Article 1 
1. This Directive shall apply to quick-frozen foods intended for human consumption, hereinafter referred to as ‘quick-frozen foodstuffs’. 2. For the purposes of this Directive ‘quick-frozen foodstuffs’means foodstuffs — which have undergone a suitable freezing process known as ‘quick-freezing’ whereby the zone of maximum crystallization is crossed as rapidly as possible, depending on the type of product, and the resulting temperature of the product (after thermal stabilization) is continuously maintained at a level of -18 °C or lower at all points, and — which are marketed in such a way as to indicate that they possess this characteristic. For the purposes of this Directive, ice-cream and other edible ices shall not be regarded as quick-frozen foodstuffs. 3. This Directive shall apply without prejudice to Community provisions relating to: (a) the common organization of markets in the agricultural and fisheries sectors; (b) veterinary hygiene.
Article 2 
Only the products defined in Article 1 (2) may bear the names provided for in Articles 8 and 9.
Article 3 
1. Raw materials used in the manufacture of quick-frozen foodstuffs must be of sound, genuine and merchantable quality and be of the required degree of freshness 2. Preparation and quick-freezing of products must be carried out promptly, using appropriate technical equipment, in order to limit chemical, biochemical and microbiological changes to a minimum.
Article 4 
The cryogenic media authorized, to the exclusion of all others, for use in direct contact with quick-frozen foodstuffs shall be the following: — air, — nitrogen, — carbon dioxide. By way of derogation from the first paragraph, Member States may retain until 31 December 1992 national laws authorizing the use of dichlorodifluoromethane (R 12) as a cryogenic medium. The purity criteria to be satisfied by those cryogenic media shall be determined, as far as necessary, by the Commission. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 12(2).
Article 5 
1. The temperature of quick-frozen foodstuffs must be stable and maintained, at all points in the product, at -18 °C or lower, with possibly brief upward fluctuations of no more than 3 °C during transport. 2. However, tolerances in the temperature of the product in accordance with good storage and distribution practice shall be permitted during local distribution and in retail display cabinets subject to the following conditions: (a) these tolerances shall not exceed 3 °C; (b) they may, however reach 6 °C in retail display cabinets, if and to the extent that the Member States so decide. In that case, the Member States shall select the temperature in the light of stock or product rotation in the retail trade. They shall inform the Commission of the measures taken and of the grounds for those measures. The Commission shall review the tolerance provided for in the previous subparagraph in the light of technical developments and shall make proposals to the Council if appropriate before 1 January 1993. 3. For a period of eight years from the notification of this Directive, the Member States may, for local distribution, authorize tolerances of up to 6 °C.
Article 6 
1. The Member States shall: (a) ensure that the equipment used for quick-freezing, storage, transport, local distribution and retail display cabinets is such that compliance with the requirements of this Directive can be guaranteed; (b) conduct random official checks on the temperature of quick-frozen foodstuffs. 2. Member States shall not require that, as a preliminary to or during the marketing of quick-frozen foodstuffs, compliance with the provisions of paragraph 1 be attested by means of an official certificate.
Article 7 
Quick-frozen foodstuffs intended for supply to the ultimate consumer must be packed by the manufacturer or packer in suitable pre-packaging which protects them from microbial or other forms of external contamination and against drying.
Article 8 
1. Directive 79/112/EEC shall apply to products covered by this Directive and intended for supply without further processing to the ultimate consumer and to restaurants, hospitals, canteens and other similar mass caterers on the following conditions: (a) one or more of the following shall be added to the sales name: in Danish: ‘dybfrossen’, in German: ‘tiefgefroren’ or ‘Tiefkühlkost’ or ‘tiefgekühlt’ or ‘gefrostet’, in Spanish: ‘ultracongelado’ or ‘congelado rápidamente’, in Greek: ‘βαθείας κατάψυξης’ or ‘ταχείας κατάψυξης’ or ‘υπερ-κατεψυγμένα’, in English: ‘quick-frozen’, in French: ‘surgelé’, in Italian: ‘surgelato’, in Dutch: ‘diepvries’, in Portuguese: ‘ultracongelado’, in Finnish: ‘pakastettu’, in Swedish: ‘djupfryst’, in Czech: ‘hluboce zmrazené nebo hluboce zmrazená nebo hluboce zmrazený’, in Estonian: ‘sügavkülmutatud or külmutatud’, in Latvian: ‘ātri sasaldēts’, in Lithuanian: ‘greitai užšaldyti’, in Hungarian: ‘gyorsfagyasztott’, in Maltese: ‘iffriżat’, in Polish: ‘produkt głęboko mrożony’, in Slovenian: ‘hitro zamrznjen’, in Slovak: ‘hlbokozmrazené’, in Bulgarian: ‘бързо замразена’, in Romanian: ‘congelare rapidă’; (a) one or more of the following shall be added to the sales name: in Danish: ‘dybfrossen’, in German: ‘tiefgefroren’ or ‘Tiefkühlkost’ or ‘tiefgekühlt’ or ‘gefrostet’, in Spanish: ‘ultracongelado’ or ‘congelado rápidamente’, in Greek: ‘βαθείας κατάψυξης’ or ‘ταχείας κατάψυξης’ or ‘υπερ-κατεψυγμένα’, in English: ‘quick-frozen’, in French: ‘surgelé’, in Italian: ‘surgelato’, in Dutch: ‘diepvries’, in Portuguese: ‘ultracongelado’, in Finnish: ‘pakastettu’, in Swedish: ‘djupfryst’, in Czech: ‘hluboce zmrazené nebo hluboce zmrazená nebo hluboce zmrazený’, in Estonian: ‘sügavkülmutatud or külmutatud’, in Latvian: ‘ātri sasaldēts’, in Lithuanian: ‘greitai užšaldyti’, in Hungarian: ‘gyorsfagyasztott’, in Maltese: ‘iffriżat’, in Polish: ‘produkt głęboko mrożony’, in Slovenian: ‘hitro zamrznjen’, in Slovak: ‘hlbokozmrazené’, in Bulgarian: ‘бързо замразена’, in Romanian: ‘congelare rapidă’; (b) in addition to the date of minimum durability, the period during which quick-frozen products may be stored by the purchaser and the storage temperature and/or type of storage equipment required must be indicated; (c) the labelling of any quick-frozen foodstuff must include a reference from which the batch may be identified; (d) the label of any quick-frozen foodstuff must bear a clear message of the type ‘do not refreeze after defrosting’.
