Council Press Release, 23 September 2013

CLAIMS / ADDITIVES - Health claims and food additives; Council discussions

The following is an extract from the minutes of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting held in Brussels, 23 September 2013

The Council decided not to oppose the adoption of the following six Commission regulations:

• two regulations refusing to authorise certain health claims made on foods other than those referring to the reduction of disease risk and to children's development and health (12466/13 + 12608/13);
• a regulation amending regulation 432/2012 establishing a list of permitted health claims made on foods other than those referring to the reduction of disease risk and to children's development and health (12448/13);
• a regulation amending annex II to regulation 1333/2008 extending the authorisation to use the sweeteners acesulfame K (E 950), cyclamic acid and its Na and Ca salts (E 952), saccharin and its Na, K and Ca salts (E 954), sucralose (E 955), neohesperidine DC ( E 959) and steviol glycosides (E 960) to all energy-reduced fruit or vegetable spreads; currently, their use is allowed only in energy-reduced jams, jellies and marmalades (12488/13);
• a regulation amending annex II to regulation 1333/2008 authorising the use of the food additives diphosphates (E 450), triphosphates (E 451) and polyphosphates (E 452) for the preservation of wet salted fish (12673/13);
• a regulation amending annex II to regulation 1333/2008 allowing the use of sodium phosphates (E 339) as an acidity regulator to improve the mechanical properties of casings for sausages (12706/13).

The Commission regulations are subject to the so-called regulatory procedure with scrutiny. This means that now that the Council has given its consent, the Commission may adopt them, unless the European Parliament objects.