Commission Regulation (EC) No 1234/2003
of 10 July 2003
amending Annexes I, IV and XI to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 1326/2001 as regards transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and animal feeding
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to 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 (TSEs)(1), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1139/2003(2), and in particular Article 23 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 lays down certain prohibitions concerning animal feeding. By way of a transitional measure, Commission Regulation (EC) No 1326/2001(3), as amended by Regulation (EC) No 270/2002(4), provides that Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 is not to apply to a Member State until the coming into force of the decision determining the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) status of that Member State, and until the Community provisions on animal feeding relevant to TSEs are effectively enforced in the Member State.
(2) Council Decision 2000/766/EC of 4 December 2000 concerning certain protection measures with regard to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and the feeding of animal protein(5), as last amended by Commission Decision 2002/248/EC(6), provides for the prohibition of feeding of processed animal protein to farmed animals which are kept fattened or bred for the production of food. However, under certain conditions, that prohibition does not apply to a number of processed animal proteins such as fishmeal, hydrolysed proteins and dicalcium phosphate, the use of which does not present a risk of TSEs nor hampers controls of proteins potentially posing a risk of TSEs.
(3) Accordingly, Commission Decision 2001/9/EC of 29 December 2000 concerning control measures required for the implementation of Council Decision 2000/766/EC concerning certain protection measures with regard to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and the feeding of animal protein(7), as last amended by Decision 2002/248/EC, established the conditions for the use of processed animal protein in feed not covered by the prohibition provided for in Decision 2000/766/EC.
(4) Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 October 2002 laying down health rules concerning animal by-products not intended for human consumption(8), as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 808/2003(9), lays down animal and public health rules for the collection, transport, storage, handling, processing and use or disposal of animal by-products, including conditions for their use in animal feeding. That Regulation became applicable on 1 May 2003.
(5) Taking into account the fact that it is possible, although difficult, to differentiate between fishmeal and other processed animal proteins potentially posing a risk of TSEs, and also that Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 introduced new provisions on the controls of all processed animal proteins, the conditions on the use of fishmeal as currently set out in Decision 2001/9/EC, should be simplified.
(6) The Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) indicated in its opinion of 17 September 1999 on intra-species recycling, and again in its opinion of of 27 and 28 November 2000 on the scientific basis for banning animal protein from feed for all farmed animals, that there is no evidence of the natural occurrence of TSE in non-ruminant farmed animals producing food, such as pigs and poultry.
(7) Animal proteins from such non-ruminant farmed animals are presently prohibited or restricted under Decisions 2000/766/EC and 2001/9/EC because they cannot be differentiated from prohibited ruminant proteins by current tests. However, certain proteins do not jeopardise the control of potentially infective processed animal protein in feedingstuffs and their use in animal feeding should therefore be authorised.
(8) On 6 and 7 March 2003, the SSC adopted an opinion and report on the safety of dicalcium phosphate and tricalcium phosphate from bovine bones, used as animal feed or as fertiliser. Since tricalcium phosphate is not considered to present a TSE risk provided that certain processing conditions are complied with, and since it does not jeopardise the control of potentially infective animal protein, the use of tricalcium phosphate should be authorised.
(9) As no decision has yet been taken concerning the determination of the BSE-status of Member States, and in the interests of clarity, the provisions set out in Decision 2000/766/EC should apply to all Member States regardless of their future BSE status. In addition, those provisions should be updated to take account of Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002.
(10) In order to ensure that BSE is not transmitted to third countries through potentially contaminated processed animal protein, and to prevent the risk of their fraudulent re-introduction in the Community, the export of processed animal protein of ruminant origin, except when used in petfood, should be prohibited.
(11) As and when the necessary control tools and reasonable evidence that the implementation of the current provisions is satisfactory in all Member States become available, the prohibition on the use of fishmeal to ruminants, the use of avian protein to farmed animals other than ruminants and the use of porcine protein to farmed animals other than ruminants should be reviewed.
(12) Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 should therefore be amended accordingly. In addition, Decisions 2000/766/EC and 2001/9/EC should be repealed.
(13) 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
Annexes I, IV and XI to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 are amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.
Article 2
In Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 1326/2001, point 2 is deleted.
Article 3
Decisions 2000/766/EC and 2001/9/EC are repealed. References to the repealed Decisions shall be construed as references to this Regulation.
Article 4
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 September 2003.
The provisions of this Regulation shall be reviewed in the light of emerging scientific evidence and new control methods.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 10 July 2003.