COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) No 618/2013
of 26 June 2013
amending Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 implementing Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the increased level of official controls on imports of certain feed and food of non-animal origin
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on official controls performed to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules (1), and in particular Article 15(5) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Commission Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 (2) lays down rules concerning the increased level of official controls to be carried out on imports of feed and food of non-animal origin listed in Annex I thereto (the list), at the points of entry into the territories referred to in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 882/2004.
(2)
Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 provides that the list is to be reviewed on a regular basis, and at least quarterly, taking into account at least the sources of information referred to in that Article.
(3)
The occurrence and relevance of food incidents notified through the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed, the findings of missions to third countries carried out by the Food and Veterinary Office, as well as the quarterly reports on consignments of feed and food of non-animal origin submitted by Member States to the Commission in accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 indicate that the list should be amended.
(4)
In particular, for consignments of dried beans from Nigeria the relevant sources of information indicate the emergence of new risks warranting the introduction of an increased level of official controls. An entry concerning those consignments should therefore be included in the list.
(5)
The list should also be amended by increasing the frequency of official controls for the commodities for which the same sources of information show a higher degree of non-compliance with the relevant Union legislation thereby warranting an increased level of official controls. The entry in the list concerning Brassica oleracea from China should therefore be amended accordingly.
(6)
Similarly, the list should be amended by decreasing the frequency of official controls for commodities for which the available information indicates an overall improvement in the degree of compliance with the relevant Union legislation and for which the current level of official controls is therefore no longer justified. The entry in the list concerning Brassica vegetables from Thailand should therefore be amended accordingly.
(7)
In addition, the list should be amended by deleting the entries for commodities for which the available information indicates an overall satisfactory degree of compliance with the relevant safety requirements provided for in Union legislation and for which an increased level of official controls is therefore no longer justified. The entries in the list concerning groundnuts from South Africa and pomegranates from Egypt should therefore be amended accordingly.
(8)
In the interest of clarity, it is necessary to amend the list of pesticide residues in the endnotes set out in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 in order to ensure that they are consistent with the definition provided for in Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 February 2005 on maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and feed of plant and animal origin and amending Council Directive 91/414/EEC (3).
(9)
In order to ensure consistency and clarity, it is appropriate to replace Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 by the text set out in the Annex to this Regulation.
(10)
Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(11)
The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 is replaced by the text set out in the Annex to this Regulation.
Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 1 July 2013.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 26 June 2013.