1999D9283 — EN — 25.11.2000 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COMMISSION DECISION
of 12 April 1999
concerning the animal health conditions and veterinary certification for imports of fresh meat from
certain African countries
(notified under document number C(1999) 873)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(1999/283/EC)
(OJ L 110, 28.4.1999, p. 16)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Decision 2000/739/EC of17 November 2000 L 298 27 25.11.2000
▼B
COMMISSION DECISION
of 12 April 1999
concerning the animal health conditions and veterinary certification
for imports of fresh meat from certain African countries
(notified under document number C(1999) 873)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(1999/283/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Directive 72/462/EEC of12 December 1972
on health and veterinary inspection problems upon importation ofbovine, ovine and caprine animals and swine, fresh meat or meatproducts from third countries (
1), as last amended by Directive 97/79/
EC (2), and in particular Articles 14, 15 and 16,
(1) Whereas the animal health conditions and veterinary certificationfor imports of fresh meat from Botswana, Madagascar, Morocco,Namibia, Swaziland, South Africa and Zimbabwe were estab-
lished by Commission Decisions 92/22/EEC (
3), 90/156/EEC (4),
84/295/EEC (5), 92/24/EEC (6), 92/23/EEC (7), 92/21/EEC (8) and
92/25/EEC (9);
(2) Whereas, with a view to the internal market, numerous health
measures have been established in the framework of trade inside
the Community; whereas the realisation ofthis objectivenecessitates, in parallel, an adaptation ofthe health conditionsrequired for importation of fresh meat from third countriesparticularly from certain African countries;
(3) Whereas this adaptation must take into account the differentepidemiological situations in the African countries concerned, andindeed in the different parts of their territories; whereas, given theexistence ofidentical health situations between the various parts
of those different countries, it is necessary to take account of this
fact in establishing a new system of health guarantees;
(4) Whereas, as a result, it is appropriate to establish different health
certificates in accordance with the conditions required for the
importation of fresh meat from those different categories ofcountries or parts ofcountries;
(5) Whereas outbreaks of African swine fever are reported from timeto time in these countries and therefore imports into the EuropeanCommunity ofpigmeat cannot be authorised;
(6) Whereas as an interim step prior to an in depth analysis
concerning the possibility to authorise bone-in meat from certain
OIE free regions and, in order to clarify and simplify theCommunity legislation, it is necessary to group together thehealth conditions required for imports of fresh meat from theAfrican countries concerned and to repeal the decisions in force
for those countries;
(7) Whereas stricter health conditions have been established for offal
destined for human consumption; whereas, moreover, the healthconditions established apply without prejudice to the health1999D9283 — EN — 25.11.2000 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ L 302, 31.12.1972, p. 28.
(2) OJ L 24, 30.1.1998, p. 31.
(3) OJ L 10, 16.1.1992, p. 34.
(4) OJ L 89, 4.4.1990, p. 13.
(5) OJ L 144, 30.5.1984, p. 21.
(6) OJ L 10, 16.1.1992, p. 46.
(7) OJ L 10, 16.1.1992, p. 40.
(8) OJ L 10, 16.1.1992, p. 28.
(9) OJ L 10, 16.1.1992, p. 52.
▼B
conditions established by Council Directive 92/118/EEC (1), as
last amended by Directive 97/79/EC, and Commission Decision89/18/EEC of22 December 1988 concerning importations f rom
third countries of fresh meat destined for purposes other than
human consumption (
2);
(8) Whereas having regard to the epidemiological features of foot-and-mouth disease ofthe ovine and caprines, special guarantees
must be required as regards imports ofmeat ofthose species;
(9) Whereas, in addition, the responsible veterinary authorities ofthe
concerned countries must confirm that their countries or regionshave for at least 12 months been free from rinderpest, and foot-
and-mouth disease;
(10) Whereas the responsible authorities ofthe concerned countries
must undertake to notify the Commission and the Member Stateswithin 24 hours, by fax, telex or telegram of the confirmation of
the occurrence ofany ofthe abovementioned diseases or an
alteration in the vaccination policy against them;
(11) Whereas other health conditions must be established for meat notintended for human consumption in accordance with the
provisions ofDirective 92/118/EEC and Decision 89/18/EEC;
(12) Whereas animal health conditions and veterinary certification
must be adapted according to the animal health situation ofthethird country or part ofthird country concerned;
(13) Whereas Council Directive 96/93/EC (3) lays down standards of
certification which are necessary for valid certification and toprevent fraud. Whereas it is appropriate to ensure that the rulesand principles applied by third-country certifying officers provide
guarantees which are at least equivalent to those laid down in this
Directive;
(14) Whereas Council Directive 93/119/EC (4) requires that the
veterinary health certificate accompanying meat to be imported
from third countries to the European Community must be
supplemented by an attestation certifying that the animals havebeen slaughtered under conditions which offer guarantees ofhumane treatment at least equivalent to the relevant provisions inthe Directive;
(15) Whereas considering that a new certification regime is herebyestablished, a period oftime should be provided f or itsimplementation;
(16) Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are inaccordance with the opinion ofthe Standing VeterinaryCommittee,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
For the purposes of this Decision the following definitions shall be used:
(a) ‘fresh meat’: as defined in Article 2(a) of Council Directive 64/433/
EEC (5);
(b) ‘de-boned fresh meat’: meat as described in paragraph (a) of this
Article, together with diaphrams but excluding offal, from which thebone and the main accessible lymphatic glands have been removed.1999D9283 — EN — 25.11.2000 — 001.001 — 3
(1) OJ L 62, 15.3.1993, p. 49.
