Marketing of pasteurised microfiltered milk
5.5.2009
WRITTEN QUESTION E-3587/09
by Ioannis Gklavakis (PPE‑DE)
to the Commission
According to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004[1], it is incumbent on the manufacturer to specify the date of minimum durability up to which a product — in this case, milk — may be consumed. The manufacturer must in any case be able to guarantee the safety of the foodstuff after assessing various factors. Moreover, the same regulation, as amended, lays down the requirements concerning heat treatment of raw milk during pasteurisation but does not specify the ‘use-by’ date in advance.
Nevertheless, the maximum shelf-life for pasteurised milk in Greece has been laid down by national measures and may not exceed five days, including the date of pasteurisation.
In the light of the above, will the Commission answer the following questions?
1. Can a Member State lay down additional criteria by way of national legislative measures concerning the description and definition of ‘pasteurised’ and, in particular, the shelf-life of pasteurised milk?
2. Can pasteurised microfiltered milk circulate on the Greek or any other market if its shelf-life is longer than the five days laid down by national measures?
3. Given that current Community legislation no longer makes any reference to the requirement to label milk as ‘high-temperature pasteurised’ if the pasteurised milk shows a negative reaction to the perioxidase test (as required by Directive 92/46/EEC[2], now repealed), do national measures requiring the product to be labelled as ‘high-temperature pasteurised’ continue to apply or not?
OJ C 189, 13/07/2010