph 3 of that Article.'                                     nature of their content, are normally consumed
                                                                             within 24 hours of their manufacture,
 6. The first indent of Article 6 (5) (b) is replaced by the
    following:                                                          — vinegar,
    '— ingredients which belong to one of the cate-                     — cooking salt,
          gories listed in Annex I and are constituents of
          another foodstuff need be designated only by                  — solid sugar,
          the name of that category; aditional categories
          may be added to Annex I in accordance with the                — confectionery products consisting of flavoured
          procedure laid down in Article 17;'.                               and/or coloured sugars,
 7. The third and fourth indents of Article 6 (5) (b) are               — chewing gums and similar chewing products,
    delected.
                                                                        — edible ices put up in individual portions for
                                                                             consumption at one time,
 8. The following subparagraph is added to Article 6
    (6):                                                                — fermented cheeses intended to mature fully or
                                                                             partially in their prepackaging.'
    'The Community provisions referred to* in this
    paragraph shall be adopted in accordance with the
                                                                    15. The following subparagraph is added to Article 10
    procedure laid down in Article 17.'
                                                                        (2):
 9. The following subparagraph is added to Article 7                    'The Community provisions referred to in this
    (3):                                                                paragraph shall be adopted in accordance with the
                                                                        procedure laid down in Article 17.'
    'The Community provisions referred to in this
    paragraph shall be adopted in accordance with the               16. Article 11 (1) (b) is replaced by the following:
    procedure laid down in Article 17.'
                                                                        '(b) Notwithstanding        point  (a) and      without
10. In Article 8 (5) (b), the phrase 'however, this                           prejudice to Community provisions on nominal
    provision shall not apply to spices and herbs' is                         quantities, the particulars required under
    deleted.                                                                  Articles 3 and 4 (2) need appear only on the
 ---pagebreak--- 23.5.86                                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                 N o C 124/7
          commercial     documents      referring    to    the          opinion. When seeking the opinion of the
          foodstuffs where the latter are prepackaged and                Committee, the Commission may set a time limit
          marketed at a stage prior to their sale to the                within which such opinion shall be given. No vote
          ultimate consumer.'                                           shall be taken. However, any member of the
                                                                         Committee may demand that his views be set down
17. The following subparagraph is added to Article 11                   in the minutes.'
    (3) (a):
                                                                    21. Article 18 is deleted.
    'It shall not apply to milk or milk products in bottles
    intended for re-use. Other derogations may be                   22. Article 23 is deleted.
    allowed in accordance with the procedure laid down
    in Article 17.'                                                 23. The following is added to Annex I:
18. Article 11 (4) is replaced by the following:                                   'Definition                  Designation
    '4.     In the case of the bottles referred to in the               All aromatizers.               Flavouring(s).
    third subparagraph of paragraph 3 (a) and of                                                       This indication may be
    packaging or containers whose largest face has an                                                  supplemented, if necess-
    area of less than 10 square centimetres, only the                                                  ary, by stating whether
    particulars listed in points (1), (3) and (4) of Article                                           the aromatizers used are
    3 (1) need be given.'                                                                              of vegetable or animal
                                                                                                       origin.'
19. Article 16, second paragraph,          third   indent,   is
    replaced by the following:                                                                 Article 2
    'In the latter event, and before the expiry of the              Member States shall amend their laws, regulations and
    abovementioned period, the Commission shall                     administrative provisions, where necessary, in such a way
    initiate the procedure provided for in Article 17 in            as to:
    order to determine whether the envisaged measures
    may be implemented subject, if necessary, to the                — permit trade in products complying with this
    appropriate modifications.'                                         Directive by . . . at the latest (18 months after
                                                                        notification),
20. Article 17 is replaced by the following text:                   — prohibit trade in products not complying with this
     'Article 17                                                        Directive with effect from . . . (three years after
                                                                        notification).
    Where the procedure laid down in this Article is
    invoked, the Commission shall decide after                      They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
    consulting the Standing Committee on Foodstuffs set
    up under Decision 69/414/EEC, hereinafter referred
                                                                                               Article 3
    to as "the Commitee". The Committee shall discuss
    matters on which the Commission has requested an                This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
               Proposal for a Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the Member States
                                 relating to foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses
                                                        COM(86) 91 final
                                (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 17 April 1986)
                                                          (86/C 124/06)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                            Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
                                                                    Social Committee,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community, and in particular Article 100                   Whereas on 21 December 1976 the Council adopted
thereof,                                                            Directive 77/94/EEC on the approximation of the laws
                                                                    of the Member States relating to foodstuffs for particular
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                  nutritional uses (');
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-
liament,                                                            O OJ No L 26, 31. 1. 1977, p. 55.