COMMISSION DECISION
of 29 November 2007
laying down the animal and public health conditions and model certificates for imports of certain meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines for human consumption from third countries and repealing Decision 2005/432/EC
(notified under document number C(2007) 5777)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2007/777/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Directive 92/118/EEC of 17 December 1992 laying down animal health and public health requirements governing trade in and imports into the Community of products not subject to the said requirements laid down in specific Community rules referred to in Annex A (I) to Directive 89/662/EEC and, as regards pathogens, to Directive 90/425/EEC (1), and in particular Article 10(2)(c) thereof,
Having regard to Council Directive 2002/99/EC of 16 December 2002 laying down the animal health rules governing the production, processing, distribution and introduction of products of animal origin for human consumption (2), and in particular the introductory phrase of Article 8, the first paragraph of point 1 of Article 8, Article 8(4), Article 9(2)(b) and Article 9(4)(b) and (c) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Commission Decision 2005/432/EC of 3 June 2005 laying down the animal and public health conditions and model certificates for imports of meat products for human consumption from third countries and repealing Decisions 97/41/EC, 97/221/EC and 97/222/EC (3) lays down the animal and public health rules and certification requirements for the importation into the Community of consignments of certain meat products, including the lists of third countries and parts thereof from which imports of such products are authorised.
(2)
Decision 2005/432/EC, as amended by Commission Decision 2006/801/EC (4), takes into account the health requirements and definitions laid down in Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs (5), Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin (6) and Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption (7).
(3)
Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 lays down separate definitions for meat products and for treated stomachs, bladders and intestines.
(4)
The specific treatments laid down for each third country by Decision 2005/432/EC are established basing on the treatments laid down by Directive 2002/99/EC in order to eliminate the potential animal health risk carried by the fresh meat used in the preparation of the meat products. From the animal health point of view, treated stomachs, bladders and intestines present the same animal health risk of the meat products. Therefore, they should be treated with the same specific treatments as provided for in Decision 2005/432/EC and consequently submitted to the harmonised veterinary certification for their import into the Community.
(5)
Animal health requirements for importation into the EU of casings are laid down in Decision 2003/779/EC (8). Therefore, the products covered by Decision 2003/779/EC should be excluded by the definition of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines laid down in this Decision.
(6)
Commission Decision 2004/432/EC of 29 April 2004 on the approval of residue monitoring plans submitted by third countries in accordance with Council Directive 96/23/EC (9) lists the third countries authorised to export to the Community on the basis of their approved residue monitoring plans.
(7)
Council Directive 97/78/EC (10) of 18 December 1997 laying down the principles governing the organisation of veterinary checks on products entering the Community from third countries lays down rules concerning veterinary checks on animal products introduced into the Community from third countries for the importation and transit of products of animal origin in the Community, including certain certification requirements.
(8)
It is necessary to lay down specific conditions for transit via the Community of consignments of meat products to and from Russia due to the geographical situation of Kaliningrad and taking into account climatic problems impeding the use of some ports at certain times of the year.
(9)
Commission Decision 2001/881/EC (11) of 7 December 2001 drawing up a list of border inspection posts agreed for veterinary checks on animals and animal products from third countries and updating the detailed rules concerning the checks to be carried out by the experts of the Commission specifies the Border Inspection Posts authorised to control the transit of consignments of meat products to and from Russia via the Community.
(10)
Annex II to Council Decision 79/542/EEC of 21 December 1976 drawing up a list of third countries or parts of third countries, and laying down animal and public health and veterinary certification conditions, for importation into the Community of certain live animals and their fresh meat (12), establishes the list of third countries or parts thereof from which imports of fresh meat of certain animals are authorised. Iceland is listed in Annex II to that Decision as a country authorised to export fresh meat of certain animals. Therefore, import of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines of those animals from Iceland should be allowed without the application of any specific treatment.
(11)
Annex 11 to the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products (13) lays down the animal health, public health and zootechnical measures applicable to trade in live animals and animal products. Treatments applicable to meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines from the Swiss Confederation should be in accordance with that agreement. Therefore, it is not necessary to set out these treatments in the Annex to this Decision.
(12)
Annex IX to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and the Council of 22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmisible spongiform encephalopaties (14) has been amended by Regulation (EC) No 722/2007 of the Commission of 25 June 2007 amending Annexes II, V, VI, VIII, IX and XI to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 (15) and by Regulation (EC) No 1275/2007 (16) amending Annex IX to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmisissible encephalopathies. New requirements with regard to the BSE status of third countries to export meat products and treated intestines to the Community should be included in the certificate.
(13)
Commission Decision 2007/453/EC of 29 June 2007 establishing the BSE status of Member States or third countries or regions thereof according to their BSE risk (17) lists countries or regions in three groups: negligible BSE risk, controlled BSE risk and undetermined BSE risk. A reference to that list should be made in the certificate.
(14)
In the interest of clarity of Community legislation, it is appropriate to repeal Decision 2005/432/EC and replace it by the present Decision.
