Food additives progress on amendments

Citation

(2000), "Food additives progress on amendments", British Food Journal, Vol. 102 No. 8. https://doi.org/10.1108/bfj.2000.070102hab.014

Food additives progress on amendments

Food additives progress on amendments

Proposed amendments to the European Parliament and Council Directive 95/2/EC on Food Additives Other Than Colours and Sweeteners were discussed at Council Working Group level on 18 October 1999 and later at a meeting of attachés on 8 November, where it did not cause any significant difficulty for any Member State. On 27 January 2000, the proposal was discussed by the European Parliament's Industry Committee, who agreed with all the proposed new additives and associated uses. The proposal was then discussed by the European Parliament's Environment, Public Health and Consumer Policy Committee in February, which recommended the deletion of the following entries:

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  the addition of E 467 Ethyl hydroxyethyl cellulose to the additives in Annex I ( a Swedish request);

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  the inclusion of E 401 Sodium alginate in Annex II for use in pre-packed ready-to-eat carrots (a French request); and

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  the addition of the propellant gases E 943a Butane, E 943b Isobutane and E 944 Propane for use in vegetable oil pan sprays and water emulsion sprays (a UK/ Swedish request).

MEPs voted in favour of all the above amendments at the European Parliament's plenary session in Strasbourg on 10-14 April, on the basis that the Commission had not provided sufficient technical information and justification for these entries in terms of benefits for consumers. The Commission has subsequently made clear that it opposes the European Parliament's amendments, arguing that all the proposed changes in its original proposal have been approved by the independent Scientific Committee on food and have a clear technological need.