Commission Regulation (EC) No 270/2002
of 14 February 2002
amending Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards specified risk material and epidemio-surveillance for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies and amending Regulation (EC) No 1326/2001 as regards animal feeding and the placing on the market of ovine and caprine animals and products thereof
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(1), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1326/2001(2), and in particular Article 23 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Detailed rules for monitoring of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) in ovine and caprine animals are laid down in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001.
(2) These rules should again be revised to take account of the opinion of 18-19 October 2001 of the Scientific Steering Committee, which recommended that a survey of the incidence of TSEs should urgently be carried out with the available rapid tests using a statistically sound sample design and size.
(3) The Scientific Steering Committee has indicated in its opinion of 29-30 November 2001 on requirements for statistically authoritative BSE/TSE surveys that TSE prevalence in adult sheep could range from 20 to 500 TSE positives per 1 million sheep according to Member State. In Member States with a large sheep population a sample size sufficient to detect a prevalence of one positive in 20000 healthy slaughter animals at a 95 % confidence level is the largest that can be realistically achieved at this time. The sample size for countries with a small sheep population should be adjusted to take account of the practicalities of numbers of eligible animals available for testing.
(4) The age criteria for defining the populations for sampling should for practical reasons be broadened by making reference to dentition. Member States, which have other systems in place allowing the determination of the age of the animal, should be allowed to continue to use an age of 18 months.
(5) The Scientific Steering Committee opinion of 29-30 November 2001 also recommends that the prion protein genotype of a randomly selected subsample of monitored sheep should be determined. The sample size for countries with a small sheep population should be adjusted to take account of the practicalities of numbers of eligible animals available for sampling.
(6) Finland and Austria confirmed their first cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) on 7 and 13 December 2001 respectively. Therefore it is no longer appropriate that these Member States should be afforded derogations in respect of the monitoring of healthy slaughter cattle, removal of vertebral column and conduct of the conclusive statistical survey.
(7) During the transitional period, detailed rules for the removal and the destruction of specified risk materials are laid down in Annex XI, part A, to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001.
(8) In order to avoid any unnecessary disruption of the internal market, and taking into account the opinions of the Scientific Steering Committee referred to under Commission Decision 2001/233/EC(3), carcasses or parts of carcasses of bovine animals that still contain vertebral column should be accepted for trade between Member States and when imported from third countries. To ensure the control by Member states of its removal, specific control measures should be laid down.
(9) Member States should also have the possibility to allow the removal of the vertebral column in butcher shops specifically authorised, monitored, and registered for this purpose.
(10) In its opinion of 29 June 2001 on adipose tissue associated with the digestive tract of cattle, sheep and goats, the Scientific Steering Committee pointed out that potential infectivity could be found in the mesenteric nerves and the mesenteric lymph nodes situated near the arteria mesenterica in bovine animals. As control of the removal of this specific area alone is unlikely to be feasible, the whole mesentery from bovine animals should therefore be regarded as SRM.
(11) It is necessary to clarify the rules following the removal of specified risk material and in particular those relating to the staining of such material.
(12) The removal of specified risk material from products destined for food and feed is the single most important public health protection measure. Until classification decisions have been made for third countries, and as a precaution, it is appropriate to keep the minimal protection measures foreseen by Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 for imports from all third countries which are not considered BSE free. Some third countries for which it was demonstrated by the Scientific Steering Committee risk assessment that the risk of BSE being present in native cattle is highly unlikely, benefit from a derogation from the transitional measures. It is necessary to clarify the conditions under which imports from these derogating countries are allowed, and in particular those relating to the sourcing of the products for import.
(13) In its opinion of 29 June 2001 on the geographic BSE risk of certain third countries, the Scientific Steering Committee concluded that, in addition to previously evaluated countries, the occurrence of BSE in native cattle is highly unlikely in Panama and El Salvador. Panama and El Salvador should therefore be added to the list of third countries benefiting from a derogation for all imports of products of animal origin, live bovine animals, embryos and ova.
(14) Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(15) Experience has shown that it is necessary to clarify the measures applying to animal feeding laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1326/2001, while maintaining the prohibition established by Council Decision 2000/766/EC(4) during the transitional period. It should also be clarified that the rules in that Regulation concerning the placing on the market of live ovine and caprine animals, their semen, embryos and ova, apply during the transitional period.
(16) Regulation (EC) No 1326/2001 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(17) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Veterinary Committee,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 is amended as follows:
1. Annex III is replaced by the text in Annex I to this Regulation.
2. Annex XI is amended as follow:
(a) Part A is replaced by the text in Annex II to this Regulation.
(b) In part B, point 2 is replaced by the following: "2. Sweden may decide to derogate from the provisions of point 1, second indent, in remote areas with low animal density."
(c) In part D, point 4 is replaced by the following: "4. Points 2 and 3 shall not apply to imports of bovine animals born and continuously reared in the following countries and to imports of embryos and ova derived from such animals:
Argentina
Australia
Botswana
Brazil
Chile
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Namibia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Uruguay
Singapore
Swaziland."
Article 2
Regulation (EC) No 1326/2001 is amended as follows:
1. In Article 1, point 2 is replaced by the following: "2. Article 7 shall not apply to a Member State until the coming into force of the decision determining the BSE status of that Member State, and until the Community provisions on animal feeding relevant to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies are effectively enforced there. Annex XI, part C, shall apply to that Member State until Article 7 becomes applicable there.'"
2. In Annex I, the second indent is replaced by the following: "- Article 15(1) concerning the placing on the market of live bovine animals, their semen, embryos and ova."
Article 3
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
It shall apply from 1 April 2002.
However, the provisions referred to in Article 1(2)(c) and Annex XI(A)(10) to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001, as amended by Annex II to this Regulation, shall apply from 1 March 2002.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 14 February 2002.