Directive 2003/89 - Amendment of Directive 2000/13/EC as regards indication of the ingredients present in foodstuffs - Main contents

official title

 

Legal instrument	Directive
Number legal act	Directive 2003/89
Original proposal	COM(2003)466
CELEX number i	32003L0089

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Directive 2003/89/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 November 2003 amending Directive 2000/13/EC as regards indication of the ingredients present in foodstuffs (Text with EEA relevance)

Official Journal L 308 , 25/11/2003 P. 0015 - 0018

Directive 2003/89/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council

of 10 November 2003

amending Directive 2000/13/EC as regards indication of the ingredients present in foodstuffs

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 95 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),

Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee(2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(3),

Whereas:

• (1) 

  In order to achieve a high level of health protection for consumers and to guarantee their right to information, it must be ensured that consumers are appropriately informed as regards foodstuffs, inter alia, through the listing of all ingredients on labels.

• (2) 

  By virtue of Article 6 of Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 March 2000 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs(4), certain substances need not appear in the list of ingredients.

• (3) 

  When used in the production of foodstuffs and still present, certain ingredients or other substances are the cause of allergies or intolerances in consumers, and some of those allergies or intolerances constitute a danger to the health of those concerned.

• (4) 

  The Scientific Committee on Food set up by Article 1 of Commission Decision 97/579/EC(5) has stated that the incidence of food allergies is such as to affect the lives of many people, causing conditions ranging from very mild to potentially fatal.

• (5) 

  The said Committee has acknowledged that common food allergens include cow's milk, fruits, legumes (especially peanuts and soybeans), eggs, crustaceans, tree nuts, fish, vegetables (celery and other foods of the Umbelliferae family), wheat and other cereals.

• (6) 

  The most common food allergens are found in a wide variety of processed foods.

• (7) 

  The said Committee has also noted that adverse reactions to food additives may occur and that the avoidance of food additives is often difficult since not all of them are invariably included on the labelling.

• (8) 

  It is necessary to provide that additives, processing aids and other substances with allergenic effect covered by Article 6(4)(a) of Directive 2000/13/EC are subject to labelling rules, to give appropriate information to consumers suffering from food allergy.

• (9) 

  Even if labelling, which is intended for consumers in general, is not to be regarded as the only medium of information acting as substitute for the medical establishment, it is nevertheless advisable to assist consumers who have allergies or intolerances as much as possible by providing them with more comprehensive information on the composition of foodstuffs.

• (10) 

  The list of allergenic substances should include those foodstuffs, ingredients and other substances recognised as causing hypersensitivity.

• (11) 

  In order to provide all consumers with better information and to protect the health of certain consumers, it should be made obligatory to include in the list of ingredients all ingredients and other substances present in the foodstuff. In the case of alcoholic beverages, it should be mandatory to include in the labelling all ingredients with allergenic effect present in the beverage concerned.

• (12) 

  In order to take account of the technical constraints involved in the...

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