Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (repealed)Show full title

Article 6 U.K.

[F1 1. Ingredients shall be listed in accordance with this Article and Annexes I, II, III and IIIa.]

2. Ingredients need not be listed in the case of:

• (a) fresh fruit and vegetables, including potatoes, which have not been peeled, cut or similarly treated,

• carbonated water, the description of which indicates that it has been carbonated,

• fermentation vinegars derived exclusively from a single basic product, provided that no other ingredient has been added;

• (b) cheese,

• butter,

• fermented milk and cream,

provided that no ingredient has been added other than lactic products, enzymes and micro-organism cultures essential to manufacture, or the salt needed for the manufacture of cheese other than fresh cheese and processed cheese;

(c) products comprising a single ingredient, where:

• (c) the trade name is identical with the ingredient name, or

• the trade name enables the nature of the ingredient to be clearly identified.

3. In the case of beverages containing more than 1,2 % by volume of alcohol, the Council, acting on a proposal from the Commission, shall, before 22 December 1982, determine the rules for labelling ingredients.

[F2 3a. Without prejudice to the rules for labelling to be established pursuant to paragraph 3, any ingredient, as defined in paragraph 4(a) and listed in Annex IIIa, shall be indicated on the labelling where it is present in beverages referred to in paragraph 3. This indication shall comprise the word ‘ contains ’ followed by the name of the ingredient(s) concerned. However, an indication is not necessary when the ingredient is already included under its specific name in the list of ingredients or in the name under which the beverage is sold.

Where necessary, detailed rules for the presentation of the indication referred to in the first subparagraph may be adopted in accordance with the following procedures:

(a) as regards the products referred to in Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/99 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine (1) , under the procedure laid down in Article 75 of that Regulation;

(b) as regards the products referred to in Article 2(1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1601/91 of 10 June 1991 laying down general rules on the definition, description and presentation of aromatised wines, aromatised wine-based drinks and aromatised wine-product cocktails (2) , under the procedure laid down in Article 13 of that Regulation;

(c) as regards the products referred to in Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1576/89 of 29 May 1989 laying down general rules on the definition, description and presentation of spirit drinks (3) , under the procedure laid down in Article 14 of that Regulation;

(d) as regards other products, under the procedure laid down in Article 20(2) of this Directive.]

4. (a) ‘Ingredient’ shall mean any substance, including additives, used in the manufacture or preparation of a foodstuff and still present in the finished product, even if in altered form.

(b) Where an ingredient of the foodstuff is itself the product of several ingredients, the latter shall be regarded as ingredients of the foodstuff in question.

(c) The following shall not be regarded as ingredients:

(i)

the constituents of an ingredient which have been temporarily separated during the manufacturing process and later reintroduced but not in excess of their original proportions;

(ii)

additives:

• whose presence in a given foodstuff is solely due to the fact that they were contained in one or more ingredients of that foodstuff, provided that they serve no technological function in the finished product,

• which are used as processing aids;

(iii)

substances used in the quantities strictly necessary as solvents or media for additives or flavouring[F1 ;]

(iv)

[F2 substances which are not additives but are used in the same way and with the same purpose as processing aids and are still present in the finished product, even if in altered form.]

(d) In certain cases Decisions may be taken in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 20(2) as to whether the conditions described in point (c)(ii) and (iii) are satisfied.

5. The list of ingredients shall include all the ingredients of the foodstuff, in descending order of weight, as recorded at the time of their use in the manufacture of the foodstuff. It shall appear preceded by a suitable heading which includes the word ‘ingredients’.

However:

• added water and volatile products shall be listed in order of their weight in the finished product; the amount of water added as an ingredient in a foodstuff shall be calculated by deducting from the total amount of the finished product the total amount of the other ingredients used. This amount need not be taken into consideration if it does not exceed 5 % by weight of the finished product,

• ingredients used in concentrated or dehydrated form and reconstituted at the time of manufacture may be listed in order of weight as recorded before their concentration or dehydration,

• in the case of concentrated or dehydrated foods which are intended to be reconstituted by the addition of water, the ingredients may be listed in order of proportion in the reconstituted product provided that the list of ingredients is accompanied by an expression such as ‘ingredients of the reconstituted product’, or ‘ingredients of the ready-to-use product’,

• [F1 where fruit, vegetables or mushrooms, none of which significantly predominates in terms of weight and which are used in proportions that are likely to vary, are used in a mixture as ingredients of a foodstuff, they may be grouped together in the list of ingredients under the designation ‘ fruit ’ , ‘ vegetables ’ or ‘ mushrooms ’ followed by the phrase ‘ in varying proportions ’ , immediately followed by a list of the fruit, vegetables or mushrooms present; in such cases, the mixture shall be included in the list of ingredients in accordance with the first subparagraph, on the basis of the total weight of the fruit, vegetables or mushrooms present,]

• in the case of mixtures of spices or herbs, where none significantly predominates in proportion by weight, those ingredients may be listed in another order provided that that list of ingredients is accompanied by an expression such as ‘in variable proportion’[F1 ,]

• [F2 ingredients constituting less than 2 % of the finished product may be listed in a different order after the other ingredients,

• where ingredients which are similar or mutually substitutable are likely to be used in the manufacture or preparation of a foodstuff without altering its composition, its nature or its perceived value, and in so far as they constitute less than 2 % of the finished product, they may be referred to in the list of ingredients by means of the phrase ‘ contains … and/or … ’ , where at least one of no more than two ingredients is present in the finished product. This provision shall not apply to additives or to ingredients listed in Annex IIIa.]

