Ministers’ Deputies

CM Documents

CM(2002)120 (restricted) 14 August 2002

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808 Meeting, 18 September 2002
6 Social Cohesion

6.4 Public Health Committee (Partial Agreement) (CD-P-SP) –
a. Abridged Report of the 69th Session (Strasbourg, 17 June 2002)

b. Draft Resolution ResAP(2002).. on paper and board materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs

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Distribution:

- Delegations and Liaison Sections of the member States of the Partial Agreement Public Health Committee (CD-P-SP) : Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom;

- Committee of Ministers restricted to Representatives of the member states of the Partial Agreement in the Social and Public Health Field: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom.

ITEMS SUBMITTED TO THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS

The Committee of Ministers in its composition restricted to the Representatives of the member states of the Partial Agreement in the Social and Public Health field [1] is invited to:

- consider draft Resolution ResAP(2002) … on paper and board materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs (Appendix 2 to this report) with a view to its adoption.

I.          RESTRUCTURING OF DG III

Several delegations referred to the information the Committee had received at its 68^th session (26 November 2001), concerning the new management structure decided by the Secretary General within DG III (Social Cohesion) and approved by the Committee of Ministers, which had been operational since 1^st October 2001:

Merger of the management of the Health Department and of the Department of the Partial Agreement in the Social and Public Health Field into:

Department of Health and of the Partial Agreement

in the Social and Public Health Field

(Head of Department: Mrs G. Podestà Le Poittevin)

with two Divisions

            Health Division                                                  Partial Agreement Division

                                                                            in the Social and Public Health Field

(Head of Division: Dr Karl-Friedrich Bopp)                (Head of Division: Dr Peter Baum)

A revised Organisation Chart  was circulated in the meeting.

The United Kingdom delegate asked the Head of Department for clarification concerning the staff situation in the two divisions.

Mrs Podestà Le Poittevin pointed out that – pending  recuperation, by the Health Division, of two posts paid by the General Budget - the following staff members paid by the Partial Agreement Budget were at present lent and working for the Health Division:

- 1 Secretarial Assistant             100%

- 1 Secretarial Assistant               50%

- 1 Administrative Officer             50%

The administrative recruitment procedure aimed at filling another post of Administrative Officer in the Partial Agreement Division, whose holder had seconded the Head of Health Division in running the Committee of Experts on Media and Health (SP-MDS), but had left the Department at the end of March 2002, was underway.

The delegate of The Netherlands considered that the exact cause for the merger of the two former departments, the co-operation of the two Secretariats and the achievements reached by the merger should be discussed further and that factual information should be provided by the Secretariat on the restructuring. He stressed that the added value of the Partial Agreement activity sector should be analysed via an audit by an independent consultant. Furthermore he underlined the need for synergy and direct co-operation of both activity sectors of the Department.

The United Kingdom delegate supported in principle the position expressed by the delegate of the Netherlands and pointed out that there was a need for an analysis of the public health sector. The terms of reference of the public health sector and the wide variety of topics of the work programme should be reconsidered. He expressed doubts with regard to the tasks of the CD-P-SP related to the Pharmacopoeia and thought that the terms of reference of the CD-P-SP should be discussed.

The French delegation considered that under the present circumstances and the implication of the EU Commission, WHO and other organisations in the field of public health, member states would at present not be in favour of the creation of this sector, in order to avoid duplication of work.  It was not in favour of an audit.

The Belgian delegate supported the French position and was sceptical regarding the carrying out of an audit.

The Spanish delegate pointed out that the topic was of a political dimension and therefore he was not in a position to express an opinion on the item. He suggested that a procedure should be established in order to highlight the work carried out by the Committees of experts in the different activity fields.

The Chair, speaking as delegate of Slovenia, supported the view expressed by the Spanish delegate. Furthermore she was in favour of analysing the working methods of the CD-P-SP and the possibilities of co-operation between the two divisions and with EU and WHO.

Mrs Podestà Le Poittevin referred to two Committee of Ministers texts she had recently recirculated, namely: Resolution (96) 34, whereby the plenary Committee of Ministers authorised the States concerned to adopt revised rules for that Partial Agreement and Resolution (96) 35, whereby the Representatives, on the Committee

of Ministers, of the States concerned resolved to continue, on the basis of revised rules replacing those set out in Resolution (59) 23, the activities carried out and developed by virtue of that resolution.

As regards the relationship between the CD-P-SP and the Pharmacopoeia, she referred the Committee to Articles 2, 3 and 4 of the Convention on the Elaboration of a European Pharmacopoeia.

Decisions

The Committee:

1.       asked the Secretariat to circulate the CD-P-SP’s terms of reference and other relevant documents.

2.       invited the Netherlands delegation to submit a note on a possible audit.

3.       invited delegations to submit national notes concerning the co-operation between the Health Division and the Partial Agreement Division, and the terms of reference of the CD-P-SP.

II.         DECISIONS OF THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS

The Committee was informed of the above decisions concerning the 68^th session of the CD-P-SP.

III.        COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS ON PHARMACEUTICAL QUESTIONS

1.       The Committee approved the record of the 49^th session of the Committee of experts on pharmaceutical questions, subject to major comments to be made by delegations before 20 July 2002.

