The Parliament adopted, with amendments, the four regulations on 10 July 2007 (for texts adopted: common authorisation procedure; food additives; food enzymes; flavourings).
On the regulations, the Parliament supports the Commission's proposals overall, but goes somewhat further with regards the proposal on food additives. MEPs voted for an amendment calling for the regulation, in addition to ensuring high levels of protection for human health and the environment.
The MEPs argue that in accordance with the so-called Cardiff Process, environmental aspects must be integrated into all EU legislation. "This is particularly relevant in this legislation as what a person eats does not stay in the human body but is dispersed into the natural environment and becomes part of the natural cycle. Even if a substance does not entail any health risk to the person consuming the product which contains the substance, there may be negative effects on the environment and public health at subsequent stages, which should be taken into account when deciding to grant authorisation or not," the explanatory statement reads.
The MEPs also stated that "there is currently little known about the health risks of nanotechnology. It is not certain that the limit value for traditional use of an additive and the limit value for nanoparticles of an additive should be the same." They voted, if the use of nanotechnology is authorised, to include separate limit values for the application of nanotechnologies in the regulation.
Furthermore, MEPs voted for the regulation to protect the interest of those consumers who are intolerant to certain substances and for the labels to state whether an additive has been produced using GMOs.
