Council Directive 90/496/EEC of 24 September 1990 on nutrition labelling for foodstuffs

COUNCIL  DIRECTIVE
of 24 September 1990
on nutrition labelling for foodstuffs
(90/496/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
In cooperation with the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),
Whereas it is important that measures should be adopted with a view to the progressive establishment of the internal market by 31 December 1992; whereas the internal market is an area without internal frontiers in which freedom of movement is ensured for goods, persons, services and capital;
Whereas there is growing public interest in the relationship between diet and health and in the choice of an appropriate diet to suit individual needs;
Whereas the Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, in their resolution of 7 July 1986 on the European programme against cancer, considered the improvement of nutrition to be a priority;
Whereas knowledge of the basic principles of nutrition and appropriate nutrition labelling of foodstuffs would contribute significantly towards enabling the consumer to make this choice;
Whereas the provision of nutrition labelling should assist action in the area of nutrition education for the public;
Whereas, for the benefit of the consumer on the one hand, and to avoid any possible technical barriers to trade on the other, nutrition labelling should be presented in a standardized form applying throughout the Community;
Whereas foodstuffs bearing nutrition labelling should conform to the rules laid down in this Directive;
Whereas all other forms of nutrition labelling should be prohibited but foodstuffs bearing no nutrition labelling should be able to circulate freely;
Whereas, to appeal to the average consumer and to serve the purpose for which it is introduced, and given the current low level of knowledge on the subject of nutrition, the information provided should be simple and easily understood;
Whereas application of this Directive for a certain length of time will enable valuable experience on the subject to be gained and consumer reaction to the way in which nutrition information is presented to be evaluated thus enabling the Commission to review the rules and propose any appropriate amendments;
Whereas in order to encourage interested parties, especially small and medium-sized undertakings, to provide nutrition labelling for as many products as possible, measures to make information more complete and more balanced should be introduced gradually;
Whereas the rules laid down in this Directive should also take into account the Codex Altimentarius guidelines on nutrition labelling;
Whereas general labelling provisions and definitions are contained in Council Directive 79/112/EEC of 18 December 1978 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 (4), as last amended by Directive 89/395/EEC (5); whereas this Directive can therefore be confined to those provisions pertaining to nutrition labelling,