2.       It asked the Committee of experts to avoid duplication of work with other international organisations, in particular the Commission of the EU and WHO.

3.       It asked the Committee of experts to check what kind of programme was carried out by the Commission of the EU and WHO on ‘medicines and the Internet’ and to avoid any duplication of work with topics already covered by these organisations.

4.       It asked the Committee of experts to take into account in its datasheet descriptions for future activities, programmes carried out by other international bodies, in particular the Commission of the EU and WHO.

IV.        COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS ON NUTRITION, FOOD SAFETY AND CONSUMER HEALTH

1.       The Committee approved the record of the 6^th session of the Committee of experts on nutrition, food safety and consumer health.

2.       It postponed the approval of the draft resolution on food and nutritional care in hospitals.

V.         COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS ON MATERIALS COMING INTO CONTACT WITH FOOD

1.         The Committee approved the record of the 41^st session of the Committee of experts on materials coming into contact with food.

2.       It approved the draft Resolution ResAP(2002) … on paper and board materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs (Appendix 2 to this report) and submitted it to the Committee of Ministers for adoption.

3.       It adopted for publication the:

- Mission Statement of the Committee of experts on materials coming into contact with food

- Technical Documents concerning paper and board materials and articles intended to come

into contact with foodstuffs.

VI.        COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS ON FLAVOURING SUBSTANCES

1.       The Committee approved the record of the 50^th session of the Committee of experts on flavouring substances.

 

2.       It noted that the 2^nd report of evaluated natural sources of flavourings and a 1^st report of evaluated active principles were under preparation for publication.

VII.       COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS ON COSMETIC PRODUCTS

 

1.       The Committee approved the record of the 37^th session of the Committee of experts on cosmetic products.

 

2.       It asked the Committee of experts to avoid duplication of work with other international organisations, in particular the Commission of the EU.

3.       It asked the Committee of experts to prepare for new activities to be included in its work programme an activity datasheet as set out in the record of the 37^th session and to submit it for decision to the Public Health Committee.

 

VIII.      AD HOC GROUP OF EXPERTS ON HEALTH PROTECTION AGAINST DANGERS OF ASBESTOS

The Committee was informed that it was envisaged to convene an ad hoc Group meeting entrusted with the drawing-up of a draft resolution on the protection of the health of the population in general against dangers of asbestos if possible in 2002.

IX.        OTHER BUSINESS

Pro memoria.

X.         DATE AND VENUE OF THE NEXT SESSION

The Committee agreed to hold its 70^th session on Thursday 28 November 2002 (8h30 to 10h55) in conjunction with the CDSP's meeting.  It also agreed that the delegate of Slovenia would be in the Chair.

Appendix 1

AGENDA

1.         RESTRUCTURING OF DG III

2.       DECISIONS OF THE COMMITTEE OF MINISTERS

3.       COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS ON PHARMACEUTICAL QUESTIONS (P-SP-PH)

4.       COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS ON NUTRITION, FOOD SAFETY AND CONSUMER HEALTH (P-SP-NU)

5.       COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS ON MATERIALS COMING INTO CONTACT WITH FOOD (P-SP-CDA)

6.       COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS ON FLAVOURING SUBSTANCES (P-SP-AR)

7.       COMMITTEE OF EXPERTS ON COSMETIC PRODUCTS (P-SP-CO)

8.       AD HOC GROUP OF EXPERTS ON HEALTH PROTECTION AGAINST DANGERS OF ASBESTOS

          (P-SP-AMI)

9.       ANY OTHER BUSINESS

10.     DATE AND VENUE OF THE NEXT SESSION

Appendix 2

Draft Resolution ResAP(2002) …

on paper and board materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs

(adopted by the Committee of Ministers on … 2002

at the … meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies)

The Committee of Ministers, in its composition restricted to the Representatives of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, member states of the Partial Agreement in the Social and Public Health Field,

Recalling Resolution (59) 23 of 16 November 1959, concerning the extension of the activities of the Council of Europe in the social and cultural fields;

Having regard to Resolution (96) 35 of 2 October 1996, whereby it revised the structures of the Partial Agreement and resolved to continue, on the basis of revised rules replacing those set out in Resolution (59) 23, the activities hitherto carried out and developed by virtue of that resolution; these being aimed in particular at:

a. raising the level of health protection of consumers in its widest sense, including a constant contribution to harmonising – in the field of products having a direct or indirect impact on the human food chain as well as in the field of pesticides, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics – legislation, regulations and practices governing, on the one hand, quality, efficiency and safety controls for products and, on the other hand, the safe use of toxic or noxious products;

b.integrating people with disabilities into the community; defining – and contributing to its implementation at European level – of a model of coherent policy for people with disabilities, which takes account simultaneously of the principles of full citizenship and independent living; contributing to the elimination of barriers to integration, whatever their nature, whether psychological, educational, family-related, cultural, social, professional, financial or architectural;

Having regard to the action carried out for several years for the purposes of harmonising their legislation in the public health field and, in particular, with regard to paper and board materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs;

Considering that paper and board materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs may, by reason of migration of paper and board constituents to the foodstuffs, pose under certain conditions a risk to human health;

Emphasizing the fact that this resolution and the technical documents on paper and board materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs form a whole and should be read in conjunction with each other.

