Regulations (EC) No 853/2004 and (EC) No 854/2004 provide for significant changes to the rules and procedures to be complied with by food business operators and the competent authorities of the Member States. Since the application of a number of those rules and procedures with immediate effect would have presented practical difficulties in certain cases, it was necessary to adopt transitional measures.

In addition, based on the information gathered during recent audits carried out by inspectors of the Health and Food Safety Directorate-General of the Commission, from the competent authorities in the Member States and from the relevant food business sectors in the Union, it is necessary that certain transitional measures laid down in Regulation (EU) No 1079/2013 are maintained pending the introduction of permanent requirements indicated in the preamble of this Regulation.

Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 excludes from its scope of application the direct supply, by the producer, of small quantities of meat from poultry and lagomorphs slaughtered on the farm to the final consumer or to local retail establishments supplying directly the final consumer as fresh meat. Limiting that provision to fresh meat would impose an additional burden on small producers. Accordingly, Regulation (EU) No 1079/2013 provides for a derogation from the application of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 for the direct supply of such commodities under certain conditions, without limiting it to fresh meat. That exclusion should be maintained during a further transitional period provided for in this Regulation, while the possibility for a permanent derogation is considered.

A Commission proposal for a Regulation on official controls in the agri-food chain is currently being close to adoption in ordinary legislative procedure. Once adopted and applicable, that Regulation is going to provide for a legal basis for a risk-adapted approach to control composite products at importation. It is necessary to provide for derogations during a further transitional period of four years until the new Regulation is expected to become applicable.

Regulations (EC) No 853/2004 and (EC) No 854/2004 allow the import of food of animal origin from establishments handling products of animal origin for which Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 does not set out any specific requirements unless a harmonised list of authorised non-EU member countries has been established and a common model import certificate laid down. More time is needed for consultation of stakeholders and competent authorities of Member States and non-EU countries, taking into account the possible impact on the import of such food by establishing such list and laying down the model import certificate.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,