CELEX: 51988PC0351
Language: en
Date: 1988-06-24
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DECISION TO ADOPT A MULTIANNUAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME IN FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ( 1989 TO MID-1993 ) - FLAIR ( FOOD-LINKED AGRO-INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH )

1. 12. 88                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                 No C 306/13
                                                              II
                                                      (Preparatory Acts)
                                                 COMMISSION
              Proposal for a Council Decision to adopt a multiannual research and development programme
              in food science and technology (1989 to mid-1993) — Food-linked agro-industrial research
                                                            (Flair)
                                              (COM(88) 351 final — SYN 140)
                                      (Submitted by the Commission on 27 June 1988)
                                                       (88/C 306/13)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                            public health and consumer protection with industrial
                                                                    and economic development within the Community;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community, and in particular to Article 130Q
                                                                    Whereas having regard to the fact that the specialized
(2) thereof,
                                                                    skills and capabilities relevant to food technology are
                                                                    numerous, and Europe's most internationally competitive
                                                                    capabilities are located in diverse Member States, mutual
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
                                                                    benefit shall be derived from collaboration in a
                                                                    Community programme;
In cooperation with the European Parliament,
                                                                    Whereas pursuant to Council Decision of . . . adopting a
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                    first multiannual programme for biotechnology-based
Social Committee,                                                   agro-industrial research and technological development
                                                                    (Eclair), a Management and Coordination Advisory
                                                                    Committee (CGC) was created and whereas it is
Whereas Article 130K of the Treaty stipulates that the              desirable that the same CGC assist the Commission in
framework programme shall be implemented through                    the implementation of this programme;
specific programmes developed within each activity;
                                                                    Whereas         four      Community-COST         concertation
Whereas, by its Decision of 28 September 1987 ('), the
                                                                    agreements on four concerted action projects in the field
Council     adopted    a framework        programme      of
                                                                    of food science and technology (2) have produced
Community research and technological development                    encouraging results, and further initiatives in the COST
(1987 to 1991), providing for activities to be                      framework in this field, are underway;
implemented to ensure the exploitation and optimum use
of biological resources;
                                                                    Whereas the participation of European non-Member
Whereas the framework programme sets out criteria to                States wholly or partially with projects in this
evaluate each specific programme and to select                      programme is desirable;
Community actions, which include that of contributing
to the strengthening of the economic and social cohesion
of the Community, consistent with the pursuit of
                                                                    Whereas it is desirable to involve small- and
scientific and technical quality;
                                                                    medium-sized enterprises to the maximum extent
                                                                    possible in the food science and technology research and
                                                                    development programme;
Whereas a multiannual programme of research and
development programme in the field of food science and
technology (Flair) will assist in the combined progress in
                                                                    O OJ No L 54, 25. 2. 1978, p. 25; OJ No L 270, 27. 10. 1979,
                                                                         p. 53; OJ No L 39, 15.2. 1980, p. 30; OJ No L 350, 23. 12.
                                                                         1980, p. 54; OJ No L 353, 15. 12. 1982, p. 25; OJ No L
(') OJ No L 302, 24. 10. 1987, p. 1.                                     151, 7. 6. 1984, p. 46.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 306/14                          Official Journal of the European Communities                              1. 12. 88
Whereas the Scientific and Technical Research                   The abovementioned reports shall be established having
Committee (Crest), was consulted on the following               regard to the objectives set out in the Annex to this
measures and has expressed its opinion on the                   Decision, in particular for the improvement of food
Commission's proposal,                                          safety and quality for the consumer, and in conformity
                                                                with the provisions of Article 2 (2) of the framework
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:                                      programme.
                         Article 1                                                      Article 5
A specific research and technological development               The Commission shall be responsible for the execution
programme for the European Economic Community in                of the programme and be assisted in its implementation
the field of food technology, as defined in the Technical       by the Management and Coordination Advisory
Annex, is hereby adopted for a period of four and a half        Committee (CGC), set up by Council Decision . . .
years, from 1 January 1989.
