COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 437/2008
of 21 May 2008
amending Annexes VII, X and XI to Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the requirements for the processing of milk and milk products defined as Category 3 material
(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 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 (1), and in particular Article 32(1) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 lays down health rules concerning animal by-products not intended for human consumption. It provides that animal by-products that may be used as feed material have to be processed in accordance with the requirements laid down in that Regulation.
(2)
Annex VII to Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 sets out specific hygiene requirements for the processing and placing on the market of processed animal protein and other processed products that could be used as feed material. In particular, Chapter V of that Annex provides for specific requirements for the processing of milk, milk products and colostrum.
(3)
In accordance with the first paragraph of Article 28 of Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 the provisions applicable to the importation of products referred to in Annexes VII and VIII to that Regulation from non-member countries are not to be more favourable or less favourable than those applicable to the production and marketing of those products in the Community. Chapter V of Annex VII to that Regulation should therefore be amended, in order to introduce certain technical amendments, to harmonise the processing standards for milk and milk products and to clarify the import requirements applicable to them.
(4)
Following the opinion of the European Food Safety Authority, adopted on 29 March 2006, related to the animal health risks of feeding animals with ready-to-use dairy products without further treatment (2), it is appropriate to amend the specific hygiene requirements for milk, milk-based products and colostrums. Account should also be taken of the methods for the inactivation of possible foot-and-mouth disease virus in milk described in the 1999 Report of the Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare on a Strategy for Emergency Vaccination against Foot-and-Mouth Disease (3) and of Appendix 3.6.2 of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code (4), 2005 edition, of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
(5)
Taking account of the amended specific hygiene requirements in Chapter V of Annex VII to Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002, it is appropriate to replace the model health certificates in Chapters 2(A), 2(B) and 2(C) of Annex X to that Regulation by a single model certificate for the importation from third countries of milk and milk products not intended for human consumption.
(6)
It is necessary to update the reference to the specific health certificate in Part I of Annex XI to Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 setting out lists of third countries from which Member States may authorise imports of animal by-products not intended for human consumption.
(7)
Annexes VII, X and XI to Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(8)
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 VII, X and XI to Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 are amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.
Article 2
This Regulation shall be applicable from 1 May 2008.
Consignments for which veterinary certificates were issued before 1 November 2008 in accordance with the models established by Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 before its amendment by the present Regulation, shall be accepted for import into the Community until 1 February 2009.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 21 May 2008.