. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/SVK/14
31 March 1999
(99-1314)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
NOTIFICATION
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  SLOVAK REPUBLIC
If applicable, name of local government involved:           
2. Agency responsible:   Slovak Ministry of Agriculture/State Veterinary Administration
3. Products covered (tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules deposited
with the WTO.  ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):
Slaughter animals and related products, in relation to chemical growth simulators and feed
antibiotics (namely carbadox, olaquindox, Zn-bacitracine, virginiamycine, spiramycine,
tylozine-phosphate)
4. Title and number of pages of the notified document:   Decree of the Slovak Ministry of
Agriculture of 7 October 1997, No. 1497/3/ 1997-100 establishing the requirements for
introducing supplementary substances, their composition, testing and evaluation, and
specific requirements for biological verification of feedstuffs.
5. Description of content:   Modified veterinary conditions do not allow imports to the Slovak
Republic concerning slaughter animals, namely cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and poultry
destined for immediate slaughter, meat and meat products thereof if they were not thermally
treated.  Only in cases, when the veterinary authority in the country of origin of the animals
and products thereof guarantees fulfilling the requirements stated in the model veterinary
form for import to the Slovak Republic, the imports are allowed without limitation.
6. Objective and rationale:  Above-mentioned chemical growth stimulators and feed
antibiotics were neither registered nor used in the Slovak Republic.  Therefore they were not
specified in the Decree of the Slovak Ministry of Agriculture No. 1497/3/1997-100 –Register of supplementary substances for feeding animals, Part A – feed antibiotics and
Part J – growth stimulators.  This Register does not permit use and introduction into
circulation of the substances which are not indicated there.  Therefore the Slovak Republic
modified the conditions for imports of slaugh ter animals, their meat and animal products
which were not thermally treated and which are produced from animals that obtained theabove-mentioned substances in their feeding.
This modification has been introduced by the Slovak State Veterinary Administration on the
basis of expert and scientific justification of the quoted Commission Regulation
No. 2788/98 dated 22 December 1998 stating that the use of mentioned additives represents
a danger for human health, animal health and the environment.  A scientific committee foranimal nutrition stated that usage of carbadox and olaquindox poses a risk for consumers,
the staff or the animals themselves.  They admit carbadox as being genotoxic and
carcinogenic for rodents, and olaquindox as being genotoxic and tumorigenic.G/SPS/N/SVK/14
Page 2
The Committee stated that it is not possible to determine the threshold level for genotoxic
additives, which would represent zero risk for the consumer, as already a small amount of
residues of the above-mentioned additives may evoke a mutation causing a tumour.
Commission Regulation No. 2821/98 dated 17 December 1998 is based on a scientific
justification concerning the ban to use the additives in feedstuffs belonging to the group ofantibiotics proposed by Sweden (2 February 1998), Finland (12 March 1997) and Denmark
(15 January 1998), respectively.  The Commission held consultations concerning the
mentioned proposals with the Scientific Committee for Animal Nutrition, which expressed
the expert opinion of being concerned with the acquired resistance to vancomycine among
enterococci and Staphylococcus Aureus strains resistant to metylicine, which are more and
more responsible for nosomial infections, mainly in the United States and Southern Europe.
It may become inevitable to use streptogramines as a therapeutic agent for the ultimatepossibility to eliminate the pathogenic agents which have developed resistance against other
antibiotics.
7. An international standard, guidelin e or recommendation does not exist [    ].
If an international standard, guideline or  recommendation exists, whenever possible,
identify deviations:
Commission Regulation No. 2788/98/EC dated 22.12.1998
Commission Regulation N o. 2821/98/EC dated 17.12.1998
8. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:
Law on Feedstuffs No. 184/1993 Z.z. (para. 3)
Law on Veterinary Care No. 337/1998 Z.z (para. 8/3/b and para. 8/4/a)
9. Proposed date of adoption:           
10. Proposed date of entry into force:  5 March 1999
11. Final date for comments:           
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:   State Veterinary Administration of
the Slovak Republic, Botanicka 17, 842 13 Bratislava, Slovak Republic; Fax:  +421 7
65420745)
12. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [  X ] or address, telefax number and
E-mail address (if available) of other body: