COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION  
of 6 July 2011  
on emergency measures applicable to fenugreek seeds and certain seeds and beans imported from 
Egypt  
(notified under document C(2011) 5000)  
(Text with EEA relevance)  
(2011/402/EU)  
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,  
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European 
Union,  
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European 
Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down 
the principles and requirements of food law, establishing the 
European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in 
matters of food safety (  1 ), and in particular Article 53(1)(b)(i) 
and Article 53(1)(b)(iii) thereof,  
Whereas:  
(1) Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 lays down the general 
principles governing food and feed in general, and food 
and feed safety in particular, at Community and national 
level. It provides for emergency measures where it is 
evident that food or feed imported from a third 
country is likely to constitute a serious risk to human 
health, animal health or the environment, and that such 
risk cannot be contained satisfactorily by means of 
measures taken by the Member State(s) concerned.  
(2) On 22 May 2011 Germany reported an outbreak of 
Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli- bacteria (STEC), 
serotype O104:H4 in the Northern part of Germany. 
Based on epidemiological investigations and laboratory 
testing the source of contamination could be linked to 
the consumption of sprouted seeds produced in one 
establishment south of Hamburg.  
(3) On 15 June 2011 France reported an outbreak in 
Bordeaux, France, which –according to preliminary 
results– was caused by the same E. coli strain (Shiga- 
toxin producing Escherichia coli – bacteria (STEC), 
serotype O104:H4) as the one found in Germany. Just 
as in the case of Germany, investigations indicate that 
consumption of sprouted seeds may have caused the 
outbreak.  
(4) Further indicators suggest that the dry seeds used for 
sprouting could be the original cause of the outbreak in Germany and in France. In order to ascertain the 
origin of the contamination, the Commission initiated a 
tracing back exercise coordinated by the European Food 
Safety Authority (EFSA) in consultation with the 
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control 
and the World Health Organisation. On 5 July 2011, 
EFSA published its final report. The report states that 
the comparison of the back tracing information from 
the French and German outbreaks leads to the 
conclusion that a lot of fenugreek seeds imported from 
Egypt is the most likely common link although it cannot 
be excluded that other lots may be implicated. Given the 
possible severe human health impact arising from 
exposure to a small quantity of contaminated material, 
and, in the absence of information regarding the source 
and means of contamination as well as possible cross- 
contamination, it seems appropriate currently to consider 
all lots of the identified exporter as suspect.  
(5) In addition the present tracing back exercise supports the 
hypothesis that the outbreaks are linked and are due to 
the import of fenugreek seeds which were contaminated 
at the importation or prior to import into the EU. The 
contamination of seeds with the E. coli O104:H4 strain 
reflects a production process which allowed contami ­
nation of faecal material of human and/or animal 
origin. Where exactly in the food chain this took place 
is still uncertain and whether this has in the meantime 
been remedied is also unknown. Further microbiological 
sampling shall be carried out in Member States to 
complement the evidence derived from the epidemi ­
ological studies as provided for in Article 8 of 
Directive 2003/99/EC of the European Parliament and 
of the Council of 17 November 2003 on the monitoring 
of zoonoses and zoonotic agents amending Council 
Decision 90/424/EEC and repealing Council Directive 
92/117/EEC (  2 ). 
(6) On the basis of the precautionary principle it is necessary 
to temporary prohibit also the import of all seeds and 
beans originated from Egypt, identified in the Annex, to 
allow the time necessary for further assessment of their 
safety. It is evident that there is possible severe human 
health impact arising from exposure to a small quantity 
of contaminated material also from other seeds and 
beans and that there is no precise information 
regarding the exact origin in Egypt and means of the 
contamination as well as possible cross-contamination.EN L 179/10 Official Journal of the European Union 7.7.2011  
( 1 ) OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1.  (  2 ) OJ L 325, 12.12.2003, p. 31.(7) Therefore it is appropriate to adopt, at European Union 
level, certain precautionary emergency measures to 
ensure that Member States adopt all necessary measures 
to withdraw from the EU market all lots of fenugreek 
seeds imported from Egypt during the period 2009 – 
2011 mentioned in the notifications of the Rapid Alert 
System for Food and Feed linked to the tracing back 
exercise, to sample them and then destroy them and to 
temporarily suspend import from Egypt of all seeds and 
beans identified in the Annex to this Decision.  
(8) In order to allow the time necessary for the Competent 
Authorities of Egypt to provide feedback and to consider 
the appropriate risk management measures the 
temporary suspension of imports should be in force at 
least until 31 October 2011.  
(9) The measures provided for in this Decision are in 
accordance with the opinion of the Standing 
Committee of the Food Chain and Animal Health.  
HAS ADOPTED THIS IMPLEMENTING DECISION:  
Article 1  
Member States shall adopt all the necessary measures so that all 
lots of fenugreek seeds imported from Egypt during the period 
2009 – 2011, mentioned in the notifications of the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed linked to the tracing back exercise are 
withdrawn from the market and destroyed. In accordance with 
Article 8 of Directive 2003/99/EC the concerned lots shall be 
sampled.  
Article 2  
The release for free circulation in the EU of seeds and beans 
from Egypt as set out in the Annex is prohibited until 
31 October 2011.  
Article 3  
The measures laid down in this Decision shall be regularly 
reassessed on the basis of the guarantees offered by Egypt, 
results of the analytical tests and investigations carried out by 
the Member States.  
Article 4  
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.  
Done at Brussels, 6 July 2011.  
For the Commission  
John DALLI  
Member of the CommissionEN 7.7.2011 Official Journal of the European Union L 179/11ANNEX  
Seeds and beans for which import from Egypt is prohibited until 31 October 2011:  
CN Code  Description  
ex 0704 90 90  Rocket sprouts  
ex 0706 90 90  Beetroot sprouts, radish sprouts  
0708  Leguminous vegetables, shelled or unshelled, fresh or chilled  
0713  Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled, whether or not skinned or split  
ex 0709 90 90  Soya bean sprouts  
1201 00  Soya beans, whether or not broken  
1209 10 00  Sugar beet seed  
1209 21 00  Lucerne (alfalfa) seed  
1209 91  Vegetable seeds  
1207 50 10  Mustard seeds, for sowing  
1207 50 90  Other mustard seeds  
1207 99 97  Other oil seeds and oleaginous fruits, whether or not broken  
0910 99 10  Fenugreek seed  
ex 1214 90 90  Lucerne (alfalfa) sproutsEN L 179/12 Official Journal of the European Union 7.7.2011