CELEX: 51984PC0489
Language: en
Date: 1984-09-19
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON THE APPROXIMATION OF THE LAWS OF THE MEMBER STATES RELATING TO QUICK-FROZEN FOODSTUFFS FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION

No C 267/6                          Official Journal of the European Communities                                6.10.84
              Proposal for a Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the Member States
                             relating to quick-frozen foodstuffs for human consumption
                                                  COM(84) 489 final
                         (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 24 September 1984)
                                                    (84/C 267/07)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN                                    during the storage and distribution of quick-frozen
COMMUNITIES,                                                   foodstuffs before their sale to the ultimate consumer;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the
European Economic Community, and in particular                 Whereas upward fluctuations are necessary on
                                                               technical grounds and may therefore be tolerated
Article 100 thereof,
                                                               provided they are in accordance with good
                                                               commercial practice and do not jeopardize the quality
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,             of the products;
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-
liament,                                                       Whereas, if there has been a break in the could chain,
                                                               the product in question should be examined in order
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and               to avoid unjustified losses whilst at the same time
Social Committee,                                              assuring the protection of consumers;
Whereas the manufacture of, and trade in, quick-               Whereas certain items of technical equipment at
frozen foodstuffs intended for human consumption               present used in retailing of quick-frozen foods do not
('quick-frozen foodstuffs') are assuming ever more             perform sufficiently well in order to ensure that the
importance in the Community;                                   temperature limits imposed by the present Directive
                                                               are respected entirely in all cases; whereas it is
Whereas the disparities between the laws of the                therefore necessary to provide for a transititional
Member States relating to quick-frozen foodstuffs              arrangement allowing for existing material to be used
hamper the free movement thereof; whereas they                 for its normal lifetime;
create unequal conditions of competition; whereas
they therefore have a direct effect on the
                                                               Whereas this Directive need merely state the
establishment and functioning of the common
                                                               objectives to be attained as regards both the
market;
                                                               equipment used for the quick-freezing process and
                                                               the temperatures to be adhered to in the installtions
Whereas it is therefore necessary to approximate               and appliances for storage, handling and distribution;
these laws;
Whereas it is in any case appropriate to lay down the          Whereas it is incumbent on the Member States to
general principles which any quick-frozen foodstuffs           ensure by means of official checks that the equipment
must satisfy;                                                  used is suitable for the purpose intended;
Whereas special provisions over and above the                  Whereas such checking renders superfluous any
general principles may, where necessary, be adopted            system of official certification for trade purposes;
for certain categories of quick-frozen foodstuffs, in
accordance with the procedure applicable to each of
these categories;                                              Whereas it is desirable to provide for the possibility of
                                                               using cryogenic fluids in direct contact with quick-
                                                               frozen foodstuffs; whereas these fluids must be
Whereas quick-freezing is intended to preserve the
                                                               sufficiently inert not to impart to the foodstuffs any
intrinsic characteristics of foodstuffs by a quick-
                                                               constituents in quantities liable to constitute a hazard
freezing process; whereas it is necessary to attain a
                                                               to human health, nor to give rise to an unacceptable
temperature not exceeding —18 °C at the centre of
                                                               change in the composition of foodstuffs, nor to
the product;
                                                               impair their organoleptic characteristics;
Whereas at —18 ° C all microbiological or enzymatic
activity likely to impair the quality of a foodstuff is        Whereas, in order to attain this objective, it is
suspended; whereas it is therefore necessary to                necessary to adopt a list of these substances and to
maintain a temperature not exceeding this value,               lay down criteria for their purity and conditions for
subject to a certain technically inevitable tolerance,         their use;
 ---pagebreak--- 6.10.84                                Official Journal of the European Communities                             N o C 267/7
Whereas quick-frozen foodstuffs intended for the                                           Article 2
ultimate consumer are subject, as far as their labelling
is concerned, to the rules laid down by Council                   The designation 'quick-frozen foodstuffs' and the
Directive 79/112/EEC of 18 December 1978 on the                   adjective 'quick-frozen' shall be applied only to the
approximation of the laws of the Member States                    products defined in Article 1 (2).
relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising
of foodstuffs for sale to the ultimate consumer (');                                       Article 3
whereas the present Directive need therefore merely
lay down the particulars which are specific to the case           1.    Raw materials used in the manufacture of
of quick-frozen foodstufs;                                        quick-frozen foodstuffs must be of sound merchan-
                                                                  table quality.
