COMMI SSION IMPLEMENTING REGUL ATION (EU) 2018/1660 
of 7 November 2018 
imposing special conditions governing the impor t of certain food of non-animal origin from 
certain third countr ies due to the risks of contamination with pesticides residues, amending 
Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 and repealing Implementing Regulation (EU) No 885/2014 
(Text with EEA relevance) 
THE EUR OPEAN COMMISSION, 
Having regar d to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, 
Having regar d to 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 Safet y Author ity and 
laying down procedures in matte rs of food safety (1), and in particular Article 53(1)(b)(ii) thereof, 
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 Apr il 2004 on 
official controls perf ormed to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal 
welf are rules (2), and in particular Article 15(5) thereof, 
Whereas: 
(1)  Article 53 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 provides for the possibility to adopt appropr iate Union emerg ency 
measures for food and feed imported from a third countr y in order to protect public health, animal health or the 
environment, where it is evident that the food and feed concer ned is likely to constitute a serious risk to human 
health and animal health and that such risk cannot be contained satisf actor ily by means of measures taken by the 
Member States individually . Those Union emergency measures may consist of imposing special conditions of 
import for the products concer ned. 
(2)  Commission Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 (3) provides for an increased level of official controls on imports of 
the feed and food of non-animal origin listed in Annex I thereof. Vine leav es from Turke y and Pitaha ya (dragon 
fruit) from Vietnam are included in that Annex and are theref ore subject to an increased level of official controls. 
(3)  The results from the official controls carried out by the Member States in the framew ork of Regulation (EC) 
No 669/2009, data resulting from notifi cations received through the Rapid Aler t System for Food and Feed, as 
established by Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, audit repor ts by the Commission, repor ts received from third 
countr ies and exchang es of information between the Commission, Member States and the European Food Safe ty 
Author ity show a continuous high frequency of non-com pliance of vine leav es from Turke y with the maximum 
residue levels of pesticides set out in Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council (4). No improvement of the situation could theref ore be obser ved even after increasing the frequency of 
controls at Union borders. 
(4)  The results from the official controls carried out by the Member States in the framew ork of Regulation (EC) 
No 669/2009 show a high frequency of non-compliance of Pitaha ya (dragon fruit) from Vietnam with the 
maximum residue levels of pesticides set out in Regulation (EC) No 396/2005. Moreo ver, an audit carried out by 
the Commission in Vietnam in March 2017 to evaluate controls of pesticides in food of plant origin intended for 
expor t to the European Union found that there is no official effective pesticide control syste m for food expor ted 
to the Union and that the author ities cannot ensure compliance of Vietnamese products with maximum residue 
levels for pesticide residues. 
(5)  This provid es evidence that the impor t of vine leav es from Turke y and of Pitaha ya (dragon fruit) from Vietnam is 
likely to constitute a serious risk to health and that such risk cannot be contained satisf actorily by the measures 
currently in place. It is theref ore necessar y to establish special conditions of impor t for vine leaves from Turkey 
and Pitaha ya (dragon fruit) from Vietnam. 8.11.2018 L 278/7 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     
(1)OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1. 
(2)OJ L 165, 30.4.2004, p. 1. 
(3)Commission Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 of 24 July 2009 implem enting Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament 
and of the Council as regards the increased level of official controls on impor ts of certain feed and food of non-animal origin and 
amending Decision 2006/504/EC (OJ L 194, 25.7.2009, p. 11). 
(4)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)  Curry leav es from India are currently subject to the special conditions of impor t set out in Commission 
Implementing Regulation (EU) No 885/2014 (1). Special conditions of import for this product should be 
maintained, in light of the data resulting from notificati ons received through the Rapid Aler t System for Food 
and Feed and of the results from the official controls carried out by the Member States in the framew ork of 
Implementing Regulation (EU) No 885/2014, which show a continuous high frequency of non-complian ce. 
(7)  It is theref ore appropr iate to require that curry leaves from India, vines leaves from Turkey and Pitaha ya (dragon 
fruit) from Vietnam be subject to official controls before expor t to the Union, including samp ling and analysis, so 
as to ensure that those products compl y with the relevant legal requirements. All consignments of such products 
should be accompan ied by a health certificate stating that the products have been sample d in accordance with 
Commission Directive 2002/63/EC (2). 
(8)  In order to ensure an effic ient organisation and a degree of unif ormity at the Union level of the controls at 
import with regar d to the presence of pesticides residues in and on curry leav es from India, vines leav es from 
Turkey and Pitaha ya (dragon fruit) from Vietnam, it is appropr iate to provid e in this Regulation for control 
procedures whic h are at least equivalent to those provid ed for in Regulation (EC) No 669/2009. 
(9)  In order to take into account the specific nature of non-compliance with documentar y requirements, it is 
appropr iate to lay down rules on the action to be taken where the consignment is not accompan ied by both the 
results of samp ling and analysis and the health certificate or where those results or that health certificate do not 
compl y with the requirements laid down in this Regulation. 
(10)  Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 requires compet ent author ities to notify the Commission and other Member States 
of border rejections. As regards pesticides, it is appropr iate to clarify that where the compet ent author ities reject 
a consignment of food listed in this Regulation, such notificati on should be made where a maximum residue 
level set out in Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 has not been compl ied with, irrespective of whether the acute 
reference dose has been excee ded. 
(11)  In order to collect data for continuous risk evaluation in relation to the goods covered by this Regulation and 
adap t existing measures as necessar y, it is appropr iate to require Member States to submit to the Commission 
biannually a repor t on all analytical results of official controls carried out under this Regulation. Certain Member 
States register the common entr y document pertaining to certain feed and food of non-animal origin on 
a volun tary basis in the Trade Control and Exper t System (TRA CES) established by Commission Decisions 
2003/24/EC (3) and 2004/292/EC (4), thus provi ding the Commission with information on the number of 
consignments impor ted and the results of the checks provid ed for in this Regulation. That repor ting oblig ation 
should theref ore be deemed to be satisfied where Member States register in TRA CES the common entr y 
documents issued in accordance with this Regulation. 
(12)  The measures provid ed for in this Regulation should be reviewed before 31 October 2019 in order to assess 
whether they are still necessar y. 
(13)  Adequate financia l resources should be available for organising official controls in accordance with this 
Regulation. Hence, costs resulting from such official controls should be borne by the food business operat ors 
responsible for the consignments. 
(14)  For the sake of transparency and consistency of the applicable rules, all specifi c conditions govern ing the import 
of curry leaves from India, of vine leav es from Turke y and of Pitaha ya (dragon fruit) from Vietnam with regard to 
the presence of pesticide residues should be set out in this Regulation. Theref ore the entr ies for vine leav es from 
Turkey and for Pitaha ya (dragon fruit) from Vietnam should be removed from Annex I to Regulation (EC) 
No 669/2009 and Implementing Regulation (EU) No 885/2014 concer ning curry leav es from India should be 
repealed. 8.11.2018 L 278/8 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     
(1)Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 885/2014 of 13 August 2014 laying down specific conditions applicable to the impor t 
of okra and curry leaves from India and repealing Implementing Regulation (EU) No 91/2013 (OJ L 242, 14.8.2014, p. 20). 
(2)Commission Directive 2002/63/EC of 11 July 2002 establishing Community methods of samplin g for the official control of pesticide 
residues in and on products of plant and animal origin and repealing Directive 79/700/EEC (OJ L 187, 16.7.2002, p. 30). 
(3)Commission Decision 2003/24/EC of 30 December 2002 concer ning the development of an integrat ed compu terised veterinar y system 
(OJ L 8, 14.1.2003, p. 44). 
(4)Commission Decision 2004/292/EC of 30 March 2004 on the introduction of the Traces system and amending Decision 92/486/EEC 
(OJ L 94, 31.3.2004, p. 63). (15)  In order to give operators sufficient time to adap t to the requirements set out in this Regulation, this Regulation 
should apply from 8 December 2018. In the interest of legal certainty , it is appropr iate to provi de that Member 
States should author ise during a transitional period the import of consignments of vine leaves from Turkey, of 
Pitaha ya (dragon fruit) from Vietnam and of curry leaves from India whic h left their countr y of origin or the 
countr y of consignment if that countr y is differ ent from the countr y of origin, prior to 8 December 2018 
provid ed that those consignments fulfil the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 in force on 
7 December 2018 and Imple menting Regulation (EU) No 885/2014 respectively . 
(16)  The measures provi ded for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on 
Plants, Animals, Food and Feed, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGUL ATION: 
Article 1 
Scope 
1. This Regulation shall apply to consignments of the food of non-animal origin which is listed in Annex I. 
This Regulation shall also apply to compo und food, containing any of the food listed in Annex I in a quantity above 
20 %. 
2. This Regulation shall not apply to consignments of food which are destined to a private person for personal 
consum ption and use only . In case of doubt, the burden of proof lies with the recipient of the consignment. 
Article 2 
Def initions 
For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions laid down in Articles 2 and 3 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 and 
in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 shall apply . 
The definitions of ‘common entr y document’ and ‘designated point of entr y’ set out in points (a) and (b) respectively of 
Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 shall also apply . 
For the purposes of this Regulation, a ‘consignment’ means a ‘lot’ as defined in Directive 2002/63/EC. 
For the purposes of Article 11(3), the definitions set out in Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 shall apply . 
Article 3 
Impor t into the Union 
Consignments of food referred to in Article 1(1) may only be impor ted into the Union in accordance with the 
procedures laid down in this Regulation. 
Such consignments can only enter the Union through a designated point of entr y. 
Article 4 
Results of sampling and analysis 
1. Each consignment of food refer red to in Article 1(1) shall be accompanied by the results of sampling and analysis 
performed by the compet ent author ities of the countr y of origin as refer red to in Annex I or of the third countr y where 
the consignment is consigned from if that countr y is differ ent from the countr y of origin, to ascer tain compliance with 
Union legislation on maximum residue levels of pesticides. 
2. The sampling refer red to in paragraph 1 must be performe d in accordance with Directive 2002/63/EC. 
3. The analysis refer red to in paragraph 1 must be performe d by laboratori es accredit ed in accordance with the 
standard ISO/IEC 17025 on ‘General requirements for the compet ence of testing and calibration laboratories ’. 
Article 5 
Health certificate 
1. Each consignment of food refer red to in Article 1(1) shall be accompanied by the original version of a health 
certificate, in accordance with the model set out in Annex II. 8.11.2018 L 278/9 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     2. The health certificate shall be compl eted, signed and verified by the compet ent author ity of the countr y of origin 
or of the countr y where the consignment is consigned from if that countr y is different from the countr y of origin. 
3. The health certificate shall be drawn up in the official language , or in one of the official languag es, of the Member 
State where the designat ed point of entr y is locat ed. However , a Member State may consent to health certificates being 
drawn up in another offici al language of the Union. 
4. The health certificate must be issued before the consignment to whic h it relat es leav es the control of the 
compet ent author ity issuing it. 
5. The health certificate shall only be valid during four months from the date of issue. 
6. The original health certificate shall be presented to, and kept by, the compet ent author ities of the designated point 
of entr y. 
Article 6 
Identif ication 
Each consignment of food referred to in Article 1(1) shall be identif ied with an identif ication code which corresponds to 
the identif ication code mentioned on the results of the sampli ng and analysis referred to in Article 4 and the health 
certificate referred to in Article 5. Each individual bag, or other packa ging form, of the consignment shall be identif ied 
with that identif ication code. 
Article 7 
Prior notif ication of consignments 
1. Food business operat ors or their representatives shall give prior notifi cation of the estimated date and time of 
physical arrival of consignments of food referred to in Article 1(1) to the compet ent author ities at the designated point 
of entr y and of the nature of the consignment. 
2. For the purpose of prior notification, food business operat ors or their representatives shall compl ete Part I of the 
common entr y document (CED) and transmit that document to the compet ent author ities at the designate d point of 
entr y, at least one working day prior to the physical arrival of the consignment. 
3. For the completion of the CED pursuant to this Regulation, food business operators or their representatives shall 
take into account the notes for guidance for the CED laid down in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 669/2009. 
Article 8 
Official controls 
1. The compet ent author ities at the designat ed point of entr y shall carry out documentar y chec ks in relation to each 
consignment of food referred to in Article 1(1) to ascer tain compl iance with the requirements laid down in Articles 4 
and 5. 
2. Member State s shall carry out identity and physical checks on consignments, including sampling and analysis, in 
accordance with Articles 8(1), 9 and 19 of Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 at the frequency set out in Annex I to this 
Regulation. 
3. After compl etion of the checks, the compet ent author ities shall: 
(a)  compl ete the relevant entr ies of Part II of the CED; 
(b)  join the results of sampling and analysis carried out in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Article to the CED; 
(c)  provid e and fill the CED referen ce number on the CED; 
(d)  stamp and sign the original of the CED; 
(e)  make and retain a copy of the signed and stam ped CED. 
4. The compet ent author ities of the designate d point of entr y shall issue the operator responsible for the 
consignment with an authenticated copy of the health certificate or, if the consignment is split, with individually authen ­
ticat ed copies of such certificate. 
5. The original of the CED shall accompan y the consignment during its transpor t until it is released for free 
circulation. 8.11.2018 L 278/10 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     Article 9 
Splitting of a consignment 
1. The consignment shall not be split until all official controls have been compl eted, and the CED has been fully 
compl eted by the compe tent author ities as provi ded for in Article 8. 
2. In the case of subsequent splitting of the consignment, an authenticated copy of the CED shall accompan y each 
part of the consignment during its transpor t until it is released for free circulation. 
Article 10 
Release for free circulation 
The release for free circulation of consignments shall be subject to the presentation by the food business operat ors or 
their representative to the custom author ities of a CED duly compl eted by the compe tent author ity once all official 
controls have been carried out. The custom author ities shall only release the consignment for free circulation if 
a favourable decision by the compet ent author ity is indicated in box II.14 of the CED and the CED is signed in box II.21 
thereof. 
Article 11 
Non-compliance 
1. Where the official controls carried out in accordance with Article 8 establish non-com pliance with the relevant 
Union legislation, including this Regulation, the compet ent author ity shall compl ete Part III of the CED and action shall 
be taken pursuant to Articles 19, 20 and 21 of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004. 
2. Where a consignment is not accompan ied by both the results of sampli ng and analysis referred to in Article 4 and 
the health certificate refer red to in Article 5 or if those results or that health certificate do not compl y with the 
requirements laid down in this Regulation, the consignment shall not be imp orted into the Union and shall be re- 
dispatche d outside the Union or destro yed. 
3. Where the compet ent author ity at the designate d point of entr y does not permit the introduction of 
a consignment of food referred to in Article 1(1) due to non-com pliance with a maximum residue level set out in 
Regulation (EC) No 396/2005, it shall immediate ly notify such border rejection in accordance with Article 19(3) of 
Regulation (EC) No 882/2004. 
Article 12 
Repor ts 
1. Member State s shall submit to the Commission biannually , by the end of the month follo wing each semester , 
a repor t of all analytical results of official controls carried out on consignments of food pursuant to this Regulation. 
That repor t shall include the followi ng information: 
(a)  the number of consignments imported; 
(b)  the number of consignments subjecte d to sampli ng for analysis; 
(c)  the results of the checks as provided for in Article 8(2). 
2. The repor ting obligations set out in paragraph 1 shall be deemed to be satisfied where Member States register in 
TRA CES the CEDs issued by their respective compet ent author ities in accordance with this Regulation. 
Article 13 
Review 
This Regulation shall be reviewed before 31 October 2019. 
