COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGUL ATION (EU) 2022/932 
of 9 June 2022
on unifo rm practical arrangements for the perfor mance of official controls as regards contaminants 
in food, on specif ic additional content of multi-annual national control plans and specif ic additional 
arrangements for their preparation 
(Text with EEA relevance) 
THE EUR OPEAN COMMISSION,
Havi ng regar d to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Havi ng regard to Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on official 
controls and other official activities perf ormed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and 
welf are, plant health and plant protection products, amending Regulations (EC) No 999/2001, (EC) No 396/2005, (EC) 
No 1069/2009, (EC) No 1107/2009, (EU) No 1151/2012, (EU) No 652/2014, (EU) 2016/429 and (EU) 2016/2031 of the 
European Parliament and of the Council, Council Regulations (EC) No 1/2005 and (EC) No 1099/2009 and Council 
Directives 98/58/EC, 1999/74/EC, 2007/43/EC, 2008/119/EC and 2008/120/EC, and repealing Regulations (EC) 
No 854/2004 and (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Directives 89/608/EEC, 
89/662/EEC, 90/425/EEC, 91/496/EEC, 96/23/EC, 96/93/EC and 97/78/EC and Council Decision 92/438/EEC (Offici al 
Controls Regulation) (1), and in particular Article 19(3)(a) and (b) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Regulation (EU) 2017/625 lays down rules for the perf ormance of official controls and other official activities by the 
compet ent author ities of the Member States for verifying compl iance with Union legislation in the area of food and 
food safety . Article 109 of that Regulation provid es for an oblig ation for Member States to ensure that official 
controls are perf ormed by the compet ent author ities on the basis of a multi-annual national control plan 
(‘MANCP’). Regulation (EU) 2017/625 further more specifi es the general conte nt of the MANCP , requires Member 
State s to provid e in their MANCP official controls on contaminants in food and, in this regard, empo wers the 
Commission to lay down specif ic additional content of the MANCP and specific additional arrangements for its 
preparation, as well as a unif orm minimum frequency of official controls, having rega rd to the hazards and risks 
relat ed to substances refer red to in Article 19(1) of that Regulation.
(2) Regulation (EU) 2017/625 repealed Council Directive 96/23/EC (2), which provided measures to monitor certain 
substances, including contaminants, in live animals and products of animal origin and specifical ly set requirements 
for Member States’ monitori ng plans for the detection of residues or substances within its scope. However , 
Regulation (EU) 2017/625 does not incor porate all the measures contained in that Directive or in the acts adopt ed 
by the Commission on its basis. Theref ore, in order to ensure a smooth transition, Regulation (EU) 2017/625 
provid ed that compet ent author ities were to continue to perform the official controls in accordance with the 
Annex es to Directive 96/23/EC until 14 December 2022 or until the date of application of the corresponding rules 
to be adopt ed by the Commission. This Regulation, together with Commission Delegat ed Regulation (EU) 2022/ 
931 (3), aims theref ore at ensur ing continuity of the rules of Directive 96/23/EC concer ning the conte nt of the 
MANCP and its preparation, as well as the minimum frequency of official controls, as regar ds contaminants in food, 
within the framew ork of Regulation (EU) 2017/625.
(1)OJ L 95, 7.4.2017, p. 1.
(2)Council Directive 96/23/EC of 29 Apr il 1996 on measures to monit or 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 (OJ L 125, 
23.5.1996, p. 10).
(3)Commission Delegat ed Regulation (EU) 2022/931 of 23 March 2022 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council by laying down rules for the perfor mance of official controls as regar ds contaminants in food (see page 
7 of this Official Jour nal).EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 17.6.2022 L 162/13  (3) In light of the specifi c provisions for official controls of food of animal origin entering the Union from third 
countr ies set out by Article 47 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, it is appropr iate to require Member States to include 
in their MANCPs two differ ent plans for the control of contaminants in food, one for such food of animal origin 
entering the Union and another one for any other food placed on the Union mark et.