(15)
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Subject matter and scope
1. This Decision lays down animal and public health rules for imports into the Community and the transit and storage in the Community, of consignments of:
(a)
meat products, as defined in point 7.1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004; and
(b)
treated stomachs, bladders and intestines, as defined in point 7.9 of that Annex, which have undergone one of the treatments laid down in Annex II part 4 to this Decision.
Those rules shall include the lists of third countries and parts thereof from which such imports shall be authorised and the model public and animal health certificates and rules on the origin and treatments required for those imports.
2. This Decision shall apply without prejudice to Decision 2004/432/EC and Decision 2003/779/EC.
Article 2
Conditions concerning species and animals
Member States shall ensure that only consignments of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines, derived from meat or meat products from the following species or animals, are imported into the Community:
(a)
poultry including fowl, turkeys, guinea fowl, ducks, geese, quails, pigeons, pheasants and partridges reared or kept in captivity for breeding, the production of meat or eggs for consumption or for restocking supplies of game;
(b)
domestic animals of the following species: bovine animals, including Bubalus bubalis and Bison bison, swine, sheep, goats and solipeds;
(c)
rabbits and hares, and farmed game, as defined in point 1.6 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004;
(d)
wild game, as defined in point 1.5 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004.
Article 3
Animal health requirements concerning the origin and treatment of the meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines
Member States shall authorise imports into the Community of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines that:
(a)
comply with the conditions concerning origin and treatment set out in Annex I(1) and (2); and
(b)
originate in the following third countries and parts thereof:
(i)
in the case of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines not subject to a specific treatment as referred to in point 1(b) of Annex I, the third countries listed in Part 2 of Annex II and the parts thereof listed in Part 1 of that Annex;
(ii)
in the case of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines subject to a specific treatment as referred to in point 2(a)(ii) of Annex I, the third countries listed in Parts 2 and 3 of Annex II and the parts thereof listed in Part 1 of that Annex.
Article 4
Public health requirements concerning the fresh meat used in the production of the meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines to be imported into the Community and animal and public health certificates
Member States shall ensure that:
(a)
only consignments of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines that are obtained from fresh meat, as defined in point 1.10 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 that complies with the Community public health requirements, are imported into the Community;
(b)
only consignments of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines complying with the requirements of the model public and animal health certificate set out in Annex III are imported into the Community;
(c)
that certificate accompanies such consignments and is duly completed and signed by the official veterinarian of the third country of dispatch.
Article 5
Consignments of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines in transit or storage in the Community
Member States shall ensure that consignments of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines, introduced into the Community and which are destined for a third country either by transit immediately or following storage, in accordance with Article 12(4) or Article 13 of Directive 97/78/EC, and not intended for importation into the Community, shall comply with the following requirements:
(a)
they come from the territory of a third country or a part thereof listed in Annex II and have undergone the minimum treatment for the import of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines of the species provided for therein;
(b)
they comply with the specific animal health conditions for the species concerned set out in the model animal and public health certificate in Annex III;
(c)
they are accompanied by an animal health certificate drawn up in accordance with the model set out in Annex IV, duly signed by an official veterinarian of the third country concerned;
(d)
they are certified as acceptable for transit or storage, as appropriate, on the common veterinary entry document by the official veterinarian of the border inspection post of introduction into the Community.
Article 6
Derogation for certain destinations in Russia
1. By way of derogation from Article 5, Member States shall authorise the transit by road or by rail through the Community, between designated Community border inspection posts listed in the Annex to Decision 2001/881/EC, of consignments of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines coming from and destined to Russia directly or via another third country provided that they comply with the following requirements:
(a)
the consignment shall be sealed with a serially numbered seal by the official veterinarian of the competent authority of the border inspection post of introduction to the Community;
(b)
the documents accompanying the consignment and referred to in Article 7 of Directive 97/78/EC shall be stamped ‘ONLY FOR TRANSIT TO RUSSIA VIA THE EC’ on each page by the official veterinarian of the competent authority of the border inspection post of introduction to the Community;
(c)
the procedural requirements provided for in Article 11 of Directive 97/78/EC shall be complied with;
(d)
the consignment shall be certified as acceptable for transit on the common veterinary entry document by the official veterinarian of the competent authority of the border inspection post of introduction to the Community.
2. Member States shall not authorise the unloading or storage, as defined in Article 12(4) or Article 13 of Directive 97/78/EC, in the Community of such consignments.
3. Member States shall ensure that the competent authority makes regular audits to ensure that the number of consignments and the quantities of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines, coming from or destined to Russia, leaving the Community matches the number and quantities entering the Community.
Article 7
Transitional provision
Consignments for which veterinary certificates were issued before 1 May 2008 in accordance with the models established by Decision 2005/432/EC shall be accepted for import into the Community until 1 June 2008.
Article 8
Repeal
Decision 2005/432/EC is repealed.
Article 9
Date of application
This Decision shall apply from 1 December 2007.
Article 10
Addresses
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 29 November 2007.