Taking the view that each member state, faced with the need to introduce regulations governing this matter, would find it beneficial to harmonise such regulations at European level,

Recommends to the governments of the member states of the Partial Agreement in the Social and Public Health field to take into account in their national laws and regulations on paper and board materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs the principles set out hereafter.

Appendix to Resolution ResAP(2002) …

1.       Field of application

This resolution applies to materials and articles constituted of paper and board (excluding nonwovens[2]) which may comprise one or more layer(s) of fibres and are intended to come into contact with or are placed in contact with foodstuffs. A plastic layer, or a layer of any other material, such as aluminium, waxes or paraffins applied to the paper and board is excluded from this resolution[3]. When the materials and articles consist of two or more layers, exclusively or not exclusively made of paper and board, any layer which is composed of paper and board must fulfil the requirements of this resolution, unless separated from the foodstuffs by a functional barrier[4] to migration.

Filtering layers of high grammage[5] and consisting to a large extent of non-fibrous material as well as tissue paper kitchen towels and napkins are excluded from the field of application of the present resolution.[6]

2.       Definition

Paper and board are manufactured from cellulose-based natural fibres from bleached and unbleached fibre material. Recycled fibre materials may also be used in accordance with the ‘Guidelines on paper and board materials and articles, made from recycled fibres, intended to come into contact with foodstuffs’, set out in Technical document No. 3. In addition paper and board may contain functional additives and synthetic fibres[7]. Paper and board may also contain other treatment agents and polymeric binders for organic and inorganic pigments.

3.       Specifications

3.1.    Paper and board used for all food contact applications under normal or foreseeable conditions of use should meet the following conditions:

3.2.    They should not transfer their constituents to foodstuffs in quantities which could endanger human health or bring about an unacceptable change in the composition of the foodstuffs or a deterioration in the organoleptic characteristics thereof, in accordance with Article 2 of Directive 89/109/EEC.

3.3.    They should be manufactured in accordance with the ‘CEPI guide for good manufacturing practice for paper and board for food contact’ set out in Technical document No. 4 and using the substances of the ‘List of substances used in the manufacture of paper and board materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs’ set out in Technical document No. 1 and according to the conditions specified.

3.4.    They should be of suitable microbiological quality, taking into account the intended end use of the material. For materials and articles intended to come into contact with aqueous and/or fatty foodstuffs, particular attention should be paid to pathogens.

3.5.    They should not release substances which have an antimicrobial effect on foodstuffs. The method of analysis to be applied is laid down in the ‘Guidelines on test conditions and methods of analysis for paper and board materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs’ set out in Technical document No 2.

3.6.    They should comply with the restrictions laid down in Table 1 and Table 2 hereafter and with either the QM[8] or SML restrictions[9] laid down in the ‘List of substances used in the manufacture of paper and board materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs’ set out in Technical document No. 1.

Table 1 - Restriction limits (QM) for cadmium, lead and mercury

Substance	Restriction QM limit (mg/dm2 paper and board)
Cadmium	0.002
Lead	0.003
Mercury	0.002

Table 2 - Restriction limit for pentachlorophenol

Substance	Purity requirement (mg/kg paper and board)
Pentachlorophenol	0.15

3.7.    Verification of compliance with the quantitative restrictions should to be carried out according to the conditions laid down in the ‘Test conditions and methods of analysis for paper and board materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs’ set out in Technical document No. 2.

3.8.    Testing for compliance with the restrictions in Table 1 is not required for paper and board materials and articles intended to come into contact with dry foodstuffs or foodstuffs which are to be shelled, peeled or washed.

3.9.    If it can be shown by calculation, taking into account the conditions of manufacture, that the restrictions laid down in the ‘List of substances used in the manufacture of paper and board materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs’ set out in Technical document No. 1, cannot be exceeded, no testing for compliance with these restrictions is necessary.

3.10. Paper and board produced with recycled fibres can be used as food contact material if it originates from specified qualities of recovered paper and board which has been subjected to appropriate processing and cleaning, provided that the finished materials comply with the specifications in this resolution and with the

‘Guidelines on paper and board materials and articles, made from recycled fibres, intended to come into contact with foodstuffs’ set out in Technical document No 3.

3.11.  Manufacturers of paper and board for food contact applications should make sure that they use raw materials produced by processes which reduce dioxins (polychlorinated dibenzodioxins and dibenzofurans) to levels as low as reasonably achievable.

References:

Council Directive of 21 December 1988 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to materials and articles intended to come into contact with foodstuffs (89/109/EEC). Official Journal of the European Communities L40 11.2.89.

Council of Europe Resolution AP (96) 4 on maximum and guideline levels and on source-directed measures aimed at reducing the contamination of food by lead, cadmium and mercury. Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 2 October 1996.

ISO 9092: 1988. Textiles - Nonwovens - Definition.