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            RECOMMENDATION OF THE EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY         

No 65/04/COL

of 31 March 2004         

concerning a coordinated programme for the official control of feedingstuffs for 2004

THE EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY,

Having regard to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, and in particular Article 109 and Protocol 1 thereof,

Having regard to the Agreement between the EFTA States on the establishment of a Surveillance Authority and a Court of Justice, and in particular Article 5(2)(b) and Protocol 1 thereof,

Having regard to the Act referred to at point 31a of Chapter II of Annex I to the EEA Agreement (Council Directive 95/53/EC of 25 October 1995 fixing the principles governing the organisation of official inspections in the field of animal nutrition (1)), as amended, and as adapted to the EEA Agreement by Protocol 1 thereto, and in particular Article 22(3) thereof,

Whereas:

HEREBY RECOMMENDS TO THE EFTA STATES:

Done at Brussels, 31 March 2004.

For the EFTA Surveillance Authority

Bernd HAMMERMAN            

College Member

Niels FENGER            

Director

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(1)OJ L 265, 8.11.1995, p. 17. Directive as last amended by Directive 2001/46/EC of the European Parlament and of the Council (OJ L 234, 1.9.2001, p. 55).

(2)OJ L 140, 30.5.2002, p. 10. Directive as last amended by Commission Directive 2005/8/EC (OJ L 27, 29.1.2005, p. 44).

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ANNEX I

Concentration of certain mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1, ochratoxin A, zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, fumonisins) in feedingstuffs

Individual results of all tested samples; model for reports as referred to in paragraph 1(a)

The competent authority should also indicate:

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(1)  The concentration of fumonisins comprises the total of fumonisins B1, B2 and B3.

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ANNEX II

Presence of certain substances not authorised as feed additives

Certain antibiotics, coccidiostats and other substances may be legally present as additives in pre-mixtures and compound feedingstuffs for certain species and categories of animals, when authorised under the Act referred to at point 1 of Chapter II of Annex I to the EEA Agreement (Council Directive 70/524/EEC of 23 November 1970 concerning additives in feedingstuffs (1)).

The presence of unauthorised substances in feedingstuffs constitutes an infringement.

The substances to be controlled should be chosen from the following:

Individual results of all non-compliant samples; model for reports as referred to in paragraph 1(b)

The competent authority should also indicate:

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(1)OJ L 270, 14.12.1970, p. 1.

(1)  Reason leading to the presence of the unauthorised substance in the feedingstuff, as concluded after an investigation carried out by the competent authority.

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ANNEX III

Restrictions on the production and use of feed materials of animal origin

Without prejudice to Articles 3 to 13 and 15 of Directive 95/53/EC, the EFTA States should during 2004 undertake a coordinated inspection programme to determine whether restrictions on the production and use of feed materials of animal origin have been complied with.

In particular, in order to ensure that the ban on feeding processed animal protein to certain animals, as laid down in the Annex IV of the Act referred to at point 7, 1, 12 of Chapter I of Annex I to the EEA Agreement (Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (1)), are effectively applied, EFTA States should implement a specific control programme based on targeted controls. In accordance with Article 4 of Directive 95/53/EC, that control programme should be based on a risk-based strategy where all stages of production and all types of premises where feed is produced, handled and administered are included. EFTA States should pay special attention to the definition of criteria that can be related to a risk. The weighting given to each criterion should be proportional to the risk. The inspection frequency and the number of samples analysed in the premises should be in correlation to the sum of weightings allocated to those premises.

The following indicative premises and criteria should be considered when drawing up a control programme:

As an alternative to these indicative premises and criteria, EFTA States may forward their own risk assessment to the EFTA Surveillance Authority before 30 April 2004.

Sampling should be targeted on batches or events where cross-contamination with prohibited processed proteins is most likely (first batch after the transport of feedingstuffs containing animal protein prohibited in this batch, technical problems or changes in production lines, changes in storage bunkers or silos for bulk material).

The minimum number of inspections per year in an EFTA State should be 10 per 100 000 tonnes of compound feed produced. The minimum number of official samples per year in an EFTA State should be 20 per 100 000 tonnes of compound feed produced. Pending the approval of alternative methods, microscopic identification and estimation as described in Commission Directive 98/88/EC of 13 November 1998 establishing guidelines for the microscopic identification and estimation of constituents of animal origin for the official control of feedingstuffs (2) should be used for analysing samples. Any presence of prohibited constituents of animal origin in feedingstuffs should be considered as a breach of the feed ban.

The results of the inspection programmes should be communicated to the EFTA Surveillance Authority using the following formats:

Summary of checks concerning feeding restrictions for feed of animal origin (feeding of prohibited processed animal proteins)

A.   Documented inspections

B.   Sampling and testing of feed materials and compound feedingstuffs for processed animal proteins

C.   Summary of prohibited processed animal proteins found in samples of feedingstuffs intended for ruminants

In addition, EFTA States should analyse fats and vegetable oils intended for feedingstuffs for the presence of traces of bones and include the results of such analyses in the report referred to in paragraph 2 of this Recommendation.

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(1)OJ L 147, 31.5.2001, p. 1.

(2)OJ L 318, 27.11.1998, p. 45.

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ANNEX IV

Procedures for selection and assessment of supplies of feed materials of industrial origin

The competent authorities should identify and shortly describe the procedures followed by manufacturers of compound feedingstuffs in order to select and assess supplies of feed materials of industrial origin. Some procedures may be related to the prior establishment of characteristics or requirements for the products to be supplied, or for the suppliers. Other procedures may be related to own-checks for the verification of compliance with certain parameters, carried out by manufacturers of compound feedingstuffs at the reception of supplies.

For each identified procedure (procedure for selection and assessment of supplies), the competent authorities should indicate the advantages and disadvantages of the application of the procedure in terms of feed safety. Finally they should assess whether, taking into account the potential risks, each procedure is acceptable, insufficient or unacceptable for ensuring the safety of feedingstuffs, stating the reasons leading to that conclusion.

Evaluation of procedures

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