(4) The plan for food of animal origin entering the Union should include the offici al controls on all such food intende d 
to be placed on the Union mark et, but also official controls on fisher y products whic h are to be carried out on 
vessels when these call at a port in a Member State, in accordance with Article 68 of Commission Implementing 
Regulation (EU) 2019/627 (4), since those vessels are to be considered as similar to border control points, 
irrespective of flag.
(5) The plan for food placed on the Union mark et should concer n any other food, namely , each Member State’s 
domestic food production, food introduced from other Member States, and food of non-animal origin entering the 
Union. It should also concer n composit e products within the meaning of Commission Delegat ed Regulation (EU) 
2019/625 (5), even those entering the Union from third countr ies since some of those products do not have to be 
controlled at border control points in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/625.
(6) In addition to the rules on the combinations of contaminants or contaminant groups and commodity groups of the 
samples to be taken by Member States and the sampling strategy including criteria that they are to use for defining 
the conte nt of their plans and the perf ormance of the relat ed official controls laid down in Delegat ed Regulation 
(EU) 2022/931, minimum control frequencies should be laid down in this Regulation for each of the plans, in order 
to ensure that controls are carried out in all products at least to a certain extent throughout the Union. However , in 
order to ensure propor tionality , those minimum annual control frequencies should be set, depending on the 
products, by reference to Member State s’ production data and to Member States’ population size, but with a 
reasonable minimum amount, and to number of impor ted consignments. For the same reason, and, in particular , in 
order to avoid exces sive burden and costs, it is appropr iate to allow Member States to not perform official controls 
on certain contaminant/commodity combinations annually , provid ed that the MANCPs justifies this choice. As 
regards, in particular , impor ted consignments, food products impor ted from third countr ies listed in Annex II to 
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2129 (6), with which the Union has concluded agreements of 
equivalence for physical checks, should not be counte d against the number of imported consignments as Member 
State s must carry out their controls at a frequency rate, as provided in those agreements.
(7) In order to ensure a comprehensive cont ent of the MANCPs on the presence of contaminants in food, the 
information that Member State s are to include in their MANCPs regar ding the choices they have made in their plans 
should be defined.
(8) For ensur ing a unif orm implementation of this Regulation, it is appropr iate to require Member States to submit their 
control plans for evaluation to the Commission on annual basis and to provide a procedure for that evaluation.
(9) Data collected by the Member States through official controls on the presence of contaminants in food must also be 
transmitted to the European Food Safety Auth ority (‘EFS A’) in accordance with Article 33 of Regulation (EC) 
No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7). In order to allow for the monitori ng of recent 
occur rence data, all Member States should submit data on a regular basis and by the same date.
(4)Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/627 of 15 March 2019 laying down unif orm practical arrangements for the 
perf ormance of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consump tion in accordance with Regulation (EU) 
2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council and amending Commission Regulation (EC) No 2074/2005 as regar ds 
official controls (OJ L 131, 17.5.2019, p. 51).
(5)Commission Delegat ed Regulation (EU) 2019/625 of 4 March 2019 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council with regar d to requirements for the entr y into the Union of consignments of certain animals and goods 
inten ded for human consump tion (OJ L 131, 17.5.2019, p. 18).
(6)Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2129 of 25 November 2019 establishing rules for the unif orm application of 
frequency rates for identity chec ks and physical chec ks on certain consignments of animals and goods enteri ng the Union (OJ L 321, 
12.12.2019, p. 122).
(7)Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 Januar y 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 
(OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1).EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 162/14 17.6.2022  (10) Article 150(1) of the Regulation (EU) 2017/625 lays down a transitional period obliging Member States to perform 
official controls in accordance with Directive 96/23/EC until 14 December 2022 . Article 19(1) of Regulation (EU) 
2017/625 provi des that official controls to verify compl iance with the rules on food and food safety as well as feed 
and feed safety shall include official controls on relevant substances including substances to be used in food contact 
mater ials, contaminants, non-author ised, prohibit ed and undesirable substances whose use or presence on crops or 
animals or to produce or process food or feed may result in residues of those substances in food or feed. Howe ver, 
since the last monitor ing plans adop ted by Member States under Directive 96/23/EC will apply to the year 2022, 
and thus beyond 14 December 2022 , it is appropr iate that this Regulation applies from 1 Januar y 2023 .
(11) The measures provid ed for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committ ee on 
Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGUL ATION:
CHA PTER I
SUBJECT MA TTER, SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS
Article 1
Subject matter and scope
This Regulation lays down unif orm practical arrang ements for the performa nce of official controls on the presence of 
contaminants in food, regarding:
(a) the annual unif orm minimum frequency of these official controls; and
(b) specifi c arrang ements and specific conte nt for the Member States’ MANCPs, in addition to those laid down in 
Article 110 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625.
Article 2
Def initions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions laid down in Council Regulation (EEC) No 315/93 (8), Regulation (EC) 
No 178/2002, Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (9), Regulation (EC) 
No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (10), Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council (11), Commission Recommendation 2013/165/EU (12), Commission Regulation (EU) 
2017/644 (13)and Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2158 (14)shall apply .
(8)Council Regulation (EEC) No 315/93 of 8 Febr uary 1993 laying down Community procedures for contaminants in food (OJ L 37, 
13.2.1993, p. 1).
(9)Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 Apr il 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs (OJ L 139, 
30.4.2004, p. 1).
(10)Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 Apr il 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for 
food of animal origin (OJ L 139, 30.4.2004, p. 55).
(11)Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 Febr uary 2005 on maximum residue levels of 
pesticides in or on food and feed of plant and animal origin and amending Council Directive 91/414/EEC (OJ L 70, 16.3.2005, p. 1).
(12)Commission Recommendation 2013/165/EU of 27 March 2013 on the presence of T-2 and HT-2 toxin in cereals and cereal products 
(OJ L 91, 3.4.2013, p. 12).
(13)Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/644 of 5 Apr il 2017 laying down methods of samplin g and analysis for the control of levels of 
dioxins, dioxin-like PCBs and non-dio xin-like PCBs in certain foodstuffs and repealing Regulation (EU) No 589/2014 (OJ L 92, 
6.4.2017, p. 9).
(14)Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/2158 of 20 November 2017 establishing mitigatio n measures and benchmark levels for the 
reduction of the presence of acrylamide in food (OJ L 304, 21.11.2017, p. 24).EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 17.6.2022 L 162/15  CHAPTER II
CONTENT OF THE MANCP
Article 3
General provisions
Member State s shall ensure that the part of the MANCP concer ning the performance of official controls on the presence of 
contaminants in food includes the followi ng:
(a) a ‘control plan for food placed on the Union mark et’ as provid ed for in Article 4; and
(b) a ‘control plan for food of animal origin enter ing the Union’ as provid ed for in Article 5.
Article 4
Control plan for food placed on the Union market
1. Member States shall prepare a control plan concer ning the presence of the contaminants or contaminant groups on 
food placed on the Union mark et, other than food of animal origin entering the Union. This plan shall cover official 
controls on each Member State’s domestic food production, food introduced from other Member States, food of non- 
animal origin entering the Union, and compo site products, even those entering the Union from third countr ies.
2. The control plan for food placed on the Union market shall set out:
(a) the list of combinations of contaminants or contaminant groups and commodity groups to be controlled as decided by 
the Member State in accordance with Annex I to Deleg ated Regulation (EU) 2022/931;
(b) the sampli ng strateg y as decided by the Member State in accordance with Annex II to Delegat ed Regulation (EU) 2022/ 
931; and
(c) the actual control frequencies as decided by the Member State taking into account the annual minimum control 
frequencies laid down in Annex I.
3. Member States may include in the control plans information on the controls as regar ds the combinations of 
contaminants or contaminant groups and commodity groups for whic h national maximum levels or other regulator y 
levels are established by national legislation.
Article 5
Control plan for food of animal origin enter ing the Union
1. Member States shall prepare a control plan concer ning the presence of the contaminants or contaminant groups in 
food of animal origin enter ing the Union and intended for placing on the Union mark et. This plan shall cover the official 
controls on food of animal origin enter ing the Union and intended to be placed on the Union mark et and on fisher y 
products whic h are to be carried out on vessels when these call at a port in a Member State.
2. The control plan for food of animal origin entering the Union shall set out:
(a) the list of combinations of contaminants or contaminant groups and commodity groups to be controlled as decided by 
the Member State in accordance with Annex I to Deleg ated Regulation (EU) 2022/931;
(b) the sampli ng strateg y as decided by the Member State in accordance with Annex II to Delegat ed Regulation (EU) 2022/ 
931; and
(c) the actual control frequencies as decided by the Member State taking into account the annual minimum frequencies laid 
down in Annex II.EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 162/16 17.6.2022  3. Member States may include in the control plans information on the controls as regar ds the combinations of 
contaminants or contaminant groups and commodity groups for whic h national maximum levels or other regulator y 
levels are established by national legislation.
Article 6
Common requirements for the control plans
The control plans refer red to in Article 3 shall, in addition, specify :
(a) a justification for selecte d combinations of contaminants or contaminant groups and commodity groups, including an 
explanation on how the criteria listed in Annex I to Delegat ed Regulation (EU) 2022/931 were take n into account, even 
if no changes were made compar ed to the plan of the previous year;
(b) in case a plan provi des that official controls of certain combinations of contaminants or contaminant groups and 
commodity groups are not perf ormed annually but within a certain time period, a justif ication of that decision; and
(c) information about the compet ent author ity/author ities responsible for the implementation of the plans.
CHA PTER III
SUBMISSION AND EVALU ATION OF THE CONTR OL PLANS AND SUBMISSION OF DATA BY THE MEMBER STATES
Article 7
Submission and evaluation of the control plans
By 31 March of each year, the Member States shall submit the control plans refer red to in Article 3 for the current year 
electronically to the Commission.
The Commission shall evaluate the control plans on the basis of this Regulation and Delegat ed Regulation (EU) 2022/931 
and shall communicate its evaluation to each Member State , where needed.
The Member States shall consider the Commission’s comments when implementing their control plans and when 
prepar ing the next submission of their plans pursuant to this Article. However , where the Commission identif ies a major 
non-com pliance of a plan, it may request the concer ned Member State to submit an updat ed plan at an earlier date than 
31 March of the follo wing year .
Where a Member State decides not to update its control plans based on the Commission’s comments, it shall justify its 
position.
Article 8
Submission of data by the Member States
By 30 June, the Member States shall transmit to the European Food Safety Auth ority (‘EFSA ’) all data gathere d under the 
control plans referred to in Article 3.EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 17.6.2022 L 162/17  CHA PTER IV
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 9
Entr y into force and application
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day followi ng that of its publication in the Official Journal of the 
European Union.
It shall apply from 1 Januar y 2023 .
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 9 June 2022 .
For the Commission
The President
Ursula VON DER LEYENEN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 162/18 17.6.2022  ANNEX I 
Minimum control frequency per Member State in the control plan for food placed on the Union 
market 
1.Food of animal origin
(a) Member State s shall comply with the follo wing minimum control frequencies in the control plan for food placed on 
the Union mark et:
Control frequency
Unprocessed bovine meat (including 
edible offal)Minimum 0,02 % of the total number of slaughter ed animals
Unprocessed ovine and capr ine meat 
(including edible offal)Minimum 0,004 % of the total number of slaughtere d animals
Unprocessed porcine meat (including 
edible offal)Minimum 0,003 % of the total number of slaughtere d animals
Unprocessed equine meat (including 
edible offal)The number of samp les is to be determi ned by each Member State 
according to the level of production and the problems identif ied
Unprocessed poultr y meat (including 
edible offal)For each catego ry of poultr y considered (broiler chick ens, spent hens, 
turke ys and other poultr y) minimum 1 sam ple per 3 000 tonnes of 
annual production (deadweight)
Unprocessed meat from other farmed 
terrestrial animals (*)(including edible 
offal)The number of samp les is to be determi ned by each Member State 
according to the level of production and the problems identif ied
Raw bovine milk Minimum 1 sam ple per 110 000 tonnes of annual production of milk
Raw ovine and capr ine milk The number of samp les is to be determi ned by each Member State 
according to the level of production and the problems identif ied
Fresh hen eggs and other eggs Minimum 1 sam ple per 3 700 tonnes of annual production of eggs
Honey Minimum 1 sam ple per 1 300 tonnes of annual production
Unprocessed fisher y products (**)
(excluding crustaceans)Minimum 1 sam ple per 700 tonnes of annual production of aquaculture 
for the first 60 000 tonnes of production and then 1 sample for each 
additional 2 000 tonnes
For wild caught fisher y products, the number of samples is to be 
deter mined by each Member State according to the level of production 
and the problems identif ied
Crustaceans and bivalve molluscs The number of samp les is to be determi ned by each Member State 
according to the level of production and the problems identif ied
Animal and mar ine fats and oils The number of samp les is to be determi ned by each Member State 
according to the level of production and the problems identif ied
Processed products of animal origin (***) The number of samp les is to be determi ned by each Member State 
according to the level of production and the problems identif ied
(*) Other farmed terrestr ial animals as defined in entr y 1017000 of Annex I, part A, to Regulation (EC) No 396/2005.
(**) Fisher y products as defined in Regulation (EC) No 853/2004.
(***) Processed products as defin ed in Regulation (EC) No 852/2004.EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 17.6.2022 L 162/19  (b) Member State s shall annually perform controls on ‘metals ’ in minimum 10 % of the samples taken for each 
commodity group in accordance to the table of this Annex with the excep tion of the commodity groups 
‘crustaceans and bivalve molluscs ’, ‘animal and mar ine fats and oils’ and ‘processed products of animal origin’.
(c) Member States shall annually perform controls on ‘mycotoxins’ in minimum 10 % of the samples taken for the 
commodity group ‘raw bovine milk’ and ‘raw ovine and capr ine milk’ in accordance to the table of this Annex.
(d) Within the commodity group ‘unproces sed bovine , ovine and capr ine meat (including edible offal)’, Member States 
shall take sam ples from all species, taking into account their relative production volume.
(e) Within the commodity group ‘unprocessed poultr y meat (including edible offal)’ , Member States shall take sam ples 
from all species, taking into account their relative production volume.
(f) For the determi nation of the number of samples for fisher y products and bivalve molluscs, Member States shall also 
take into account the geographical aspects, landing/production volumes and specifi c contamination patte rns in the 
areas from which they are harvested.
(g) For calculating the minimum control frequencies, Member States shall use the most recent production data 
available, at least from previous or at maximum from penultimat e year, adjusted, if relevant, to reflect kno wn 
evolutions in production since the data were made available.
(h) In case the control frequency calculated in accordance with this Annex would represent less than five samp les per 
year, sampling may be carried out once per two years.
(i) In case that, within a three years period, the production corresponding to a minimum of one sample is not reac hed, 
Member State s shall analyse a minimum of two samples once per three years provided that production takes place 
for that product in their territory .
(j) Samples take n for the purposes of other control plans relevant for analysis on contaminants (e.g. on 
phar macologically active substances and residues thereof, on pesticide residues), may also be used for controls on 
contaminants provid ed that the requirements concer ning the controls on contaminants are complied with.
2.Food of non-animal origin (1)
Member States shall at least take 100 to 2 000 samples per year depending on their population size. However , where it 
is necessar y on account of the risk, more samples shall be take n to ensure controls remain effective.
Sampli ng shall be representative for the diffe rent contaminants, whic h may be present in differ ent products on the 
Member State’s mark et, taking into account also differ ent contaminant patt erns in products originating from different 
regions and the diffe rent numbers and sizes of food business operators.
