Council Minutes, 31 May 2007
The following is an extract from the minutes of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs held on 30-31 May 2007
Pending the European Parliament first reading opinion, the Council reached general approaches on three draft Regulations concerning:
It took note of a progress report regarding a draft Regulation on:
The free movement of safe and wholesome food is an essential aspect of the internal market. It contributes significantly to the health and well-being of citizens. To ensure a high level of protection of human life and health, the safety of additives, enzymes and flavouring for use in food stuffs for human consumption must be assessed before they are placed on the Community market, in the light of harmonised rules.
The package of four draft Regulations is designed to overhaul the Community's rules on food improvement agents. The proposals aim at reviewing the current legislation on food additives and flavourings and at introducing a simplified common Community approval procedure for food additives, flavourings to better reflect technological and scientific developments and enzymes, which would be based on a scientific evaluation by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Under the new proposed system, harmonised Community rules would be laid down for the first time for the evaluation, approval and control of enzymes used in food.
Legal basis proposed for the four Regulations: Article 95 of the Treaty – qualified majority required for a Council Decision; co-Decision procedure with the European Parliament applicable.