COMMISSION DELEGA TED REGUL ATION (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 regards cont aminants in food 
(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(2), point (a), 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 on food and food safety . 
Article 109 of that Regulation provi des for an oblig ation for Member State s to ensure that official controls are 
performe d by the compet ent author ities on the basis of a multi-annual national control plan (‘MANCP’). Regulation 
(EU) 2017/625 further more specifies the general conte nt of the MANCP , requires Member States to provid e in their 
MANCP offici al controls on contaminants in food and, in this regard, empowers the Commission to lay down 
specifi c requirements for the performa nce of official controls, including, where appropr iate, the range of samples 
and the stage of production, processing and distr ibution where the samples are to be taken.
(2) Regulation (EU) 2017/625 repealed Council Directive 96/23/EC (2), which provided measures to monitor certain 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 provi ded for in that Directive or in the acts 
adopt ed by the Commission on its basis. This Regulation together with Commission Imple menting Regulation (EU) 
2022/932 (3)aims theref ore at ensur ing continuity of the rules of Directive 96/23/EC concer ning the cont ent of the 
MANCP and its preparation, as well as the rang e of sam ples and the stage of production, processing and distr ibution 
where the sample s are to be taken as regar ds contaminants in food, within the framewor k of Regulation (EU) 
2017/625.
(3) However , in line with Article 19 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, which refers in a comprehensive manner to 
contaminants in food, it is appropr iate that this Regulation applies also to official controls necessar y to detec t the 
presence of all contaminants falling within the scope of Council Regulation (EEC) No 315/93 (4). Theref ore, this 
Regulation should apply to the official controls necessar y to detect the presence in food of contaminants for whic h 
maximum levels or other regulatory levels requir ing or triggering action by the compet ent author ities are 
established by Union legislation.
(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 Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/932 of 9 June 2022 on unif orm practical arrangement s for the perf ormance of 
official controls as regards contaminants in food, on specific additional content of multi-annual national control plans and specific 
additional arrangements for their preparation (see page 13 of this Official Jour nal).
(4)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).EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 17.6.2022 L 162/7  (4) The presence of mercur y in food can be considered to occur due to envi ronmental contamination since pesticides 
containing mercur y have now been prohibit ed in the Union for more than thirty years. Official controls as rega rds 
maximum levels of mercur y compounds as set out in Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament 
and of the Council (5), Commission Directive 2006/125/EC (6), Commission Delegat ed Regulation (EU) 
2016/127 (7)and Commission Deleg ated Regulation (EU) 2016/128 (8)should theref ore also be covered by this 
Regulation inste ad of the specifi c rules on controls for residues of pesticides.
(5) In order to ensure that official controls are efficiently target ed in all Member States, it is appropr iate to set out rules 
on the combinations of contaminants or contaminant groups and commodity groups to be sampled by Member 
State s and the sam pling strateg y, including criteria to use for defining the conte nt of their plans and the 
performa nce of the related official controls.
(6) It is theref ore appropr iate to supplement Article 19(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 by laying down rules for the 
performa nce of the offici al controls as regards contaminants in food.
(7) 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 ,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGUL ATION:
Article 1
For the purposes of this Regulation, the definition of ‘contaminant’ in Article 1(1), second subparagraph of Council 
Regulation (EEC) No 315/93 applies.
Article 2
Member States shall control the presence of contaminants in food in accordance with Annex I.
Member States shall adop t a sampling strategy in accordance with the criteria set out in Annex II.
Article 3
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 .
(5)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).
(6)Commission Directive 2006/125/EC of 5 December 2006 on processed cereal-based foods and baby foods for infants and young 
children (OJ L 339, 6.12.2006, p. 16).
(7)Commission Delegat ed Regulation (EU) 2016/127 of 25 September 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 of the 
European Parliament and of the Council as regards the specific compositional and information requirements for infant formula and 
follow-on formula and as regar ds requirements on information relating to infant and young child feed ing (OJ L 25, 2.2.2016, p. 1).
(8)Commission Delegat ed Regulation (EU) 2016/128 of 25 September 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 of the 
European Parliament and of the Council as regards the specific compositional and information requirements for food for special 
medical purposes (OJ L 25, 2.2.2016, p. 30).EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 162/8 17.6.2022  This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 23 Marc h 2022 .
