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            COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 199/2006

of 3 February 2006         

amending Regulation (EC) No 466/2001 setting maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs as regards dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 315/93 of 8 February 1993 laying down Community procedures for contaminants in food (1), and in particular Article 2(3) thereof,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 466/2001 is amended as follows:

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 4 November 2006.

As regards the maximum levels for the sum of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs, this Regulation shall not apply to products that were placed on the market before 4 November 2006 in accordance with the provisions applicable. The burden of proving when the products were placed on the market shall be borne by the food business operator.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 3 February 2006.

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU            

Member of the Commission

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(1)OJ L 37, 13.2.1993, p. 1. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 284, 31.10.2003, p. 1).

(2)OJ L 77, 16.3.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) 1822/2005 (OJ L 293, 9.11.2005, p. 11).

(3)  Opinion of the Scientific Committee on Food on the Risk Assessment of Dioxins and Dioxin-like PCBs in Food adopted on 30 May 2001 — Update based on new scientific information available since the adoption of the SCF opinion of 22 November 2000 (http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sc/scf/out90_en.pdf).

(4)OJ L 209, 6.8.2002, p. 5. Directive as amended by Commission Directive 2004/44/EC (OJ L 113, 20.4.2004, p. 17).

(5)  Information on different ways for the estimation of the expanded uncertainty and on the value of the measurement uncertainty can be found in the report ‘Report on the relationship between analytical results, measurement uncertainty, recovery factors and the provisions of EU food and feed legislation’ — http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/food/chemicalsafety/contaminants/report-sampling_analysis_2004_en.pdf

(6)OJ L 67, 9.3.2002, p. 69.

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ANNEX

Section 5 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 466/2001 is replaced by the following:

‘Section 5.   Dioxins (sum of polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), expressed in World Health Organisation (WHO) toxic equivalents using the WHO-TEFs (toxic equivalency factors, 1997), and sum of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs (sum of polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins (PCDDs)), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), expressed in World Health Organisation (WHO) toxic equivalents using the WHO-TEFs (toxic equivalency factors, 1997) (1))

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(1)  WHO TEFs for human risk assessment based on the conclusions of the World Health Organisation meeting in Stockholm, Sweden, 15 to 18 June 1997 (Van den Berg et al., (1998) Toxic Equivalency Factors (TEFs) for PCBs, PCDDs, PCDFs for Humans and for Wildlife. Environmental Health Perspectives, 106(12), 775).
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Abbreviations used: “T” = tetra; “Pe” = penta; “Hx” = hexa; “Hp” = hepta; “O” = octa; “CDD” = chlorodibenzodioxin; “CDF” = chlorodibenzofuran; “CB” = chlorobiphenyl.

(*1)  Upperbound concentrations: Upperbound concentrations are calculated on the assumption that all the values of the different congeners below the limit of quantification are equal to the limit of quantification.

(*2)  Meat of bovine animals, sheep, pig, poultry and farmed game as defined in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 139, 30.4.2004. Corrected version in OJ L 226, 25.6.2004, p. 22) but not including edible offal as defined in that Annex.

(*3)  The maximum levels are not applicable for food products containing < 1 % fat.

(*4)OJ L 209, 6.8.2002, p. 5. Directive as last amended by Directive 2004/44/EC (OJ L 113, 20.4.2004, p. 17).

(*5)  Muscle meat of fish and fishery products as defined in categories (a), (b), (c), (e) and (f) of the list in Article 1 of Council Regulation (EC) No 104/2000 (OJ L 17, 21.1.2000, p. 22. Regulation as amended by the 2003 Act of Accession). The maximum level applies to crustaceans, excluding the brown meat of crab and excluding head and thorax meat of lobster and similar large crustaceans (Nephropidae and Palinuridae) and to cephalopods without viscera.

(*6)  Where fish are intended to be eaten whole, the maximum level applies to the whole fish.

(*7)  Milk (raw milk, milk for the manufacture of milk-based products and heat-treated milk as defined in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004).

(*8)  Hen eggs and egg products as defined in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004.’         

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