(2) OJ L 8, 11.1.1989, p. 17.
(3) OJ L 13, 16.1.1997, p. 18.
(4) OJ L 340, 31.12.1993, p. 21.
(5) OJ 121, 29.07.1964, p. 2012/64.
▼B
Article 2
1. Member States shall authorise the importation ofthe categories of
fresh meat set out in Annex II and coming from the territories laid down
in Annex I, ifthey comply with the guarantees laid down in the health
certificate, drawn up in conformity with Annex III.
2. Member States shall authorise the introduction onto their territory
of fresh meat from the country of origin subject to the supplementaryguarantees required in Annex II and described in Annex IV. Thesesupplementary guarantees must be provided by the exporting country inSection V ofeach model ofcertif icate laid down in Annex III.
3. In the case ofimports off resh meat described in Article 1 and
intended for purposes other than human consumption, Member States
shall ensure that the following requirements are complied with:
— the conditions set out in paragraph 1,
— the conditions established by Directive 92/118/EEC,— the conditions established by Decision 89/18/EEC.
Article 3
This Decision will be reassessed as required by the changing animal
health situation in the Community and in the concerned Africancountries from which the imports are permitted.
Article 4
This Decision shall come into effect from 1 June 1999.
Article 5
1. Decisions 92/22/EEC, 90/156/EEC, 84/295/EEC, 92/24/EEC, 92/
23/EEC, 92/21/EEC and 92/25/EEC are repealed on the date mentionedin Article 4.
2. Member States shall authorise the importation off resh meat,
produced and certified according to the requirements of Decisions 92/22/EEC, 90/156/EEC, 84/295/EEC, 92/24/EEC, 92/23/EEC, 92/21/EEC
and 92/25/EEC during the 30 days following the date mentioned in
paragraph 1.
Article 6
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.1999D9283 — EN — 25.11.2000 — 001.001 — 4
▼M1
ANNEX I
DESCRIPTION OF TERRITORIIES OF CERTAIN AFRICAN COUNTRIES ESTABLISHED
FOR ANIMAL HEALTH CERTIFICATION PURPOSES
CountryCode ofterri-
toryVersion Description ofterritory
Botswana BW 01/99 The whole country
BW-01 01/99 Veterinary disease control zones, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11, 12, 13, 14 and 18
Morocco MA 01/99 The whole countryMadagascar MG 01/99 The whole country
Namibia NA 01/99 The whole country
NA-01 01/00 South of the cordon fences which extend from
Palgrave-Point in the west to Gam in the east
Swaziland SZ 01/99 The whole country
SZ-01 01/99 Area west ofthe ‘red line’ f ences which extend
northwards from the River Usutu to the frontier
with South Africa west of Nkalashane
South Africa ZA 01/99 The whole country
ZA-01 01/00 Republic ofSouth Af rica excluding:
— the part ofthe f oot-and-mouth disease control
area situated in the veterinary region Northern
and Eastern Transvaal, in the district of
Ingwavuma ofthe veterinary region ofNatal
and in the border area with Botswana east of
longitude 28º,
and
— the districts ofCamperdown, Pietermaritz-
burg, Lions River, New Hanover, Umvoti,
Kranskop, Mapumulo, Ndwedwe, Lower
Tugela, Inanda, Pinetown, Durban, (including
the metropolitan area ofDurban), Chatsworth,
Umzali, Umbumbulu and Richmond in the
province ofKwaZulu-Natal
Zimbabwe ZW 01/99 The whole country
ZW-01 01/99 Veterinary regions ofMashonaland West
province, Mashonaland East province (including
Chikomba district), Mashonaland Central
province, Manicaland province (including only
Makoni district), Midlands province (including
only the Gweru, Kwekwe, Shurugwi, Chirimanzu
and Zvishavane districts), Masvingo province
(including only the districts ofGutu and
Masvingo), Matabeleland South province
(incuding only the Insiza, Bullimamangwe,
Umzingwamange, Gwanda and West Nicholson
districts) and Matabeleland North province
(including only the districts ofBubi and Umgusa)1999D9283 — EN — 25.11.2000 — 001.001 — 5
ANNEX II
MODELS OF ANIMAL HEALTH CERTIFICATES TO BE REQUESTED
Country CodeFresh meat for human consumption
Fresh meat
intended for
purposes other
than human
consumptionBovine Swine Ovine/Caprine Solipeds
MC
(1)SG
(2)MC
(1)SG
(2)MC
(1)SG
(2)MC
(1)SG
(2)
BOTSWANA BW — — — D —
BW-01 A a — C a D —
MOROCCO MA — — — D —MADAGASCAR MG —————
NAMIBIA NA — — — D —
NA-01 A a — C a D —
SWAZILAND SZ — — — D —
SZ-01 A a — — D —
SOUTH AFRICA ZA — — — D —
ZA-01 A a — C a D —
ZIMBABWE ZW —————
ZW-01 A a, c — — — —
(1) MC: model of certificate to be fulfilled: the letters (A, B, C, D, etc.) appearing in the tables are referring to the models of animal health guarantees as described in Annex III to Commission Decision 1999/283/EC, to be applied for
each product and origin in accordance with Article 2 ofthis Decision. A dash (‘—’) indicates that imports are not authorised.
(2) SG: supplementary guarantees. The letters (a, b, c, d, etc.) appearing in the tables are referring to the supplementary guarantees to be provided by t he exporting country as described in Annex IV. These supplementary guarantees
must be inserted by the exporting country in Section V ofeach model ofcertif icate laid down in Annex III.▼B1999D9283 — EN — 25.11.2000 — 001.001 — 6
▼B
ANNEX III
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▼B
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▼B
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▼B
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▼B
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▼B
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▼B
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▼B
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▼B
ANNEX IV
SUPPLEMENTARY GUARANTEES TO BE PROVIDED BY THE
EXPORTING TERRITORY WHEN REQUIRED IN ANNEX II IN
APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 2(2)
(a) The meat fulfils the requirements of de-boned fresh meat as described in
Article 1(b) ofDecision 1999/283/EC and originates f rom carcases which
have matured at a room temperature ofmore than + 2º C f or at least 24 hours
after slaughter and before the bones were removed; has had the majorlymphatic glands removed; has, during all stages ofits production, de-boning,
and storage been kept strictly separate from meat not conforming to the
requirements laid down in the decisions ofthe European Community
currently in force as regards import of meat (with the exception of meat
packed in boxes or cartons and kept in special storage areas).
(b) The animals have reacted negatively to an official intra-dermal tuberculosis
test carried out in the three months before slaughter in accordance with
Annex B to Council Directive 64/432/EEC.
(c) The animals have, in accordance with the Zimbabwean legal provisions, a
mark indicating their region oforigin, that is f or the veterinary region of
Mashonaland West province, nothern part, brand ‘L’, for Mashonaland West
provine, southern part, brand ‘HL’, for Mashonaland East province, brand ‘H’
including Chikomba district, brand ‘JJ’, Mashonaland Central province,
brand ‘C’, for Manicaland province (including only Makoni district), brand
‘UM’, for Midlands province (including only the districts of Gweru,
Kwekwe, Shurugwi and Chirimanzu), brand ‘J’ and for Midlands province
(including only the district ofZvishavane), brand ‘Z’, f or Masvingo province
the district ofGutu brand ‘T’ and f or the district ofMasvingo brand ‘inverted
T’, for Matebeleland South province (including) only the Insiza, Bullima-
magwe, Umzingwamange, Gwanda and West Nicholson districts), brands
‘MY’, ‘Y’, ‘Y-inverted Y’, ‘inverted Y’ or ‘K’ and for Matebeleland North
province including only the clear zones ofBubi and Umguza districts, brand
‘E’.
(d) This meat can not be introduced into the EC territory for at least 21 days from
… (date ofslaughter).1999D9283 — EN — 25.11.2000 — 001.001 — 15