Article 9 
1. The labelling of the products defined in Article 1 (2) which are not intended for sale to the ultimate consumer or to restaurants, hospitals, canteens and other similar mass caterers shall contain only the following mandatory particulars: (a) the sales name supplemented in accordance with Article 8 (1) (a) of this Directive; (b) the net quantity expressed in units of mass; (c) a reference enabling the batch to be identified; (d) the name or business name and address of the manufacturer or packer, or of a seller established within the Community. 2. The particulars provided for in paragraph 1 shall appear on the packaging, container or wrapping, or on a label attached thereto. 3. This Article shall not affect any Community metrological provisions which are more detailed or more comprehensive.
Amendment rationale: CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL The proposal for a Council Directive adapting certain directives in the field of food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy is necessitated by the upcoming accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union. The Treaty concerning the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union[1] was signed by all Member States of the European Union and the Republic of Croatia at Brussels on 9 December 2011. Article 3 (3) of the Treaty of Accession stipulates that it shall enter into force on 1 July 2013 provided that all the instruments of ratification have been deposited before that date. Article 3(4) of the Treaty of Accession enables the institutions of the Union to adopt before accession measures referred to, inter alia, in Article 50 of the Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Republic of Croatia[2]. These measures shall enter into force only subject to and on the date of the entry into force of the Treaty of Accession. Article 50 of the Act of Accession provides that where acts of the institutions adopted prior to accession require adaptation by reason of accession, and the necessary adaptations have not been provided for in this Act or its Annexes, the Council or the Commission (if the original acts were adopted by the Commission) shall adopt the necessary acts. Point 2 of the Final Act[3] refers to the political agreement on a set of adaptations to be adopted by the institutions which was reached between the Member States and Croatia in the context of the approval of the Treaty of Accession; the High Contracting Parties of the Treaty of Accession invited the Council and the Commission to adopt these adaptations before accession in accordance with Article 50 of the Act of Accession, completed and updated where necessary to take account of the evolution of the law of the Union. The present proposal for a Council Directive covers the technical adaptations to all Council directives as well as to European Parliament and Council directives which require technical adaptation by reason of the accession of Croatia in the field of food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy – corresponding to negotiation chapter 12. This proposal is part of a series of proposals for Council directives by the Commission to the Council which regroup the technical adaptations to Council directives as well as to European Parliament and Council directives corresponding to negotiation chapters into separate proposals for different Council directives. This structure is designed to facilitate the transposition of the directives concerned by Member States into their respective legal orders. The package of proposals for legal acts which the Commission has transmitted to the Council is composed of this series of proposals for Council directives on the one hand, as well as of a proposal for a single Council regulation which covers the relevant European Parliament and Council regulations and decisions as well as the relevant Council regulations and decisions on the other hand. This is in line with the approach which was taken in the past in view of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania[4]. It is foreseen that all the legal acts included in this package will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union at the same date. The present proposal and the other proposals included in this package will take into account technical adaptations to the acquis which were published in the Official Journal of the European Union until 1 September 2012. The reasons for this are to provide sufficient time for the legislative processes involved on the one hand, and for the fulfilment of the ensuing transposition and notification obligations by Member States as regards directives on the other hand. Adaptations which may be necessary to the acquis published in the Official Journal of the European Union after 1 September 2012 will be foreseen in the relevant acts themselves or done at a later stage through the appropriate procedure. In addition, the Commission intends to informally provide a list of such legislation to Member States in early July 2013.
Revised version (Article 9 ):
2. The particulars provided for in paragraph 1 shall appear on the packaging, container or wrapping, or on a label attached thereto. 3. This Article shall not affect any Community metrological provisions which are more detailed or more comprehensive.
Article 10 
Member States may not, for reasons related to their manufacturing specifications, presentation or labelling, prohibit or restrict the marketing of any of the products defined in Article 1 (2) which comply with this Directive and, with measures taken for its application.
Article 11 
The sampling procedures for quick-frozen foodstuffs and the procedures for monitoring their temperature and for monitoring temperatures in the means of transport, warehousing and storage shall be determined by the Commission. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 12(2).
Article 12 
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health, set up by Article 58 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 ( 6 ), hereinafter referred to as ‘the Committee’. 2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1) to (4) and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.
Article 13 
1. The Member States shall take the measures necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof. The measures taken shall: — permit no later than 18 months after notification ( 7 ) of the Directive, trade in products which comply with this Directive, — prohibit no later than 24 months after notification of the Directive, trade in products which do not comply with this Directive. 2. As regards retail display cabinets, for a period of eight years following notification of this Directive, Member States may retain the laws applying on the date when this Directive enters into force. In this case, the Member States shall inform the Commission, stating the reasons for their decision.
Article 14 
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.