. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/NLD/68 
17 July 2008  
 (08-3450) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
NOTIFICATION 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  THE NETHERLANDS
  
If applicable, name of local government involved:     
2. Agency responsible:  Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality 
3. Products covered (provide tariff item numb er(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where 
applicable):  Pigs (HS Code 0103:  Live swine), pi g products (HS 0203:  Meat of swine, 
fresh, chilled or frozen) 
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable :  All 
trade partners 
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:  Order on the monitoring 
of critical substances in pigs  (Marketing Board for Livestock and Meat [Dutch abbreviation: 
PVV]) 2008 (13 pages) 
http://members.wto.org/crnatt achments/2008/sps/NLD/08_2132_00_e.pdf  
http://members.wto.org/crnatt achments/2008/sps/NLD/08_2132_00_f.pdf  
http://members.wto.org/crnatt achments/2008/sps/NLD/08_2132_00_s.pdf  
6. Description of content:   
The Order introduces a monitoring system wher eby all Marketing Boar d members shall be 
required to have their pigs checked for critical su bstances.  It will be possible for this duty of 
monitoring to be complied with through particip ation in the basic mon itoring carried out by 
the Marketing Board for Livestock and Meat [Dutch abbreviation:  PVV] or through 
participation in a recognised (private-law) qu ality system.  Among the important conditions 
are that these systems be certified and that the results of investigations be handed over to the 
Marketing Board.  
Marketing Board members that do not participate in certified quality systems – a limited 
group, in actual fact – will be subject to the basic monitoring by the Marketing Board for 
Livestock and Meat.  These Marketing Board members are entered into a database.  A Scientific Council then determines , on the basis of a risk analys is, the frequency of sampling 
per subsector and type of  farm.  Samples are examined at a specially designated laboratory.  
This laboratory is required to notify the results of its analyses to the Marketing Board.  The Order prohibits the supply or removal of pigs that  have not been tested for critical substances.  
Pigs from other Member States shall, pursuant to Directive 96/ 23/EC, be considered to have 
been tested sufficiently for critical substances. 
The costs of registration and sampling will be  payable by those Marketing Board members 
who are in the relevant category of not being participants in a quality system.  A levy will be 
instituted for this purpose. G/SPS/N/NLD/68 
Page 2  
 
  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:    
9. Relevant documents and language(s ) in which these are available:   A consolidated 
version of Council Directive 96/23/EC of 29 April 1996 on measures to monitor certain 
substances and residues thereof in live anim als and animal products and repealing Directives 
85/358/EEC and 86/469/EEC and Deci sions 89/187/EEC and 91/664/EEC  is available from 
the link below: 
http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ /LexUriServ.do?uri=CON SLEG:1996L0023:20070101:EN:PDF  
10. Proposed date of adoption:  24 September 2008 
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  24 September 2008 
12. Final date for comments:  2 September 2008 
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [   ] National notification 
authority, [ X ] National enquiry point, or  address, fax number and E-mail address (if 
available) of other body: 
13. Texts available from:  [   ] National notificati on authority, [   ] National enquiry point, or 
address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body: 
Ministry of Finance Tax and Customs Administration 
Central Licensing Office for Import and E xport.  Section EC/WTO Notifications 
9700 RD Groningen 
The Netherlands 
Tel:  +(31) 050 523 2133/2135 Telefax:  +(31) 050 523 2159 E-mail:  enquiry.point@tiscali-business.nl and enquiry.point2@tiscali-business.nl