THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
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 Article 15(5) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Commission Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 lays down rules concerning the increased level of official controls to be carried out on imports of feed and food of non-animal origin listed in Annex I thereto (‘the list’), at the points of entry into the territories referred to in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 882/2004.
(2)
Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 provides that the list is to be reviewed on a regular basis, and at least quarterly, taking into account at least the sources of information referred to in that Article.
(3)
The occurrence and relevance of food incidents notified through the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), the findings of missions to third countries carried out by the Food and Veterinary Office, as well as the quarterly reports on consignments of feed and food of non-animal origin submitted by Member States to the Commission in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 indicate that the list should be amended.
(4)
In particular, the list should be amended by deleting the entries for commodities for which those information sources indicate an overall satisfactory degree of compliance with the relevant safety requirements provided for in Union legislation and for which an increased level of official control is therefore no longer justified.
(5)
In addition, certain other commodities for which the information sources indicate a degree of non-compliance with the relevant safety requirements, thereby warranting the introduction of an increased level of official controls, should be included in the list.
(6)
The entries in the list for certain imports from Azerbaijan, China, Egypt, India and Pakistan should therefore be amended accordingly.
(7)
As regards the entry for imports of fresh peppers from Thailand, a clarification is necessary in the interest of clarity of Union legislation concerning the CN codes affected.
(8)
The amendment to the list concerning the deletion of the references to commodities should apply as soon as possible, as the original safety concerns have been satisfied. Accordingly, those amendments should apply from the date of entry into force of this Regulation.
(9)
Taking into account the number of amendments that need to be made to Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 669/2009, it is appropriate to replace it by the text in the Annex to this Regulation.
(10)
Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(11)
The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: