Foodstuffs, alcoholic beverages: labelling, presentation and advertising

The Commission's amended proposal takes up, either in their entirety or partially, 12 amendments adopted by the European Parliament concerning: - reference in a recital to the proposal's objectives, viz. a high level of protection of consumer health and the preservation of the internal market; - extension of the deadline for adopting ingredient labelling rules from 3 to 5 years; - a more specific reference to aromatised beverages; - an indication that several categories of other products are subject to the Article 17 procedure; - the consultation of the Scientific Committee for Food where issues relating to human health are raised. The Commission, on the other hand, rejected the following EP amendments: - the addition of Article 153 as a second legal base; - the emergence of alcopops which could harm the position of, and be in unfair competition with, traditional beverages, and the need for a code of conduct; - recourse to the procedure in Article 251 (co-decision) to adopt the rules under Directive 79/112/EEC; - the fact that Member States may not invoke lack of harmonisation in order to restrict the free movement of these products; - the addition of beer, and cider and perry to point (a) of Article 1.