THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to 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, and in particular Article 53(1)(b)(ii) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Article 53 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 provides for the possibility to adopt appropriate Union emergency measures for food and feed imported from a third country in order to protect public health, animal health or the environment, where the risk cannot be contained satisfactorily by means of measures taken by the Member States individually.
(2)
Following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station on 11 March 2011, the Commission was informed that radionuclide levels in certain food products originating in Japan exceeded the action levels in food applicable in Japan. Such contamination may constitute a threat to public and animal health in the Union and therefore Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 297/2011 of 25 March 2011 imposing special conditions governing the import of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station was adopted. That Regulation was replaced by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 961/2011 which was later replaced by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 284/2012.
(3)
Implementing Regulation (EU) No 284/2012 has been amended several times to take into account the development of the situation. Since now further amendments are required, it is appropriate to replace Implementing Regulation (EU) No 284/2012 by a new Regulation.
(4)
The existing measures have been reviewed taking into account more than 26 000 occurrence data on radioactivity in feed and food provided by the Japanese authorities concerning the second growing season after the accident.
(5)
It is appropriate to exclude personal consignments from the application of the provisions of this Regulation. For food and feed of animal orgin reference should be made to the provisions provided for in Commission Regulation (EC) No 206/2009 of 5 March 2009 on the introduction into the Community of personal consingments of products of animal origin and amending Regulation (EC) 136/2004. For other feed and food, it should be provided that consignments can only be considered as personal consignments if they are non-commercial and are destined to a private person for personal consumption or use.
(6)
The Japanese authorities have provided extensive information to the Commission that in addition to the already exempted alcoholic beverages (sake, whiskey and shochu) also other alcoholic beverages do not contain measurable levels of radioactivity. The process of polishing and fermentation reduces the radioactivity in the alcoholic beverage to a significant extent. It is therefore appropriate to exclude certain other alcoholic beverages from the scope of this Regulation in order to reduce the administrative burden for the Japanese authorities and the competent authorities of the importing Member States.
(7)
The data submitted by the Japanese authorities provide evidence that it is no longer necessary to require the sampling and analysis of feed and food originating in the prefectures of Yamanashi and Shizuoka on the presence of radioactivity before export to the Union. The requirement for sampling and analyses should only be maintained for tea from Shizuoka and mushrooms from Shizuoka and Yamanashi.
(8)
Since non-compliant or significant levels of radioactivity continue to be found in feed and food originating in the prefecture of Fukushima, it is appropriate to maintain the existing requirement of sampling and analysis before export to the Union for all feed and food originating in that prefecture. However, the general exemptions, such as for alcoholic beverages and personal consignments, should continue to apply in relation to such feed and food.
(9)
As regards the prefectures of Gunma, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Miyagi, Saitama, Tokyo, Iwate, Chiba and Kanagawa for which it is currently required to sample and analyse all feed and food before export to the Union, it is appropriate to limit that requirement to mushrooms, tea, fishery products, certain edible wild plants, certain vegetables, certain fruits, rice and soybeans and the processed and derived products thereof. The same requirements should apply to compound foodstuffs containing more than 50 % of (an) ingredient(s) for which pretesting before export to the Union is required.
(10)
The controls performed at import show that the special conditions provided for by Union law are correctly implemented by the Japanese authorities and non-compliance has not occurred for more than a year. Therefore it is appropriate to reduce the frequency of controls at import and the reporting of the results to the Commission.
(11)
It is appropriate to foresee a next review of the provisions when the results of sampling and analysis on the presence of radioactivity of feed and food of the third growing season after the accident will be available, i.e. by 31 March 2014. However, for the products for which the harvest is mainly in the second part of the second growing season and therefore all the data of the second growing season are not yet available, it is appropriate to foresee a review of the provisions for these products by 31 March 2013.
(12)
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: