ABSTRACT
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Articles 100 and 237 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,
Whereas differences which exist at present between the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of Member States on the labelling of foodstuffs impede the free circulation of these products and can lead to unequal conditions of competition;
Whereas, therefore, approximation of these laws would contribute to the smooth functioning of the common market;
Whereas the purpose of this Directive should be to enact Community rules of a general nature applicable horizontally to all foodstuffs put on the market;
Whereas rules of a specific nature which apply vertically only to particular foodstuffs should be laid down in provisions dealing with those products;
Whereas, moreover, the field of applications of this Directive should be limited to foodstuffs intended for sale to the ultimate consumer, and the rules governing the labelling of products intended for subsequent processing or preparation should be fixed at a later stage;
Whereas the prime consideration for any rules on the labelling of foodstuffs should be the need to inform and protect the consumer;
Whereas, therefore, a list should be drawn up of all information which should be drawn up of all information which should in principle be included in the labelling of all foodstuffs;
Whereas, however, the horizontal nature of this Directive does not allow, at the initial stage, the inclusion in the compulsory indications of all the indications which must be added to the list applying in principle to the whole range of foodstuffs; whereas, during the second stage, Community provisions should be adopted, aimed at supplementing the existing rules, whereas it would accordingly seem necessary to adopt as a matter of priority. Community provisions regarding the indication of certain ingredients in the sales description or by indicating a quantity;
Whereas, furthermore, if in the absence of Community rules of a specific nature, Member States should retain the right to lay down certain national provisions which may be added to the general provisions of this Directive, nevertheless these provisions should be subject to a Community procedure;
Whereas the said Community procedure may consist simply in informing the Commission and the Member States when the matter concerns the maintenance of national provisions that precede this Directive, but must be that of a Community Decision when a Member State wishes to enact new legislation;
Whereas provisions should also be made for the Community legislator to derogate, in exceptional cases, from certain obligations that have been fixed generally;
Whereas the rules on labelling should also prohibit the use of information that would mislead the purchaser or attribute medicinal properties to foodstuffs; whereas, to be effective, the prohibition should also apply to the presentation and advertising of foodstuffs;
Whereas Member States should retain the right, depending on local conditions and circumstances, to lay down rules in respect of the labelling of foodstuffs sold in bulk; whereas, in such cases, information should nevertheless be provided for the consumer;
Whereas, with the aim of simplifying and accelerating the procedure, the Commission should be entrusted with the task of adopting implementing measures of a technical nature.