6. Ingredients shall be designated by their specific name, where applicable, in accordance with the rules laid down in Article 5.

However:

• ingredients which belong to one of the categories listed in Annex I and are constituents of another foodstuff need only be designated by the name of that category.

  Alterations to the list of categories in Annex I may be effected in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 20(2).

  However, the designation ‘starch’ listed in Annex I must always be complemented by the indication of its specific vegetable origin, when that ingredient may contain gluten,

• ingredients belonging to one of the categories listed in Annex II must be designated by the name of that category, followed by their specific name or EC number; if an ingredient belongs to more than one of the categories, the category appropriate to the principal function in the case of the foodstuff in question shall be indicated.

  Amendments to this Annex based on advances in scientific and technical knowledge shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 20(2).

  However, the designation ‘modified starch’ listed in Annex II must always be complemented by the indication of its specific vegetable origin, when that ingredient may contain gluten,

• flavourings shall be designated in accordance with Annex III,

• the specific Community provisions governing the indication of treatment of an ingredient with ionising radiation shall be adopted subsequently in accordance with Article 95 of the Treaty.

7. Community provisions or, where there are none, national provisions may lay down that the name under which a specific foodstuff is sold is to be accompanied by mention of a particular ingredient or ingredients.

The procedure laid down in Article 19 shall apply to any such national provisions.

The Community provisions referred to in this paragraph shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 20(2).

8. In the case referred to in paragraph 4(b), a compound ingredient may be included in the list of ingredients, under its own designation in so far as this is laid down by law or established by custom, in terms of its overall weight, provided that it is immediately followed by a list of its ingredients.

[F1 The list referred to in the first subparagraph shall not be compulsory:

(a) where the composition of the compound ingredient is defined in current Community legislation, and in so far as the compound ingredient constitutes less than 2 % of the finished product; however, this provision shall not apply to additives, subject to paragraph 4(c),

(b) for compound ingredients consisting of mixtures of spices and/or herbs that constitute less than 2 % of the finished product, with the exception of additives, subject to paragraph 4(c),

(c) where the compound ingredient is a foodstuff for which a list of ingredients is not required under Community legislation.]

9. Notwithstanding paragraph 5 the water content need not be specified:

(a) where the water is used during the manufacturing process solely for the reconstitution of an ingredient used in concentrated or dehydrated form;

(b) in the case of a liquid medium which is not normally consumed.

[F2 10. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, the second subparagraph of paragraph 6 and the second subparagraph of paragraph 8, any ingredient used in production of a foodstuff and still present in the finished product, even if in altered form, and listed in Annex IIIa or originating from an ingredient listed in Annex IIIa shall be indicated on the label with a clear reference to the name of this ingredient.

The indication referred to in the first subparagraph shall not be required if the name under which the foodstuff is sold clearly refers to the ingredient concerned.

Notwithstanding paragraph 4(c)(ii), (iii) and (iv), any substance used in production of a foodstuff and still present in the finished product, even if in altered form, and originating from ingredients listed in Annex IIIa shall be considered as an ingredient and shall be indicated on the label with a clear reference to the name of the ingredient from which it originates.

11. The list in Annex IIIa shall be systematically re-examined and, where necessary, updated on the basis of the most recent scientific knowledge. The first re-examination shall take place at the latest on 25 November 2005.

Updating could also be effected by the deletion from Annex IIIa of ingredients for which it has been scientifically established that it is not possible for them to cause adverse reactions. To this end, the Commission may be notified until 25 August 2004 of the studies currently being conducted to establish whether ingredients or substances, derived from ingredients listed in Annex IIIa are not likely, under specific circumstances, to trigger adverse reactions. The Commission shall, not later than 25 November 2004, after consultation with the European Food Safety Authority, adopt a list of those ingredients or substances, which shall consequently be excluded from Annex IIIa, pending the final results of the notified studies, or at the latest until 25 November 2007.

Without prejudice to the second subparagraph, Annex IIIa may be amended, in compliance with the procedure referred to in Article 20(2), after an opinion has been obtained from the European Food Safety Authority issued on the basis of Article 29 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002, laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety (4) .

Where necessary, technical guidelines may be issued for the interpretation of the list in Annex IIIa, in compliance with the procedure referred to in Article 20(2).]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Directive 2003/89/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 November 2003 amending Directive 2000/13/EC as regards indication of the ingredients present in foodstuffs (Text with EEA relevance).

F2 Inserted by Directive 2003/89/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 November 2003 amending Directive 2000/13/EC as regards indication of the ingredients present in foodstuffs (Text with EEA relevance).

(1)

[F2 OJ L 179, 14.7.1999, p. 1 . Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1795/2003 ( OJ L 262, 14.10.2003, p. 13 ).

(2)

OJ L 149, 14.6.1991, p. 1 . Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2061/96 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( OJ L 277, 30.10.1996, p. 1 ).

(3)

OJ L 160, 12.6.1989, p. 1 . Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 3378/94 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( OJ L 366, 31.12.1994, p. 1 ).]

(4)

[F2 OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1 . Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1642/2003 ( OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 4 ).]

Textual Amendments

F2 Inserted by Directive 2003/89/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 November 2003 amending Directive 2000/13/EC as regards indication of the ingredients present in foodstuffs (Text with EEA relevance).