COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 584/2008
of 20 June 2008
implementing Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards a Community target for the reduction of the prevalence of Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium in turkeys
(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 2160/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 November 2003 on the control of salmonella and other specified food-borne zoonotic agents (1) and, in particular Article 4(1) and Article 13 thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
The purpose of Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 is to ensure that proper and effective measures are taken to detect and control salmonella and other zoonotic agents at all relevant stages of production, processing and distribution, particularly at the level of primary production, in order to reduce their prevalence and the risk they pose to public health.
(2)
Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 provides for a Community target to be established for the reduction of the prevalence of all salmonella serotypes with public health significance in turkeys at the level of primary production. Such reduction is important in view of the strict measures which are to apply to fresh meat from infected flocks of turkeys in accordance with that Regulation, as from 12 December 2010. In particular, fresh poultrymeat, including meat of turkeys, may not be placed on the market for human consumption unless it meets the following criterion: ‘salmonella absence in 25 grams’.
(3)
Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 provides that the Community target is to include a numerical expression of the maximum percentage of epidemiological units remaining positive and/or the minimum percentage of reduction in the number of epidemiological units remaining positive, the maximum time limit within which the target must be achieved and the definition of the testing schemes necessary to verify achievement of the target. It is also to include a definition, where relevant, of serotypes with public health significance.
(4)
Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 provides that experience gained under existing national control measures and information forwarded to the Commission or to the European Food Safety Authority under existing Community requirements, in particular in the framework of information provided for in Directive 2003/99/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 November 2003 on the monitoring of zoonoses and zoonotic agents (2), and in particular Article 5 thereof, should be taken into account when setting the Community target.
(5)
Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 provides that, when defining each Community target, the Commission shall provide an analysis of its expected costs and benefits. However, by way of derogation, the Community target for turkey, covering Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium may be establish for a transitional period without such analysis.
(6)
Comparable data on the prevalence of the salmonella serotypes in flocks of turkeys in Member States have therefore been collected in accordance with Commission Decision 2006/662/EC of 29 September 2006 concerning a financial contribution from the Community towards a baseline survey on the prevalence of salmonella in turkeys to be carried out in the Member States (3).
(7)
Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 provides that for a transitional period of three years, the Community target for turkeys is to cover only Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium. Other serotypes with public health significance may be considered after that period.
(8)
In order to verify progress on the achievement of the Community target, it is necessary to provide for repeated sampling of flocks of turkeys in this Regulation.
(9)
In accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was consulted on the setting of the Community target for turkeys.
(10)
The Task Force on Zoonoses Data Collection of the EFSA adopted on 28 April 2008 a Report on the Analysis of the baseline survey on the prevalence of salmonella in flocks of turkeys in the EU, 2006-2007, Part A: Salmonella prevalence estimates.
(11)
In accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 646/2007 of 12 June 2007 implementing Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards a Community target for the reduction of Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium in broilers and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1091/2005 (4), at least two pairs of boot/sock swabs shall be taken to sample flocks of broilers for salmonella. New scientific evidence demonstrates the using a combination of one pair of boot/sock swabs with a dust sample is at least as sensitive as sampling by taking two pairs of boot/sock swabs. Therefore, this combination should be allowed as alternative sampling method and Regulation (EC) No 646/2007 should be amended accordingly.
(12)
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
Community target
1. The Community target, as referred to in Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003, for the reduction of Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium in turkeys (‘Community target’) shall be:
(a)
a reduction of the maximum percentage of fattening turkey flocks remaining positive of Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium to 1 % or less by 31 December 2012; and
(b)
a reduction of the maximum percentage of adult breeding turkey flocks remaining positive of Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium to 1 % or less by 31 December 2012.
However, for Member States with less than 100 flocks of adult breeding or fattening turkeys, the Community target shall be that no more than one flock of adult breeding or fattening turkeys may remain positive by 31 December 2012.
2. The testing scheme necessary to verify progress in the achievement of the Community target is set out in the Annex.
3. The Commission shall consider a review of the target and the testing scheme set out in the Annex based on the experience gained in 2010 being the first year of the national control programmes as referred to in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003.
Article 2
Amendment to Regulation (EC) No 646/2007
In the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 646/2007, the following paragraphs are added:
1.
at the end of point 2:
‘Alternatively, the competent authority may decide that one pair of boot swabs shall be taken, covering 100 % of the area of the house if combined with a dust sample, collected from multiple places throughout the house from surfaces with visible presence of dust.’;
2.
after the second paragraph of point 3(1):
‘The dust sample shall preferably be analysed separately. However, the competent authority may decide to pool it with the pair of boot/sock swabs for analysis.’
Article 3
Entry into force and applicability
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Articles 1(1) and (3), and 2 shall apply from 1 July 2008 and Article 1(2) shall apply from 1 January 2010.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 20 June 2008.