. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/EEC/137
6 August 2001
(01-3879)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
NOTIFICATION
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
If applicable, name of local government involved:           
2. Agency responsible:  European Commission, General Directorate for Health and Consumer
Protection
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where
applicable).  Meat of (species, TARIC Position) bovine (0201, 02.02), swine (0203), sheep
(0204), poultry (0207), farmed game (0208), liver (0206 to 0210);  fish (0302 to 0307)
fishery products (0511);  milk and milk products (0401 to 0406) including butter fat (04.05);
hen eggs (0407.00) and egg products (0408);  edible vegetables (Chapter 07);  fruits
(Chapter 8);  cereals (Chapter 10 and 11 if intended for human food);  meat products
containing liver (within Chapter 1601);  animal fats, fish oil and vegetable oil (Chapter 15)if intended for human consumption  Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the
extent relevant or practicable:  EC member States and third countries exporting to the
European Communities
4. Title and number of pages of the notified document:  Draft Commission
Recommendation on the reduction of the presence of dioxins and PCBs in foodstuffs
(5 pages)
5. Description of content: This draft Recommendation forms a part of an overall
comprehensive strategy to reduce the presence of dioxins in environment food and feed.
(Notifications G/SPS/N/EEC/134 G/SPS/N/EEC/135 G/SPS/N/EEC/136 andG/SPS/N/EEC/137)
The tools to achieve this reduction, necessary to guarantee a high level of public health
protection, consist of source directed measures and the establishment of maximum levels
action levels and target levels.  Action levels act as an early warning tool, initiating actions
by authorities and operators to identify the source of contamination and take the appropriate
measures.
This draft Recommendation establishes the following action levels as guidance (expressed
in WHO-PCDD/F-TEQ = sum of  polychlorinated dibenzo- para -dioxins (PCDDs) and
polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) expr essed in World Health Organisation (WHO)
toxic equivalents, using the WHO –TEFs (toxic equivalency factors) :
Meat and meat products originating from:
− Ruminants (bovine animals, sheep) 2.00 pg/g fat
− Poultry and farmed game 1.50 pg/g fat
− Pigs  0.60 pg/g fat
− Liver and derived products 4.00 pg/g fatG/SPS/N/EEC/137
Page 2
Muscle meat of fish and fishery products  and products
thereof  (fresh weight basis) 3.00 pg /g fat
Milk and milk products, including butter fat 2.00 pg/g fat
Hen eggs and egg products 2.00 pg/g fat
Oils and fats:
Animal fat:
− from ruminants 2.00 pg/g fat
− from poultry and farmed game 1.50 pg/g fat
− from pigs 0.60 pg/g fat
− mixed animal fat 1.50 pg/g fat
Vegetable oil 0.50 pg/g fat
Fish oil intended for human consumption 1.50 pg/g fatCereals, fruits and vegetables  0.40 pg/g product
6. Objective and rationale: [  X ] food safety,  [     ] animal health,  [     ] plant protection,
[    ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [     ] protect territory from
other damage from pests           
7. An international standard, guideline or recommendation does not exist [  X ].
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate
reference and briefly identify deviations:           
8. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  European
Commission Document SANC O/0385/01 – Rev.4 (Available in all EC languages)
9. Proposed date of adoption:  October 2001
10. Proposed date of entry into force:  1 January 2002
11. Final date for comments:  15 September 2001
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [     ] National notification
authority, [  X ] EC enquiry point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if
available) of other body:           
12. Texts available from: [     ] National notification authority, [  X ] EC enquiry point or
address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:
The Risk assessments made by the Scientific Committee for food are available at
http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scf/out78_en.pdf
http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scf/out90_en.pdf
The Risk assessments made by the Scientific Committee for Animal Nutrition is available athttp://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scan/out55_en.pdf
The assessment of the health risk of dioxins made by a WHO consultation (1998) isavailable at http://www.who.int/pcs/doc s/dioxin-exec-sum/exe-sum-final.html
The report of the 57th meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee of Food Additives
(JECFA) International Program for Chemical  Safety (IPCS, 2001) is available at:
http://www.who.int/pcs/jecfa/Summary57-corr.pdf