For the Commission
The President
Ursula VON DER LEYENEN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 17.6.2022 L 162/9  ANNEX I 
Rules for the selection of specif ic combination of contamina nts or cont aminant groups and 
commodity groups 
(1) Member States shall control the followi ng combinations of contaminants or contaminant groups in the followi ng 
commodity groups:
Commodity groupsHalogenat ed 
persisten t orga nic 
pollutantsMetals Mycoto xinsOther 
contaminants
Unpro cessed bovin e, ovine and capr ine meat 
(including edible offal)x x x
Unpro cessed porcine meat (including edible offal) x x x
Unpro cessed equine meat (including edible offal) x x
Unpro cessed poultr y meat (including edible offal) x x x
Unpro cessed meat from other farmed terrestrial 
animals *(including edible offal)x
Raw bovine , ovine and capr ine milk x x x x
Fresh hen eggs and other eggs x x x
Honey x x
Unpro cessed fisher y products **(excluding 
crustaceans)x x x
Crustaceans and bivalve molluscs x x x
Animal and mar ine fats and oils x x x
Processed products of animal origin *** x x x
*Other farm ed terrestr ial animals as defin ed 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 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).
***Processed products as defined in 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).
(2) Member State s shall consider all combinations of contaminants or contaminant groups and commodity groups of food 
of non-animal origin for which maximum levels or other regulatory levels are set under Union legislation.
(3) Each Member State shall consider the following criteria for selecting specific combinations of contaminants or 
contaminant groups and commodity groups to be controlled:
(a) frequency of the detection of non-com pliance in the Member State’s samples, in other Member States’ samples or in 
third countr ies’ sam ples, especially when repor ted under the Rapid Aler t Syste m for Food and Feed or the 
Administrative Assistance and Cooperation Syste m;
(b) availability of suitable laboratory methods and analytical standards;EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 162/10 17.6.2022  (c) possible risk for consumers or certain population groups arising from consump tion of contaminants present in 
food, taking into account the relevant information available from the European Food Safety Auth ority, or in 
absence of such information, other sources of information such as scientific publications or national risk 
assessments;
(d) consump tion data (dietar y exposure patter ns);
(e) as regards food falling within the scope of the control plan for food of animal origin entering the Union as 
descr ibed in Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2022/932, the followi ng criteria shall also be considered, where available:
(i) the outcome of Commission controls in third countr ies;
(ii) any information casting doubt on the reliability of guarant ees on the compl iance of imp orted food with Union 
rules;
(iii) information on increased vigilance.EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 17.6.2022 L 162/11  ANNEX II 
Criter ia for sampling strategy 
(1) For each food business operat or to be controlled, the Member State shall consider the following criteria for the 
selection of the type of food to be controlled:
(a) histor y of non-com pliance;
(b) shor tcomings in the application of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point and related auto controls;
(c) shor tcomings in record keeping addressing requirements as defined in Section III, Part A, of Annex I to Regulation 
(EC) No 852/2004;
(d) representative sam pling rega rdless of the size of the food business operator;
(e) emerging situations (chang es in consum ption patt erns, natural disast ers or economic problems that cause chang es 
in food trade chains etc.).
(2) Each Member State shall consider the followi ng criteria for the selection of slaughterhouses, cutting plants, 
establishments for the milk production, establishments for the production and placing on the market of fisher y 
products and aquaculture products, establishments for honey and egg and egg packi ng centres:
(a) the criteria listed under point (3) of Annex I and under point (1) of this Annex;
(b) the respective establishments’ share of the Member State’s total production volume of the slaughter houses, cutting 
plants, establishments for milk production, establishments for production and placing on the market of fisher y 
products and aquaculture products, establishments for hone y and egg and egg packing centres;
(c) relevant origins of the slaughter ed animals, milk, aquaculture products, honey and eggs.
(3) When taking the sam ples, efforts shall be made to avoid multiple sampli ng from one food business operat or, unless the 
operat or has been identif ied on the basis of the criteria included in point (1) or an appropr iate justif ication has been 
provi ded in the control plan. The compl iance with the planned frequency of checks shall be ensured.
(4) As regards food within the scope of the control plan for food placed on the Union market as set out in Article 4 of 
Regulation (EU) 2022/932, sampling shall be performed on food placed on the mark et and on food intended for 
placing on the mark et (primar y stage, free-range, slaughterhouses, during food processing, storag e or sale, etc.).EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 162/12 17.6.2022