92003E1475

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1475/03

by Carlos Lage (PSE) to the Commission

(30 April 2003)

Subject: Free gifts offered with food products

In the wake of the deaths in recent years of children from suffocation, a number of more socially responsible manufacturers have voluntarily taken potentially dangerous products off the market:

1. Nestlé withdrew its Magic Ball product (a chocolate-covered plastic ball with a Disney character inside) on the grounds that toys inside food products are considered extremely dangerous;

2. In Denmark and the UK, the Onken yoghurt containing a toy was voluntarily withdrawn from the market;

3. In Finland, an Austrian-made product (a chocolate egg containing a surprise gift) was also taken off the market.

Nonetheless, unscrupulous manufacturers are (in what is no doubt another marketing ploy aimed at increasing product sales) continuing to advertise and sell food products containing toys which could cause fatal accidents and gravely damage family life.

What specific measures does the Commission intend to take in the interests of consumer protection in the Union?

Joint answerto Written Questions E-1475/03, E-1505/03, E-1552/03 and E-1591/03given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(5 June 2003)

The Commission has answered several previous parliamentary questions on the matter raised by the Honourable Members, so it would ask them to refer in particular to the joint answers to Written Questions E-0504/02 by Ms Karamanou and E-0548/02 by Mr Alavanos(1), and to Written Questions E-2630/00 by Mr Moreira Da Silva, E-2631/00 by Ms Damião and E-2632/00 by Mr Lage(2).

With regard to the accidents mentioned in Written Question E-1505/03, the Commission has contacted the authorities of the countries concerned in order to obtain details of these accidents and to assess them. In addition, the Commission will pay close attention to the results of the current investigation, coordinated by Parliament's STOA (Scientific and Technological Options Assessment) Unit, into the possible risk of combining food products with non-food products.

Any new factor arising from this information will be examined to determine whether initiatives should be taken at Community level.

(1) OJ C 205 E, 29.8.2002.

(2) OJ C 136 E, 8.5.2001.