Food Law News - EU - 2000


FSA Letter, 4 August, 2000

RESIDUES - Commission Proposals to Prohibit Certain Pesticides in Agricultural Products Used to Manufacture Infant Formula, Follow-On Formula and Baby Foods

A letter of 12 July had asked for comments on preliminary proposals to amend directives 91/321/EEC and 96/5/EC on infant formulae and baby foods. This letter circulated, for comment, copies of revised texts which have recently been adopted by the Commission. These contain several amendments to both the recitals and lists of pesticides. The main changes are as follows and apply to both directives unless otherwise indicated.

Article I - Annexes listing prohibited pesticides
The following substances have been deleted from the Annexes: demeton-Smethylsulphoxide, fentin acetate and chloride, heptachior epoxide, propylenethiourea, PTU. Justification for some of the proposed changes is provided within the text.

Article 2 (a) - Implementation
The requirements for implementing the amendments have been simplified by the removal of provision (a) which permitted trade in products conforming with the Directives12 months after they come into force.

Amendments to the recitals of the directives are as follows:

2nd Recital
For baby foods only (SANCO/967/2000 - rev 1) the text now reflects that specific maximum limits will be developed which are acceptable for health protection of infants and young children.

3rd Recital
The recital has been amended to reflect that for some pesticides, provisional tolerable daily intakes (PTDI) and not acceptable daily intakes have been set, and proposes that products "should be produced without the use of these pesticides". Previously the text stated that products "should be free of these particular pesticides."

This consultation will end on 31st August 2000 and a Commission Working Group meeting has been provisionally scheduled for 14th September.


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