(1)For the purpose of this Regulation, the criteria relevant for food of non-animal origin shall be applied for compo site products.EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 162/20 17.6.2022  ANNEX II 
Minimum control frequency per Member State in the control plan for food of animal origin enter ing 
the Union 
The Member States shall compl y with the minimum control frequency as set out in the table below .
Controls carried out under Articles 47(1)(d) (reinf orced checks) and 47(1)(e) (safeguard measures) of Regulation (EU) 
2017/625, shall not be counted towards achieving the minimum control frequencies of this Annex.
Controls carried out under the established emergency measures and the intensifi ed official controls, on the basis of 
Article 53 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 and of Article 65(4) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, shall not be count ed 
towards achi eving the minimum control frequencies of this Annex.
Controls of food products from certain third countr ies listed in Annex II to Regulation (EU) 2019/2129, with whic h the 
Union has concluded agreements of equivalence for physical checks, shall not be count ed towards achieving the minimum 
control frequencies of this Annex.
For the controls of fisher y products carried out in accordance with Article 68 of Regulation (EU) 2019/627, the Member 
State s shall take into account the geographical aspects, landing/production volumes and specif ic contamination patte rns in 
the areas from which they are harvested.
Control frequency
Bovin e (includes meat, minced meat, mechani cally separate d meat, edible offal, 
meat preparations and meat products)Minimum 1 % of the imported 
consignments
Ovine/capr ine (includes meat, minced meat, mechanically separated meat, edible 
offal, meat preparations and meat products)Minimum 1 % of the imported 
consignments
Porcine (includes meat, minced meat, mech anically separate d meat, edible offal, 
meat preparations and meat products)Minimum 1 % of the imported 
consignments
Equine (includes meat, minced meat, mechani cally separate d meat, edible offal, 
meat preparations and meat products)Minimum 1 % of the imported 
consignments
Poultr y (includes meat, minced meat, edible offal, meat preparations and meat 
products)Minimum 1 % of the imported 
consignments
Meat from other farmed terrestrial animals (*)(includes meat, minced meat, edible 
offal, meat preparations and meat products)Minimum 1 % of the imported 
consignments
Milk (includes raw milk, dair y products, colostr um and colostr um-based products 
of all species)Minimum 1 % of the imported 
consignments
Eggs (includes eggs and egg products from all bird species) Minimum 1 % of the imported 
consignments
Honey (includes hone y and other apiculture products) Minimum 1 % of the imported 
consignments
Unprocessed fisher y products (**) excluding crustaceans Minimum 1 % of the imported 
consignments
Crustaceans and bivalve molluscs (includes muscle meat and muscle meat products) Minimum 1 % of the imported 
consignments
Unprocessed animal and mar ine fats and oils (***) Minimum 1 % of the imported 
consignments
(*) Other farmed terrestrial animals as defined in entr y 1017000 of Annex I, part A, to Regulation (EC) No 396/2005.
(**) Fisher y products as defin ed in Regulation (EC) No 853/2004.
(***) Processed products as defined in Regulation (EC) No 852/2004.EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 17.6.2022 L 162/21  Additional provis ions:
1.The control frequency for other processed products of food of animal origin, such as gelatine and collage n, shall be 
determined by each Member State taking into account the number of imported consignments and the problems 
identif ied.
2.For the calculation of the minimum control frequencies listed in this Annex, Member States shall use the most recent 
data of the number of consignments enter ing the Union through their border control posts, at least from previous or at 
maximum from penultimat e year.
3.In case the number of consignments of food entering the Union and intended for placing on the Union mark et is lowe r 
than the number of consignments corresponding to one sample, Member State s may perform the sampli ng once per 
two or three years. In case the number of consignments imported over a three years period is lower than the number of 
consignments corresponding to one sample, Member States shall take at least one sample once per three years.
4.Sample s take n for the purposes of other control plans relevant for analysis on contaminants (e.g. on phar macologically 
active substances and residues thereof, on pesticide residues, etc.) may also be used for controls on contaminants 
provid ed that the requirements concer ning the controls on contaminants are compl ied with.EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 162/22 17.6.2022