Soft harmonisation

The Commission has put a lot of work into guidelines - both formal and informal. But guidelines cannot go beyond the provisions of the Directive and hence cannot solve harmonisation issues that were left unsolved in the Directive. The discussions in Working Group 3 (WG3) under the Commission has served to some extent as a catalyst in soft harmonisation . One example of successful soft harmonisation was the question of whether or not banking of allowances between the first and second phase - i.e. from 2007 to 2008 - should be allowed. In other areas, soft harmonisation has not quite succeeded, but the discussions in WG3, workshops etc. have led to a degree of common understanding. Examples are the discussions of allocations to new entrants and on the scope of the Directive. These two subjects are discussed in further detail below. 

Lack of formal harmonisation of allocation and scope across EU was in some areas mitigated by soft harmonisation via WG3, workshops etc. 

The main intense sweeteners currently permitted for use in the major markets of Europe and the United States are not natural and have had to go through a food additive approval procedure. Within the European Union, approval is controlled by the EU Commission, with the aim of achieving harmonisation across member states. The current system allows for temporary national approval (and this was the mechanism by which sucralose was approved in the United Kingdom). This in turn allows the other EU countries time to review the data and either approve or reject each product within a specified period. Within the European Union, approved sweeteners are assigned an E number and can also be assigned a maximum use level within a specific application (e.g. soft drinks). The maximum use levels for sweeteners in soft drinks in the European Union are given in Table 4.2. 

The FDA has, so far, refused to lift the ban on cyclamate, despite several petitions from Abbot Laboratories. Cyclamate is permitted in the European Union and came back into use in the United Kingdom via the harmonised EU Sweetener Regulations 1991. Use of cyclamate in the UK soft drinks industry is almost non-existent 10 years after its re-approval. 

Some countries have local legislative directives in place, but there is no harmonised European law for soft drinks. Nevertheless, some horizontal legislation needs to be considered (Table 5.12). Additives, like colours, sweeteners and others, are established within the European Union. 

Juices and nectars Natural mineral water Soft drinks Council Directive 2001/112/EC of 20.12.2001 [1] Council Directive 80/777/EEC of 15.06.1980 [8] No harmonised food law within EU... 

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