                                                                The contracts entered into by the Commission shall
                         Article 2                              regulate the rights and obligations of each party, in
                                                                particular the methods of disseminating, protecting and
The funds estimated as necessary for the execution of           exploiting the research results.
the programme amount to ECU 25 million, including
expenditure on a staff of five.                                                         Article 6
                                                                The Commission is authorized to negotiate, in
                         Article 3                              accordance with Article DON of the EEC Treaty,
The programme shall consist of work carried out as              agreements with international organizations, with those
concerted and cost-shared actions, and by training/             non-Member       States   participating  in   European
mobility grants.                                                cooperation in the field of scientific and technogical
                                                                research (COST) and with those European countries
Detailed rules for implementing the programme are set           having concluded framework agreements in scientific
out in the Technical Annex.                                     and technological cooperation with the Community, with
                                                                a view to associating them wholly or partially in
                         Article 4                              concerted actions within this programme.
In the third year of the programme implementation, the          Where framework agreements for scientific and technical
Commission shall undertake a review and report to the           cooperation     between     non-Community      European
Council and the European Parliament on the results              countries and the European Community have been
thereof, together, if necessary, with any proposals for         concluded, organizations and enterprises established in
modification or prolongation in the light of the interim        these countries may, under appropriate conditions to be
results achieved.                                               defined by the Commission, become partners to a cost-
                                                                shared project within this programme.
An evaluation of the results achieved shall be conducted
by independent experts and published in the form of a                                    Article 7
communication to the Council and the European
 Parliament.                                                    This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
 ---pagebreak--- 1. 12. 88                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                 No C 306/15
                                                       TECHNICAL       ANNEX
          for a specific research and technological development programme in the field of food science and technology
                                                         (1989 to mid-1993)
          Objectives
          The objectives of the programme are to contribute in the medium and longer terms to Europe's competi-
          tiveness in the food industry, the improvement of food safety and quality for the consumer; the streng-
          thening of the food science and technology infrastructures in Europe, in the context of the harmonious
          development of the internal market. The programme is targeted at complementing existing initiatives in
          Member States through the development of further collaborative linkages between different research
          groups and industries, and shall concentrate on the interface between food processing, food distribution
          and the consumer. The consumer demands for more natural and healthy foods, with greater diversity, shall
          be met by the combined efforts of researchers and the food industry. Conservation, enhancement of nature
          and environmental protection shall be systematically taken into consideration in the execution of the
          programme.
          Content
          The research activities in this programme have been divided into three sectors. New technologies and
          processing innovations, which enhance food quality, safety and nutritive values, shall also be supported in
          each sector.
           1. Assessment and Enhancement of food quality shall consist of research and development on:
              — quantitative measures of 'quality',
              — objective organoleptic and sensory criteria and their relationship to quality,
              — quantitative measures of 'freshness' of processed foods,
              — the quality aspect of raw materials as they affect processing and end products, and
              — new technologies and processing innovations which enhance food quality while also facilitating
                  processing, and building consumer confidence.
          2. Food hygiene, safety and toxicological aspects shall concern research and development on:
              — improved rapid screening tests to predict potential toxicity factors,
              — the occurrence of natural plant toxins and their effects on food,
              — predicting micro-organism growth rates, accelerated methods for specific organisms and total
                  counts,
              — improved understanding of the relationship between food constituents and food allergies, and
              — the application of these tests in food processing and new food product development to ensure the
                  safety of both processes and products.
           3. Nutrition and wholesomeness aspects shall consist of research and development on:
              — new processing techniques, applications and natural ingredients which provide high nutritional and
                  wholesomeness values,
              — methodologies for the nutritional evaluation of foods,
              — the bioavailability of the nutritional constituents (e.g. vitamins and minerals) and the effects of
                  processing, distribution, catering, storage and home treatment,
              — the nutritional and wholesomeness value of foods designed for particular uses (e.g. slimming or
                  athletics) or important to sub-groups in the population (e.g. infants and the elderly),
                  those new processes and technologies which enhance the nutritional and wholesomeness of foods.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 306/16                              Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t i e s              1. 12. 88
            Implementation
            The programme shall consist of work carried out as concerted and cost-shared actions, and by training/
            mobility grants. All projects shall be carried out by participants from more than one Member State.
