1993R0315 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 1
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►B COUNCILREGULATION(EEC)No315/93
of8February1993
layingdownCommunityproceduresforcontaminantsinfood
(OJ L 37, 13.2.1993, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Regulation (EC) No 1882/2003 of the European Parliament and of the
Council of 29 September 2003L 284 1 31.10.2003
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COUNCILREGULATION(EEC)No315/93
of8February1993
layingdownCommunityproceduresforcontaminantsinfood
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
In cooperation withth e European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (3),
Whereas it is important to adopt measures with the aim of progres-
sively establishing the internal market over a period expiring on 31December 1992; whereas the internal market shall comprise an areawithout internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods,persons, services and capital is ensured;
Whereas the differences in rules adopted by the Member States may
hinder the functioning of the common market and whereas it is neces-
sary to lay down a procedure for the adoption of harmonized
Community rules;
Whereas contaminants may enter into food at any stage from produc-
tion to consumption;
Whereas it is essential, in the interest of public health protection, to
keep these contaminants at levels which are toxicologically acceptable;
Whereas further elimination must be carried out whenever it is achiev-
able through good working practices; whereas compliance with such
good practices can be efficiently monitored by public authorities, giventhe vocational traiing and experience of their agents;
Whereas this Regulation must apply without prejudice to the provisions
adopted in the context of more specific Community rules;
Whereas it is appropriate in terms of health protection to encourage the
search for a comprehensive approach to the question of contaminants in
food;
Whereas the Scientific Committee for Food set up by Decision 74/234/
EEC (
4) must be consulted on all questions which may have an effect
on public health,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. This Regulation concerns contaminants contained in food.‘Contaminant’ means any substance not intentionally added to food
which is present in such food as a result of the production (includingoperations carried out in crop husbandry, animal husbandry and veter-inary medicine), manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment,
packing, packaging, transport or holding of such food, or as a result
of environmental contamination. Extraneous matter, suchas, forexample, insect fragments, animal hair, etc, is not covered by this defi-nition.
2. This Regulation shall not apply to contaminants which are the
subject of more specific Community rules.1993R0315 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ No C 57, 4. 3. 1992, p. 11.
(2) OJ No C 129, 20. 5. 1991, p. 104 and Decision of 20 January 1993 (not yet
published in the Official Journal).
(3) OJ No C 223, 31. 8. 1992, p. 24.
(4) OJ No L 136, 20. 5. 1974, p. 1.
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Upon the entry into force of this Regulation, the Commission shall
publish in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Commu-
nities, for the purposes of information, a list of the rules referred to in
the first subparagraph. That list shall be updated, as appropriate, by the
Commission.
3. Provisions relating to contaminants shall be adopted in accor-
dance with this Regulation, except those laid down by the rulesreferred to in paragraph2.
Article 2
1. Food containing a contaminant in an amount which is unaccep-
table from the public health viewpoint and in particular at atoxicological level shall not be placed on the market.
2. Furthermore, contaminant levels shall be kept as low as can
reasonably be achieved by following good practices at all the stagesreferred to in Article 1.
3. In order to protect public h ealthand pursuant to paragraph1,
where necessary, maximum tolerances for specific contaminants shallbe established in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 8.
These tolerances shall be adopted in the form of a non-exhaustive
Community list and may include:
— limits for the same contaminant in different foods;
— analytical detection limits;— a reference to the sampling and analysis methods to be used.
Article 3
Provisions which may have an effect upon public health shall be
adopted after consultation of the Scientific Committee for Food.
Article 4
1. Where a Member State, as a result of new information or of a
reassessment of existing information, has reason to suspect that acontaminant in food, although complying with this Regulation orspecific Regulations adopted pursuant to this Regulation, constitutes a
health risk, it may temporarily suspend or restrict application of the
provisions in question in its territory. It shall immediately inform theother Member States and the Commission thereof and give reasons forits decision.
2. The Commission shall examine the reasons given by the Member
State referred to in paragraph1 as soon as possible in th e StandingCommittee for Foodstuffs, set up by Decision 69/314/EEC (
1) and shall
deliver its opinion immediately and take any necessary measures in
accordance withth e procedure laid down in Article 8.
Article 5
1. Member States may not prohibit, restrict, or impede the placing
on the market of foods which comply with this Regulation or specificprovisions adopted pursuant to this Regulation for reasons relating to
their contaminant levels.
2. Where Community provisions concerning the maximum toler-
ances referred to in Article 2 (3) have not been adopted, the relevant
national provisions shall be applicable subject to compliance with theprovisions of the Treaty.
3. (a) When a Member State maintains the provisions of its domestic
laws, it shall inform the Commission and the other MemberStates thereof within a period of six months after the adoptionof this Regulation.1993R0315 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 3
(1) OJ No L 291, 19. 11. 1969, p. 9.
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(b) Should a Member State deem it necessary to adopt new legisla-
tion, it shall communicate to the Commission and the otherMember States the measures envisaged and give the reasons
justifying them. The Commission shall consult the Member
States within the Standing Committee on Foodstuffs if itconsiders suchconsultation to be useful or if a Member Stateso requests.
Member States may take such envisaged measures only three months
after such communication and provided that the Commission's opinion
is not negative.
In the latter event, before the expiry of the period referred to in the
second paragraph, the Commission shall initiate the procedure providedfor in Article 8 in order to determine whether the envisaged measuresmay be implemented subject, if necessary, to the appropriate amend-ments.
Article 6
Each year the Commission shall submit to the Standing Committee on
Foodstuffs a report on the overall development of Community legisla-
tion on contaminants.
Article 7
Four years after this Regulation comes into force, the Commission shall
forward to the Council a report on the experience gained accompanied,
should the need arise, by any appropriate proposal.
Article 8
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Standing Committee on
the Food Chain and Animal Health, set up by Article 58 of Regulation(EC) No 178/2002 (
1), hereinafter referred to as ‘the Committee’.
2. Where reference is made to this Article, Articles 5 and 7 of Deci-
sion 1999/468/EC (2) shall apply, having regard to the provisions of
Article 8 thereof.
The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be
set at three months.
3. The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.
Article 9
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 March 1993.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.1993R0315 — EN — 20.11.2003 — 001.001 — 4
(1) OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1.
(2) Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures
for the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commission (OJ
L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23).▼M1
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