European Union Update
EU Food Regulations Update
Better Labelling Rules for Allergens
More and more people suffer from
food allergies. It is estimated that in
EU-countries 8% of children and 3%
of adults are in danger of mild to serious
reactions after the consumption
of certain foodstuffs.
In an effort to tackle this problem,
the following EU Press Statement
appeared on 6 September 2001: “The
Commission today issued a proposal
for an amendment to the food labelling
Directive which is intended to
ensure that all consumers are informed
of the complete contents of
foodstuffs and to enable consumers
with allergies to identify any allergenic
ingredients that may be present.
The proposal will abolish the “25%
rule” which currently means that it is
not obligatory to label the components
of compound ingredients that
make up less than 25% of the final
food product. Today’s proposal
means that all ingredients intentionally
added will have to be included on
the label. The proposal will also establish
a list of ingredients liable to
cause allergies or intolerances and
will include alcoholic beverages if
they contain an ingredient on the allergen
list.”
On 24 April 2002, the European
Parliament’s Environment, Public
Health and Consumer Protection
Committee unanimously adopted last
year’s report; a further debate will
take place in June 2002 in a plenary
session in Strasbourg.
Growth promoting hormones pose health risk to consumers, confirms EU
IP/02/604 - Brussels, 23 April
2002 - Growth promoting hormones
pose health risk to consumers, confirms
EU Scientific Committee: The
EU Scientific Committee on Veterinary
Measures relating to Public
Health (SCVPH) confirmed today
that the use of hormones as growth
promoters for cattle poses a potential
health risk to consumers, following a
review of 17 studies and other recent
scientific data. Publishing its third
opinion on the risks to human health
from hormone residues in beef products,
the SCVPH found no reason to
change its previous opinions of 1999
and 2000.
Convention for the Refondation of the European Union
Mr. Valéry Giscard d’Estaing presides
over the Convention for the
Refoundation of the European Union
that was launched to ellaborate what
wishfully will be the future Constitution
of Europe. The latter is of the utmost
importance for the future of
Europe and the world alike, since it
will foster an Europe more democratic,
more participative, more transparent,
more social, more united,
more just, and healthier.
All European citizens are invited to
participate individually and collectively
in the layout of this new Constitution.
For this aim, the Convention
has opened a web to receive such inputs:
www.europa.eu.int/futurum/forumconvention
Now is the time to bring forward
suggestions and claims to make our
own contribution, albeit small, to
building up a new, better Europe for
us all. Do not complain later if the
outcome does not live up to our expectations.
We therefore call upon all organisations
to set up meetings and constructive
discussions among their
members, and to present their results
to the Convention for the Refoundation
of the European Union at the
above web address.
Dr. Oriol Avila Montesó
Presidente del Centro de Estudios Naturistas
Calle Mallorca, 257, 1.º, 1.ª.
Mail: cen@federacioaccap.org
Fax: 93 487 31 45
08008-BARCELONA (España)
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