CELEX: 51981PC0159
Language: en
Date: 1981-04-08
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON THE APPROXIMATION OF THE LAWS OF THE MEMBER STATES RELATING TO CLAIMS MADE IN THE LABELLING, PRESENTATION AND ADVERTISING OF FOODSTUFFS FOR SALE TO THE ULTIMATE CONSUMER

No C 198/4                              Official Journal of the European Communities                              6. 8. 81
                                                               II
                                                       (Preparatory Acts)
                                                 COMMISSION
               Proposal for a Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the Member States
               relating to claims made in the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs for sale
                                                   to the ultimate consumer
                               (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 13 April 1981)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN                                        Whereas, for the same purpose, certain claims may be
COMMUNITIES,                                                       permitted only under certain conditions;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the
European Economic Community, in particular Article                 Whereas, pursuant to Article 2 (2) of Directive
 100 thereof,                                                      79/112/EEC, those claims which must be prohibited
                                                                   or restricted in all circumstances may only be
Having regard to Council Directive 79/112/EEC on                   specified by the Community legislature; whereas, on
the approximation of the laws of the Member States                 the other hand, since the list of these claims is non-
relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising            exhaustive within the meaning of the said paragraph,
of foodstuffs for sale to the ultimate consumer ('),               the judicial authorities remain free to determine
and in particular Article 2 (2) thereof,                           wheter or not claims other than those covered by this
                                                                   Directive are in conformity with Article 2 (1) of the
                                                                   said Directive;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-                  Whereas, however, until the Community legislature
liament,                                                           has made provision for claims solely applicable to
                                                                   specific foodstuffs and not to foodstuffs in general, it
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                   should be possible to adopt national provisions to
                                                                   their regard;
 Social Committee,
 Whereas, pursuant to Article 2 (2) of Directive                   Whereas a procedure should be laid down              for
 79/112/EEC, the Council must adopt a non-^                        updating the lists given in this Directive;
 exhaustive list of the claims, the use of which must in
 all circumstances be prohibited or restricted;
                                                                   Whereas, in all cases where the Council empowers
                                                                   the Commission to implement rules laid down in
 Whereas the meaning of 'claims' should be defined                 respect of foodstuffs, provision should be made for a
 for the purposes of the said Directive;                           procedure instituting close cooperation between the
                                                                   Member States and the Commission within the
 Whereas certain claims must be prohibited in order                Standing Committee for Foodstuffs, set up by
 that the consumer should not be misled;                           Council Decision 69/414/EEC ( 2 );
(') OJ L 33, 8. 2. 1979, p. 1.                                     (2) OJ No L 291, 19. 11. 1969, p. 9.
 ---pagebreak--- 6.8.81                           Official Journal of the European Communities                            N o C 198/5
Whereas this Directive does not affect the obligations            — a medical instrument,
arising from Directive 79/112/EEC, and in particular
from Article 7 thereof,                                           — a human body or organ, even if presented in a
                                                                      stylized form, intended to illustrate a
                                                                      physiological function,
                                                                  except when they serve to support claims under
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:                                       point 4 which are authorized by the rules in
                                                                  force;
                                                             (6) claims that might:
                         Article 1
                                                                  — arouse or exploit feelings of fear or anxiety,
1.    The purpose of this Directive is to establish a             — reflect discredit upon         other   foodstuffs,
non-exhaustive list of claims the use of which                        whether similar or not;
pursuant to Article 2 (2) of Directive 79/112/EEC
must in all circumstances be prohibited or restricted.        (7) claims suggesting that a foodstuff has acquired
                                                                  nutritive value from substances added for purely
                                                                  technical and/or organoleptic reasons.
2.    'Claim' shall mean any statement intended to
promote the sale of a foodstuff, transmitted by any
medium, including generic advertising, relating to the                                Article 3
caracteristics, effects or properties referred to in
Article 2 (1) (a) of Directive 79/112/EEC.
                                                             The following claims shall be permissible only if the
                                                             stated conditions are met:
                         Article 2                            (1) claims suggesting that a product is superior or
                                                                  exclusive and relating to measurable and objective
                                                                  characteristics,
The following shall be prohibited:
                                                                  provided that particulars are given as to how or
(1) claims relating to measurable and objective char-             to what extent the product is superior or exclusive
     acteristics which cannot be substantiated;                   or
                                                                  provided that they comply with the rules in force;
(2) claims suggesting that adequate quantities of
     nutritive substances cannot be obtained from a
     balanced diet of everyday foodstuffs;                    (2) claims relating to the absence or low content of a
                                                                  given ingredient, provided that they are followed
                                                                  by details, printed in letters of the same size, of
(3) claims that a particular everyday foodstuff                   other ingredients performing the same function, if
     contains adequate quantities of all essential                such ingredients have been used;
     nutritive substances, unless authorized by the
     rules in force;
                                                              (3) claims relating to the absence or low content of a
                                                                  specific pesticide residue, provided that they are
(4) claims concerning:                                            followed by details, printed in letters of the same
                                                                  size, of any other pesticide which may be present;
     — recommendations by the medical, paramedical
         or pharmaceutical professions, or authorities
                                                              (4) claims that a product is 'natural',
         or competent bodies in the nutritional or
         public-health fields,                                     provided that they refer to products:
     — testimonials or statements concerning          the          (a) occurring naturally and in their original state
         connection between nutrition and health,                      or refrigerated;
                                                                   (b) obtained, by a purely mechanical process,
 unless authorized by the rules in force;                              from products within the meaning of (a) and
                                                                       where appropriate refrigerated,
 (5) claims with reference to:                                     which contain no additives and chemical sub-
                                                                   stances other than those found in nature,
     — a member of the medical, paramedical or
         pharmaceutical professions,                               or
 ---pagebreak---  N o C 198/6                          Official Journal of the European Communities                            6.8.81
     provided that they are traditionally used culinary       (9) claims relating to a product or preparation which
     expressions                                                  has religious or ritual significance,
     or
                                                                  provided that the foodstuff complies with the
    provided that they comply with the rules in force;            requirements laid down by the religious or ritual
                                                                  authorities concerned.
(5) claims that a product is 'biological' or 'organic',
    provided that they refer to cultivation processes                                 Article 4
    which do not involve recourse to synthetic
    products     and which       avoid    environmental      Community provisions applying to certain specific
    pollution,                                               foodstuffs, but not to foodstuffs in general, may
                                                             designate other claims the use of which must be
    and
                                                             prohibited or restricted.
    provided that it is warranted that the foodstuff
    has the essential characteristics of products            In the absence of such provisions, the Member States
    obtained by such processes;                              may adopt provisions designating such claims in
                                                             accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
(6) claims that the product is 'new',                         16 of Directive 79/112/EEC.
    (a) provided that no more than eighteen months
        have passed since it was first offered for sale
        to the ultimate consumer;                                                     Article 5
    (b) provided that the characteristic of the product      Any amendments to be made to Articles 2 and 3 shall
        described as 'new' is clearly indicated, for         be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid
        example in the name under which the product          down in Article 17 of Directive 79/112/EEC.
        is sold;
(7) claims pertaining to the nutritive value of the                                   Article 6
    product,
                                                             Member States shall take the measures necessary to
    provided that the label lists the nutritive              comply with this Directive by 1 January 1984 at the
    ingredients in accordance with the rules in force;       latest and shall forthwith inform the Commission
                                                             thereof.
(8) claims relating to honours or awards
    provided that the foodstuff marketed has char-                                     Article 7
    acteristics identical to those for which the
    honours or awards were given;                             This Directive is addressed to the Member States.