{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-directive-1989-108/introduction",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-directive-1989-108/introduction.json",
  "legislation": "eudr/1989/108",
  "legislation_title": "Council Directive of 21 December 1988 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to quick-frozen foodstuffs for human consumption (89/108/EEC)",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-directive-1989-108",
  "path": "introduction",
  "kind": "introduction",
  "number": null,
  "heading": "Introductory text",
  "text": "Council Directive\nof 21 December 1988\non the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to quick-frozen foodstuffs for human consumption\n(89/108/EEC)\nTHE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,\nHaving regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,\nHaving regard to the proposal from the Commission,\nIn cooperation with the European Parliament,\nHaving regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,\nWhereas the manufacture of and trade in quick-frozen foodstuffs intended for human consumption (hereinafter referred to as ‘quick-frozen foodstuffs’) are assuming increasing importance in the Community;\nWhereas the differences between national laws relating to quick-frozen foodstuffs hamper the free movement thereof; whereas they may create unequal conditions of competition and therefore have a direct effect on the establishment and functioning of the common market;\nWhereas it is therefore necessary to approximate these laws;\nWhereas to that end the Community rules must be given the widest possible scope, extending to all quick-frozen foodstuffs intended for human consumption and including not only products intended for supply without further processing to the ultimate consumer and to restaurants, hospitals, canteens and to other similar mass caterers, but also products having to be further processed or prepared;\nWhereas, however, these rules need not apply to products not offered for sale as quick-frozen foodstuffs;\nWhereas it is in any case appropriate to lay down the general principles which any quick-frozen foodstuffs must satisfy;\nWhereas at a later stage special provisions over and above the general principles may, where necessary, be adopted for certain categories of quick-frozen foodstuffs, in accordance with the procedure applicable to each of these categories;\nWhereas the purpose of quick-freezing is to preserve the intrinsic characteristics of foodstuffs by a process of rapid freezing; whereas it is necessary to attain a temperature of -18 °C or lower at all points in the product;\nWhereas at -18 °C all microbiological activity likely to impair the quality of a foodstuff is suspended; whereas it is therefore necessary to maintain at least that temperature, subject to a certain technically inevitable tolerance, during the storage and distribution of quick-frozen foodstuffs before their sale to the ultimate consumer;\nWhereas for technical reasons certain temperature increases are inevitable and may therefore be tolerated provided they do not harm the quality of the products, which may be ensured by complying with good storage and distribution practice, taking account in particular of the proper level of stock rotation;\nWhereas the performance of certain technical equipment at present in use for the local distribution of quick-frozen foodstuffs is not capable of ensuring in every case full compliance with the temperature limits imposed in this Directive, and it is therefore necessary to provide for a transitional system allowing for existing material to be used for its normal lifetime;\nWhereas this Directive need merely state the objectives to be attained as regards both the equipment used for the quick-freezing process and the temperatures to be observed in the storage, handling, transport and distribution installations and equipment;\nWhereas it is incumbent upon Member States to ensure by means of official checks that the equipment used is capable of meeting these objectives;\nWhereas such checks render superfluous any system of official certification for trade purposes;\nWhereas it is desirable to provide for the possibility of using cryogenic fluids in direct contact with quick-frozen foodstuffs; whereas therefore these fluids must be sufficiently inert not to impart to the foodstuffs any constituents in quantities liable to constitute a hazard to human health, or to give rise to an unacceptable change in the composition of foodstuffs, or to impair their organoleptic characteristics;\nWhereas in order to attain this objective it is necessary to adopt a list of these substances and to lay down criteria for their purity and conditions for their use;\nWhereas quick-frozen foodstuffs intended for the ultimate consumer and for restaurants, hospitals, canteens and other similar mass caterers are subject, as far as their labelling is concerned, to the rules laid down by Council Directive 79/112/EEC of 18 December 1978 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs for sale to the ultimate consumer, as last amended by Directive 86/197/EEC; whereas the present Directive need therefore merely lay down the particulars which are specific to quick-frozen foodstuffs;\nWhereas, to facilitate trade, rules should also be adopted for the labelling of quick-frozen foodstuffs not intended for supply in the frozen state to the ultimate consumer or to restaurants, hospitals, canteens and other similar mass caterers;\nWhereas, in order to simplify and speed up the procedure, the Commission should be assigned the task of adopting implementing measures of a technical nature;\nWhereas, in all cases in which the Council empowers the Commission to implement the rules laid down for foodstuffs, a procedure establishing close cooperation between the Member States and the Commission within the Standing Committee on Foodstuffs set up by Council Decision 69/414/EEC should be laid down,\nHAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f1",
      "text": "OJ No C 175, 15. 7. 1985, p. 296 and OJ No C 12, 16. 1. 1989."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f2",
      "text": "OJ No C 104, 25. 4. 1985, p. 17."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f3",
      "text": "OJ No L 33, 8. 2. 1979, p. 1."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f4",
      "text": "OJ No L 144, 29. 5. 1986, p. 38."
    },
    {
      "type": "footnote",
      "label": "f5",
      "text": "OJ No L 291, 19. 11. 1969, p. 9."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eudr/1989/108/introduction",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T15:23:30.704431+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}