History and background

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During the 1990s Euroglaces developed a Code of Practice for Edible Ices.

The first edition, finalized in spring 1996, was formally approved and accepted by the then national ice-cream industry federations of the EU.

The Code seeked to ensure fair competition for intra-Community trade by defining a set of reserved denominations, stipulating that the listed product denominations as set out in the EU languages may be used when the corresponding compositional standards in this Code are met.

Through these agreed provisions by the national ice-cream industry federations, the Code guarantees consistent products to the consumer and provides appropriate and agreed translations for these category denominations, where local legislations would sometimes fail to provide this transparency for traded products between member states.

The Code has been used to good effect in helping Member States to arrive at national compositional requirements which are equivalent to those suggested by the Code.

Ten years after the first edition, the rising incidence of largely preventable diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, and the dietary/lifestyle recommendations on how to address this have inspired Euroglaces to review the Code.

The resultant liberalisation of selected compositional standards will enable a wider range of product options to be offered to consumers who are increasingly aware of the influences of diet and physical activity on health and wish to make informed choices within the context of a balanced diet and active lifestyle.

The 2006 revision also updated the Code references to hygiene and microbiological criteria legislation and provisions in order to reflect the new Regulations implemented from 1 January 2006.