Article 14 
Cost s 
All costs resulting from the official controls including sampli ng, analysis, storag e and any measures take n followi ng non- 
compl iance shall be borne by the food business operators responsible for the consignment. 8.11.2018 L 278/11 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     Article 15 
Amendment to Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 
Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 is amended as follo ws: 
(a)  in the entr ies for Turke y, the entr y refer ring to ‘Vine leaves’ is deleted. 
(b)  in the entr ies for Vietnam, the entr y refer ring to ‘Pitaha ya (dragon fruit)’ is delet ed. 
Article 16 
Repeal 
Implementing Regulation (EU) No 885/2014 is repealed. 
Article 17 
Transitional measures 
For a period of three months from the date of entr y into force of this Regulation, Member States shall continue to 
author ise the introduction of consignments of curry leaves originating from India which left the countr y of origin, or 
the countr y of consignment if that countr y is different from the countr y of origin, prior to 8 December 2018 provid ed 
that those consignments fulfil the requirements of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 885/2014. 
For a period of three months from the date of entr y into force of this Regulation, Member States shall continue to 
author ise the introduction of consignments of vine leav es originating from Turke y and of Pitaha ya (dragon fruit) 
originating from Vietnam whic h left the countr y of origin, or the countr y of consignment if that countr y is different 
from the countr y of origin, prior to 8 December 2018 provi ded that those consignments fulfil the requirements of 
Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 in force on 7 December 2018. 
Article 18 
Entr y into force and date of 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 8 December 2018. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member State s. 
Done at Brussels, 7 November 2018. 
For the Commission 
The President 
Jean-Claude JUNCK ER  8.11.2018 L 278/12 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     ANNEX I 
Food of non-animal origin subject to special conditions regarding their impor t into the European 
Union 
Food (intended use) CN code (1) TARIC  
sub-division Countr y of origin Hazard(s) Frequency  
of phys ical  
and identity 
checks (%)  
at impor t 
Pitaha ya (dragon fruit) 
(Food — fresh or 
chilled) ex 0810 90 20 10 Vietnam (VN) Residues of pesticides listed in the 
control programme adopt ed in accord ­
ance with Article 29(2) of Regulation 
(EC) No 396/2005 (pesticides to be 
monitored in/on products of plant origin 
only) (2) and residues of dithiocarba ­
mates (3) (dithiocarbamates expressed as 
CS2, including maneb (3), mancozeb (3), 
metiram (3), propineb (3), thiram (3) and 
ziram (3)), Phenthoate (2) and Quinal ­
phos (2). 10 
Curry leaves 
(Berg era/Mur raya 
koenigii) 
(Food — fresh, 
chilled, frozen or 
dried) ex 1211 90 86 10 India (IN) Residues of pesticides listed in the con­
trol programme adopt ed in accordance 
with Article 29(2) of Regulation (EC) 
No 396/2005 (pesticides to be moni ­
tored in/on products of plant origin 
only) (2) and residues of acephate (2). 20 
Vine leaves 
(Food) ex 2008 99 99 11, 19 Turke y (TR) Residues of pesticides listed in the con­
trol programme adopt ed in accordance 
with Article 29(2) of Regulation (EC) 
No 396/2005 (pesticides to be moni ­
tored in/on products of plant origin 
only) (2) and residues of dithiocarba ­
mates (3) (dithiocarbamates expressed as 
CS2, including maneb (3), mancozeb (3), 
metiram (3), propineb (3), thiram (3) and 
ziram (3)) and metraf enone (2). 20 
(1)  Where only certain products under any CN code are required to be examined and no specific subdivision under that code exists in the good 
nomenclature, the CN code is marked ‘ex’. 
(2)  Pesticide residues analysed with multiresidue methods based on CG-MS and LC-MS. 
(3)  Pesticide residues analysed with sing le residue methods.   8.11.2018 L 278/13 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     ANNEX II 
8.11.2018 L 278/14 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN     8.11.2018 L 278/15 Official Jour nal of the European Union EN