Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-07-01-Speech-2-247"
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"en.20030701.8.2-247"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, successive food scandals have undermined consumer confidence. Furthermore, food safety will be a burning political issue from now on, becoming an integral element in the overall safety of citizens.
As a result, it is considered essential to provide extensive information on the ingredients of foodstuffs. Precise and relevant labelling, then, is indispensable, especially for ingredients which may cause allergies.
The problem is relatively simple for those allergens actually present in the final product. Is it reasonable, on the other hand, to demand the inclusion on labels of ingredients such as technological aids, used especially in the production of alcoholic drinks, which constitute part of the production process but are not present in the finished product? Since the best is always the enemy of the good, are we not in danger, in our commendable desire to protect allergy sufferers, of weakening traditional production methods through such measures, even causing markets to go bust, with no scientific proof of the harmful character of these aids? One can well imagine the horror of consumers when they discover that sulphites and other unappetising ingredients are used in the production of wines as prestigious as champagne, or those of this beautiful region, Alsace, to name but a few.
I am therefore glad that a balanced compromise has been found on this controversial question. The compromise states that it will be possible to withdraw certain ingredients from the list of allergens on the evidence of a scientifically-researched dossier, pending a full scientific study.
Coming from a wine-producing region, of course, I would have preferred it if the burden of proof – in other words, the production of the technical dossier – did not fall on the shoulders of producers who are sometimes small operators. I am aware, however, that if we did not accept this compromise, we would have to ratify the Council’s common position, which makes no provision for a procedure for exempting ingredients from the list of allergens. For these reasons, although my feelings are mixed, I believe that it is advisable to adopt this compromise. At the same time, I express the hope that the Commission will allow small - and medium-sized producers the flexibility they need in order to make their arguments heard."@en1
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