Whereas, to facilitate trade, rules for the labelling of
quick-frozen foodstuffs not intended for supply in the            2.    The quick-freezing operation must be carried
frozen state to the ultimate consumer should also be              out with the aid of appropriate equipment.
adopted;
                                                                  It shall take place immediately after preparation of
Whereas, in order to simplify and speed up the                    the product to be processed.
procedure, the Commission should be assigned the
task of adopting implementing measures of a
                                                                                           Article 4
technical nature;
                                                                  1.    A list of cryogenic fluids authorized, to the
Whereas, in all cases in which the Council empowers               exclusion of all others, for use in direct contact with
the Commission to implement the rules laid down for               quick-frozen      foodstuffs    shall be adopted in
foodstuffs, a procedure establishing close cooperation            accordance with Article 100 of the Treaty.
between the Member States and the Commission
within the Standing Committee on Foodstuffs set up                This list may also specify:
by Council Decision 69/414/EEC (2) should be laid
down,                                                             (a) the purity criteria to be satisfied by these fluids;
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:                                       (b) the maximum permissible content of the residues
                                                                       of these fluids in quick-frozen foodstuffs.
                             Article 1
                                                                  2.    Any amendments to be made to the provisions
 1.   This Directive shall apply to quick-frozen foods            of paragraph 1 in the light of developments in
intended for human consumption, hereinafter referred              scientific and technical knowledge shall be adopted in
to as 'quick-frozen foodstuffs'.                                  accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
                                                                   12, where appropriate after consultation with the
                                                                  Scientific Committee for Food.
2.     For the purposes of this Directive, 'quick-frozen
foodstuffs' means foodstuffs put up for sale which
have undergone a suitable freezing process known as                                        Article 5
'quick-freezing' whereby the temperature zone of
maximum crystallization is spanned as rapidly as                   1.    During storage and transport and in retail
necessary, depending on the type of product, with the             display cabinets, the temperature of quick-frozen
result that the temperature at the centre of the                  foodstuffs shall, subject to the provisions of
product is —81 ° C or lower.                                      paragraphs 2 and 3, be maintained at —18 °C or
                                                                  lower at the centre of the product.
 For the purposes of this Directive, ice-cream and
 other edible ices shall not be regarded as quick-                 2.    Upward fluctuations in accordance with good
 frozen foodstuffs.                                                storage and distribution practices shall be permitted,
                                                                   on condition that they do not exceed:
 3.    This Directive shall apply without prejudice to
 Community provisions relating to:                                 (a) 3 °C during storage and transport other than
                                                                       local distribution;
 (a) the common organization of markets in the agri-
     cultural or fisheries sectors;                                (b) 6 ° C during local distribution and in retail display
                                                                       cabinets.
 (b) veterinary hygiene.
                                                                   3.    Should the tolerances allowed in paragraph 2 be
                                                                   either accidentally or unforeseeably exceeded, the
 (») O J N o L 3 3 , 8.2. 1979, p. 1.                              product in question shall be examined to determine
 (2) OJ No L 291, 19. 11. 1969, p. 9.                              the use to which it may be put.
 ---pagebreak---                                  N
 No C 267/8                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                 6.10. 84
                          Article 6                               The particulars provided for in paragraph 1 (b) and
                                                                  (c) shall appear either:
 1.    Member States shall conduct random official
checks on:                                                       — on the package or on a label attached to the
                                                                      package, or
 (a) the equipment used for quick-freezing;
(b) the temperatures of the quick-frozen foodstuffs              — on the shipping documents for the product in
                                                                      question.
     during storage and transport and in retail display
     cabinets.
