WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/EEC/265 
29 July 2005 
 (05-3451) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION  
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
 
If applicable, name of local government involved: 
2. Agency responsible:   Commission of the European Co mmunities.  Health & Consumer 
Protection Director ate-General Directorate E – Food Safe ty:  Plant Health, Animal Health 
and Welfare, International questions 
3. Products covered (provide tariff item numbe r(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where applicable):  CN headings 2301 to 2309, specific for animal feed and all CN headings 
related to the individual additives, feed materials and feedingstuffs. 
All feed materials of plant origin; Vegetable o il and by-products; Feed materials of mineral 
origin; Animal fat including milk and egg fa t; Other land animal products including milk 
and milk products and eggs a nd egg products; Fish, other aqua tic animals, their products 
and by-products; Additives belonging to the functional group of binders and anti-caking 
agents; Additives belonging to the functiona l group of compounds of trace elements; 
Compound feedingstuffs. 
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected , to the extent relevant or practicable:  
Member States of the Europ ean Communities (EC) and third countries exporting the products 
concerned to the EC.  
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:   Draft Commission 
Directive amending Directive 2002/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on 
undesirable substances in  animal feed (OJ L 140, 30.5.2002, p. 10) as regards dioxins and 
dioxin-like PCBs  (SAN CO/0362/2005, 11 pages). 
6. Description of content:  This proposal establishes harm onized maximum Community levels 
for the sum of dioxins, fura ns and dioxin-like PCBs  in feedingstuffs in addition to the 
existing maximum levels for dioxins, summarised as follows (maximum level relative to a 
feedingstuff with a moisture content of 12 % expressed in WHO-PCDD/F-PCB-TEQ = 
sum of polychlorinated dibenzo- para -dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans 
(PCDFs) and dioxin-like Polychlorinated Biphe nyls (DL-PCBs) expressed in World Health 
Organisation (WHO) toxic equivalents, using th e WHO –TEFs (toxic equivalency factors):  
All feed materials of plant origin with the exception of vegetable oils and by-products:   1.25 ng/kg 
Vegetable oil and by-products                                                                                             1.50 ng/kg 
Feed materials of mineral origin                                                                                          1.50 ng/kg   
Animal fat including milk and egg fat:                                                                                3.0 ng/kg  
Other land animal products including milk and milk products and eggs and egg products: 1.25 ng/kg 
Fish oil:                                                                                                                                 24 ng/kg G/SPS/N/EEC/265 
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Fish, other aquatic animals, their products and by- products with the exception of fish oil :4.50 ng/kg    
Fish protein hydrolysates containing more than 20% fat                                                      11.0 ng/kg 
Additives belonging to the functional group of binders and anti-caking agents                   1.5 ng/kg 
Additives belonging to the functional group of compounds of trace elements                      1.50 ng/kg 
Compound feedingstuffs, with the exception of feedingstuffs for fur animals:                    1.50 ng/kg  
Feedingstuffs for fish, feedingstuffs for pet animals                                                       7.00 ng/kg 
 
In addition to the maximum levels, action le vels are proposed as a tool for competent 
authorities and operators to highlight those cases where it is appropriate to identify a source 
of contamination and to take measures for its reduction or elimination.  Given that the 
sources of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs are di fferent, separate action levels are determined 
for dioxins on the one hand and for dioxin-like PCBs on the other hand.  
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. International standard, guideline or recommendation:  
[   ] Codex Alimentarius Commission, [   ] World Organization for Animal Health 
(OIE), [   ] International Plant Protection Convention, [ X ] None  
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate 
reference and briefly identify deviations:   A CODEX standard for these substances does 
not exist.  The proposed Community measures re spond to the advice of the EU Scientific 
Committee on Food and JECFA 
9. Relevant documents and language(s ) in which these are available:  European 
Commission Document SANCO/0305/2005 rev.3 (ava ilable in English).  When adopted it 
will be published in the Offi cial Journal available at:  
http://europa.eu.int/eur-l ex/lex/JOYear.do?year=2005  
Scientific risk assessments by the Scientific Committee on Food and the scientific 
Committee on Feed  :  
http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scf/out78_en.pdf  
http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scf/out90_en.pdf  
http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scan/out55_en.pdf  
 
The scientific risk assessmen t performed by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food 
Additives and Contaminants (JECFA) is available at  
http://www.inchem.org/documen ts/jecfa/jecmono/v48je20.htm  
 Data on the presence of dioxins and PCBs in  food and feed have been published in 2004.  
The publication "Dioxins and PCBs in Food a nd Feed – Data available to the European 
Commission (EUR 21093 EN)", Gallani et al . is available on request. 
10. Proposed date of adoption:   October 2005 (at this time it is not possible to estimate a more 
specific date). 
11. Proposed date of entry into force:   1 May 2006  G/SPS/N/EEC/265 
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 12. Final date for comments:  Sixty (60) days after the date of notification. 
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [ X ] National notification 
authority, [   ] National enquiry point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:    
13. Texts available from:  [   ] National notificati on authority, [ X ] National enquiry point, 
or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body: