Directive 91/71/EEC
European Union directive
TitleCommission Directive 91/71/EEC of 16 January 1991 completing Council Directive 88/388/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to flavourings for use in foodstuffs and to source materials for their production
Made byCommission
History
Date made16 January 1991
Came into force7 February 1991
Implementation date7 February 1991
Repealed

Directive 91/71/EEC is an EU directive passed by the European Commission in 1991 regarding the level of sweeteners, flavourings and additives used in foods by states within the European Union and banning foods that did not comply. The directive was repealed in 2011.[1]

Regulations

The directive required that all foodstuffs containing colouring, additives or flavouring, within member states in the EU had to be identified clearly on the packaging. The directive was an attempt to harmonise the identification of sweeteners and prohibit additives within certain foods.[2] The directive would come into force in 1994, when all foods that did not conform would be banned from sale in the EU.[1]

Prawn cocktail crisps

One particular Euromyth about the directive was that it would lead to a ban of prawn cocktail-flavoured crisps in the United Kingdom.[3][4] The source of the myth was a proposal by EU Commissioner Martin Bangemann to ban artificial sweeteners in crisps,[5] thus leading to news reports that the EU wanted to ban prawn cocktail crisps altogether.[6] As a result, Bangemann was called "The sour kraut who wants to ban our crisps" in the British media,[2] and journalists followed him in Luxembourg and offered him prawn cocktail crisps.[7]

The potential ban was later proven to be as a result of a mistake on the part of the British civil service, which forgot to include specifically-flavoured crisps when they compiled a list of the nation's food items that were to be exempt from the directive. When the food industry pointed out the omission, the mistake was rectified.[8]

The story was parodied in The Thin Blue Line sitcom in which a French EU Commissioner states, "You [British] insist on eating prawn cocktail crisps, despite the fact we have told you not to".[9] It was also cited by Boris Johnson during the United Kingdom's referendum on the British membership in the European Union campaign in 2016.[3][10]

References

  1. 1 2 "EURLex – 31991L0071". Eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  2. 1 2 Vogel, David (2009). Trading Up: Consumer and Environmental Regulation in a Global Economy. Harvard University Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-0674044685.
  3. 1 2 Oliver, Christian (22 February 2016). "Fact or fiction? Boris Johnson's Euro claims". Financial Times. Retrieved 30 August 2016.(subscription required)
  4. ↑ "Chipping Away at British Identity". Philadelphia Daily News. 30 April 1991. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  5. ↑ "From the archives". The Herald (archived at PressReader.com). Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  6. ↑ Barnard, Catherine (2013). The Substantive Law of the EU: The Four Freedoms. Oxford University Press. p. 659. ISBN 978-0199670765.
  7. ↑ Burton, Cathie (2004). Hitting the Headlines in Europe: A Country-by-country Guide to Effective Media Relations. Kogan Page Publishers. p. 24. ISBN 0749442263.
  8. ↑ "EC to ban prawn cocktail crips". Europa (web portal). Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  9. ↑ "Ism, Ism, Ism". The Thin Blue Line. Series 2. Episode 2. 26 November 1996. 25:55 minutes in. BBC. YouTube video
  10. ↑ Johnson, Boris (16 March 2016). "Boris Johnson exclusive: There is only one way to get the change we want – vote to leave the EU". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
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