Directive 89/398/EEC (part of the White Paper programme for completion of the internal market) brought in common rules for the labelling, presentation and advertising of dietary foodstuffs. The Annex to this Directive lists nine "groups of foods for particular nutritional uses for which specific provisions will be laid down by specific directives" (to be adopted by the Commission, in accordance with a regulatory committee procedure).
In line with the experience acquired since the adoption of the Directive, and in the light of the conclusions of the Edinburgh Summit in 1992 (which called for simpler legislation and less of it), the categories of products requiring specific provisions have now been reduced to five under the new Directive. These are:
It should be pointed out that Directives have already been adopted for the first three groups. As regards foods for persons suffering from carbohydrate-metabolism disorders (diabetics), a decision on the desirability of special provisions will be taken only after a transitional period (no longer than three years from adoption of the Directive), to be used by the Commission for further consultation of the Scientific Committee for Food.