            Participation in a concerted action is open to all Member States, to non-member European States which
            have concluded framework agreements in scientific and technological cooperation with the Community
            and COST participating States.
            Participants in a project conducted as a cost-shared action, may be industrial enterprises, research
            institutions, universities or combinations of them, established in the Community or in those non-member
            European States which have concluded framework agreements in scientific and technological cooperation
            with the Community.
            As a general rule, research institutes and universities shall participate in a group together with one or more
            industrial organizations. Research institutes which are funded principally or exclusively by industrial organ-
            izations shall be considered as industrial participants.
            For those actions which are conducted on a cost-shared basis, the Community contribution shall not
            normally exceed 50 % of the total expenditure, the remainder to be provided mainly from industrial
            sources.
            Training/mobility grants shall be included to facilitate the assembly of relevant skills at appropriate
            locations for the work of the projects, and to promote effective diffusion of the knowledge resulting from
            them. The programme shall also include coordination activities such as the organization of meetings,
            consultation with national experts, and diffusion of information on the progress and results of the projects.
           Evaluation criteria
           The Commission communication to the Council concerning a Community Plan of Action relating to the
           evaluation of Community research and development activities for the years 1987 to 1991 (COM(86) 660
           final) states that the objectives and milestones of each research programme have to be set out in a testable
           form, which are set out below.
           1.     The long term objective of this programme is to contribute to the competitiveness of Europe's food
                  industries, and to improved consumer protection and confidence, by strengthening the links between
                  them through research and development. The Commission proposes to achieve this objective by
                  launching a programme of concerted actions and cost-shared actions. The projects seek to promote
                  the close collaboration between research and industrial groups, by their participation in research and
                  technological development on food quality, hygiene, safety, toxicology, nutritional and whole-
                  someness values.
           2.     The primary short term objective is that the programme should succeed in eliciting proposals, for
                  concerted actions (with national agreement) and for R & D cost-shared projects (with commitments
                  to co-finance from industry), on a scale commensurate with the Community resources proposed. This
                  objective shall be testable in 1991 to 1992.
                  At this time, the programme should also demonstrate its promotion and encouragement of inter-
                  sectoral collaboration, across the Member States and in Europe.
           3.     Particular objectives to be attained within three years of the programme implementation are as
                  follows:
           3.1. that improved food evaluation and assessment techniques have been developed, in particular sensory
                  analysis, and that the results have given grounds to expect that they will find applications which will
                  benefit industry and/or the consumer;
           3.2. that new, rapid tests for food hygiene, safety and toxicological aspects have been developed; that
                  advantages in terms of precision, effectiveness, or the avoidance of possible adverse side-effects have
                  been indicated; and that as a result of the tests the products, techniques or services have practical
                  applications for industry and/or the consumer;
 ---pagebreak--- 1. 12. 88                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                 No C 306/17
          3.3. that research and development has been conducted on the nutritional value of foods; that useful tests
               have been developed to measure the nutritional value of food constituents, including the effects of
               processing; and that as a result the nutritional and wholesomeness values of those foods are
               enhanced;and
          3.4. that studies and tests have been conducted for the development of new, novel processing technologies
               or innovations which enhance food quality, safety, and nutritional value and that as a result of such
               studies and projects new applications have been found.
          4.   in addition, the programmes must ensure that the following general criteria are met:
          4.1. that the potential increase in market opportunities, in medium and long-term, as a result of the
               improvements or benefits demonstrated, is of a size to justify the Community expenditure committed;
          4.2. that the consumer confidence in food research and industry is encouraged and high standards for
               consumer protection are maintained;
          4.3. that throughout the execution of the programme the projects should have taken adequately into
               consideration the conservation, enhancement of nature and evironmental issues;
          4.4  taking account of the results of Community, national or private sector research activities in food
               science and technology, the evaluation panel shall consider whether the FLAIR programme has
               contributed to the application of the results of the said research activities in regions of the
               Community other than those in which the research was conducted, and has produced added value
               attributable to the Community character of the programme (i. e. not readily obtainable via Member
               State actions alone).