EP Daily News, 2 July 2003

LABELLING - Labelling of ingredients to be tightened up - European Parliament debate

Report on the Council common position for adopting a European Parliament and Council directive amending Directive 2000/13/EC as regards indication of the ingredients present in foodstuffs

Parliament adopted a legislative resolution on indicating the ingredients in food, thus broadly approving the Council's common position, which had incorporated many of the changes demanded by Parliament at first reading. However, Parliament adopted a few amendments as follows:

• the directive should avoid the disproportionate listing of substances used in food production which in fact have no allergenic potential (for example, derivatives used in beer and wine production), as this would cause allergy sufferers unjustified concern. Labelling requirements should therefore be restricted to substances contained in a food product "in an amount which scientific research has shown may cause allergic reactions". The indication of processing aids should not be required for alcoholic beverages;
• after consulting the European Food Safety Authority, the Commission should adopt, on or before 1 January 2004, a provisional list of products which, although derived from a product listed in Annex IIIa, should be considered not to be allergenic and consequently not included in that Annex.

The aim of the proposed legislation is to amend the recent Labelling Directive, relating to the current possibility of not indicating the components of compound ingredients which form less than 25% of the final product.