Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 is amended as follows:

  1. (1)

    in Article 7, paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 are deleted;

  2. (2)

    in Article 9, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

    ‘1.

    Member States shall monitor nitrate levels in vegetables which may contain significant levels, in particular green leaf vegetables, and communicate the result to EFSA on a regular basis.’;

  3. (3)

    in the Annex, Section 1: Nitrate is replaced by the Section in the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from the date of its entry into force. However, the maximum levels for rucola provided for in point 1.5 of the Annex shall apply from 1 April 2012.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 2 December 2011.

For the Commission

The President

José Manuel Barroso