G/SPS/N/EU/526  
 
13 December 2021  
(21-9299) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
  NOTIFICATION  
1. Notifying Member:  EUROPEAN UNION  
If applicable, name of local government involved:   
2. Agency responsible:  European Commission, Health and Food Safety Directorate -General  
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national 
schedules deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, 
where applicable):  Muscle meat of fi sh, molluscs and salt  
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable : 
[X] All trading partners   
[ ] Specific regions or countries:   
5. Title of the notified document:  Draft Commission Regulation (EU) amending Regulation 
(EC) No 1881/2006 as regards maximum levels of mercury in fish and salt (Text with EEA 
relevance) . Language(s):  English . Number of pages:  4+4 
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2021/SPS/EU/21_7732_00_e.pdf  
https://members.wto.org/crnattachments/2021/SPS/EU/21_7732_01_e.pdf  
6. Description of content:  The draft Regulation lowers existing maximum levels for 
mercury in  cephalopods, marine gastropods and muscle meat of certain fish species, for 
which EU MLs are currently established under Regulation (EC) No 629/2008 and Regulation 
(EU) No 420/2011, and it establishes a new maximum level for mercury in salt.  
7. 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.   
8. Is there a relevant international standard? If so, identify the standar d: 
[X] Codex Alimentarius Commission (e.g.  title or serial number of Codex 
standard or related text) : Codex General Standard for Contaminants and Toxins 
in Food and Feed (CXC 1995)  
[ ] World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) (e.g.  Terrestrial or Aquatic 
Animal Health Code, chapter number) :  
[ ] International Plant Protection Convention (e.g.  ISPM number) :  
[ ] None  
Does this proposed regulation conform to the relevant international st andard?  
[ ] Yes   [X] No  
If no, describe, whenever possible, how and why it deviates from the 
international standard:  Based on a risk assessment of the European Food Safety 
Authority, it was concluded that the exposure of EU consumers to mercury should be  
lowered. The available occurrence data in the European Union indicates that there is G/SPS/N/EU/526  
 
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  margin to lower the MLs for mercury in certain commodities. This measure is considered 
necessary to ensure a high level of human health protection.  
9. Other relevant doc uments and language(s) in which these are available:    
10. Proposed date of adoption (dd/mm/yy) : Estimated April 2022.  
Proposed date of publication (dd/mm/yy) : Estimated April 2022.  
11. Proposed date of entry into force: [  ] Six months from date of publication , and/or  
(dd/mm/yy) : This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of 
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union . The foodstuffs listed in the 
Annex, lawfully placed on the market before the entry into force of this Regulation, may 
remain on the market until the date of minimum durability or use -by-date. 
[ ] Trade facilitating measure   
12. Final date for comments: [X]  Sixty days from the date of circulation of the 
notification and/or (dd/mm/yy) : 11 February 2022  
Agency or authority designated to handle comments: [X]  National Notification 
Authority, [X]  National Enquiry Point. Address, fax number and e -mail address (if 
available) of other body:   
European Commission  
DG Health and Food Safety, Unit D2-Multilateral International Relations  
Rue Froissart 101  
B-1049 Brussels  
Tel: +(32 2) 29 54263  
Fax: +(32 2) 29 98090  
E-mail: sps@ec.europa.eu  
13. Text(s) available from: [X]  National Notification Authority, [X]  National Enquiry 
Point. Address, fax number  and e -mail address (if available) of other body:   
European Commission  
DG Health and Food Safety, Unit D2 -Multilateral International Relations  
Rue Froissart 101  
B-1049 Brussels  
Tel: +(32 2) 29 54263  
Fax: +(32 2) 29 98090  
E-mail: sps@ec.europa.eu