Commission Decision of 11 January 2005 laying down harmonised standards for the testing for certain residues in products of animal origin imported from third countries (notified under document number C(2004) 4992) (Text with EEA relevance) (2005/34/EC) (repealed)

Commission Decision

of 11 January 2005

laying down harmonised standards for the testing for certain residues in products of animal origin imported from third countries

(notified under document number C(2004) 4992)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2005/34/EC) (repealed)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 97/78/EC of 18 December 1997 laying down the principles governing the organisation of veterinary checks on products entering the Community from third countries(1), and in particular Articles 4(5) and 17(7) thereof,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on official controls performed to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules, and in particular Articles 11(4) and 63(1)(e) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Directive 97/78/EC requires that each consignment imported from third countries shall be subject to veterinary controls. These checks may include analytical tests for residues of pharmacologically active substances in order to verify whether the consignments fulfil the requirements of Community legislation.

(2) The maximum residue limits (MRL) to be applied in food control according to Council Directive 96/23/EC of 29 April 1996 on measures to monitor certain substances and residues thereof in live animals and animal products and repealing Directives 85/358/EEC and 86/469/EEC and Decisions 89/187/EEC and 91/664/EEC(2), have been established for pharmacologically active substances by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90 of 26 June 1990 laying down a Community procedure for the establishment of maximum residue limits of veterinary medicinal products in foodstuffs of animal origin(3). MRLs are applicable to imported consignments.

(3) However, Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90 does not provide MRLs for all substances and in particular not for those substances whose use is prohibited or not authorised in the Community. For those substances, the presence of any residue may present grounds to reject or destroy the relevant consignment at import.

(4) It is appropriate that the Community should establish a harmonised approach for the control in imported consignments of residues of substances prohibited or not authorised in the Community.

(5) The minimum required performance limits (MRPLs) set according to Commission Decision 2002/657/EC of 12 August 2002 implementing Council Directive 96/23/EC concerning the performance of analytical methods and the interpretation of results(4) have been adopted as the standard of performance ensuring effective control of Community legislation when testing official samples for the presence of certain prohibited or unauthorised substances; the MRPL correspond to the average limit above which the detection of a substance or its residues can be construed as methodologically meaningful.

(6) Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety(5), in line with the Codex alimentarius Working Principles for Risk Analysis (6), requires food law to be based on factors legitimate to the matter under consideration, such as feasibility of controls.

(7) Therefore, the isolated detection of residues of a substance below the MRPLs set by Decision 2002/657/EC should be construed as not of immediate concern but to be monitored by Member States and the MRPLs should be employed where they exist, as the reference point for action to ensure a harmonised implementation of Directive 97/78/EC.

(8) Where the results of analytical tests indicate the presence of residues of a substance for which MRPLs have been established in accordance with Decision 2002/657/EC, and pending the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 on 1 January 2006, it is appropriate to clarify the action to be taken, taking into consideration the seriousness of the threat which the consignment may represent to human health, and the provisions laid down in Directives 96/23/EC and 97/78/EC and in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002.

(9) Member States should in particular monitor the import situation for any evidence of a recurrent problem, since such a finding could suggest a pattern of misuse of a particular substance, or a disregard for guarantees provided by third countries concerning the production of food intended for import into the Community. Member States should notify the Commission of recurring problems.

(10) The measures provided for by this Decision are in conformity with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

(1)

OJ L 24, 30.1.1998, p. 9. Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 165, 30.4.2004, p. 1).

(2)

OJ L 125, 23.5.1996, p. 10. Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 882/2004.

(3)

OJ L 224, 18.8.1990, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2232/2004 (OJ L 379, 24.12.2004, p. 71).

(4)

OJ L 221, 17.8.2002, p. 8. Decision as last amended by Decision 2004/25/EC (OJ L 6, 10.1.2004, p. 38).

(5)

OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1642/2003 (OJ L 245, 29.9.2003, p. 4).

(6)

Available on ftp://ftp.fao.org/codex/alinorm03/Al03_33e.pdf