                                                                  3.    The provisions of this Article shall not affect any
2.     Member States shall not require that, prior to or         more detailed or comprehensive Community metro-
during the marketing of quick-frozen foodstuffs,                 logical provisions.
compliance with the conditions set out in paragraph 1
be attested by means of an official certificate.
                                                                                         Article 10
                         Article 7                               Member States shall not prohibit or restrict trade in
                                                                 any of the products defined in Article 1 for reasons
Quick-frozen foodstuffs intended for retail sale shall           related     to    their   composition,      manufacturing
be packed by the manufacturer or packer in sealed                specifications, presentation or labelling.
packages which protect the products from any
harmful influence and which must be delivered intact
to the consumer.                                                                         Article 11
                                                                 The sampling procedures and methods of analysis
                         Article 8
                                                                 required for the monitoring of the conditions under
                                                                 which foodstuffs are quick-frozen and of the tem-
1.     The sales name of quick-frozen foodstuffs
                                                                 peratures at which they are kept shall be laid down in
intended for retail sale shall be supplemented by the
                                                                 accordance with the procedure provided for in Article
terms 'quick-frozen' or 'quick-frozen foodstuff.
                                                                 12.
2.     The labelling of these foodstuffs must also state
the period during which they may be stored in the                                        Article 12
home of the ultimate consumer, together with the
storage temperature or type of storage equipment                 1.     Where the procedure provided for in this Article
required.                                                        is invoked, the matter shall be referred to the
                                                                 Standing Committee for Foodstuffs, hereinafter
                         Article 9                               referred to as 'the Committee', by its chairman,
                                                                 acting either on his own initiative or at the request of
1.     Subject to the provisions which may be laid               the representative of a Member State.
down by the Community on this question, the
labelling of quick-frozen foodstuffs not intended for            2.    The Commission representative shall submit to
retail sale shall contain only the following mandatory           the Committee a draft of the measures to be adopted.
particulars:                                                     The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft
                                                                 within a period to be determined by the chairman
(a) the sales name defined in Article 5 of Directive             having regard to the urgency of the matter. It shall
     79/112/EEC and supplemented in accordance                   decide by a qualified majority, the votes of Member
     with Article 8 (1) of this Directive;                       States being weighted as laid down in Article 148 (2)
                                                                 of the Treaty. The chairman shall not vote.
(b) the net quantity, except for products put up in
     bulk;
                                                                 3. (a) The Commission shall adopt the measures
(c) the date of manufacture         or some means of                     proposed where these are in conformity with
     identifying the batch;                                              the opinion of the Committee.
(d) the name or business name and address of the                     (b) Where the measures proposed are not in
     manufacturer or packer, or of a vendor                              conformity with the opinion of the Committee
     established on the territory of the Community.                      or where no opinion is delivered, the
                                                                         Commission shall forthwith submit to the
2.    The particulars provided for in paragraph 1 (a)                    Council a proposal concerning the measures to
and (d) shall appear on the package or on a label                        be taken. The Council shall act by a qualified
attached to the package.                                                 majority.
 ---pagebreak--- 6.10.84                             Official Journal of the European Communities                        No C 267/9
   (c) If, upon the expiry of a period of three months         — permit not later than 1 May 1985 trade in
       from the date on which the matter is brought                products which comply with this Directive,
       before the Council, the latter has failed to act,       — prohibit on 1 May 1986 trade in products which
       the proposed measures shall be adopted by the               do not comply with this Directive.
       Commission.                           >
                                                               2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, Member States
                      Article 13                               may defer the entry into force of Article 5 (2) (b)
                                                               until 1 January 1995.
1. The Member States shall take the measures
necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall
                                                                                      Article 14
forthwith inform the Commission thereof. Such
measures shall be applied in such a way as to:                 This Directive is addressed to the Member States.