Luxembourg, 06/06/2005 (Agence Europe) - Ministers for health and consumer protection easily reached a political agreement by qualified majority on 3 June, in Luxembourg, on the proposal for a regulation aimed at harmonising the divergent national rules concerning the addition of vitamins, mineral substances and certain other substances to foodstuffs (EUROPE 8961). The ministers unanimously recognised the significance of European legislation giving the list of vitamins and minerals for which addition will be legally authorised, specifying in what form and under what conditions, to ensure food safety and consumer protection through adequate information to allow consumers to make informed choices, as well as the free movement of fortified foodstuffs in the internal market.
Denmark announced that it would vote against adoption of a text that it considers does not go far enough. For good measure with the proposal of regulation on nutritional and health claims for foodstuffs (a text that is the subject of a unanimous political agreement in Council the same day: EUROPE 8961), the Danish delegation hoped a reference would be made to the nutritional profile of food to ban the enrichment in vitamins of fatty or sweet food, such as biscuits, chocolate, sweets, soda waters and other sweetened drinks, in order to fight more effectively against obesity in children. Sweden, along the same lines, said it was able to accept the compromise but issued a statement to the minutes to stress that fortified foodstuffs should have a clear nutritional profile, and called on the European Commission to grant special attention to the problem of confectionery products that not only do not have the slightest nutritional value but also prove costly for public health. France, which shared the same concerns, agreed to lift its reserve, also submitting a written declaration.
The addition of vitamins, minerals and other substances to food products will only be possible if this is scientifically justified and not done in an arbitrary fashion, the Council president, Mars di Bartolomeo, told the press, pleased with the “almost unanimous” agreement that will give preference to the ”criteria founded on scientific information” and “will allow unhealthy diets to be avoided”.
The text of the agreement, once finalised in the various linguistic versions, will be adopted by the Council in the form of a common position to be forwarded to the European Parliament for second reading.