1997D0221 — EN — 01.01.2005 — 001.001

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►B COMMISSION DECISION of 28 February 1997 laying down the animal health conditions and model veterinary certificates in respect of imports of meat products from third countries and revoking Decision 91/449/EEC (Text with EEA relevance) (97/221/EC) (OJ L 089, 4.4.1997, p.32)

Amended by:

Official Journal No page date ►M1 COMMISSION DECISION of 29 April 2004 L 189 4 27.5.2004





Corrected by:









▼B

COMMISSION DECISION

of 28 February 1997

laying down the animal health conditions and model veterinary certificates in respect of imports of meat products from third countries and revoking Decision 91/449/EEC

(Text with EEA relevance)

(97/221/EC)







THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Directive 72/462/EEC of 12 December 1972 on health and veterinary inspection problems upon importation of bovine, swine, ovine, and caprine animals, fresh meat or meat products from third countries ( 1 ), as last amended by Directive 96/91/EC ( 2 ), and in particular Articles 21 (a) and 22 thereof, 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 (1) to Directive 89/662/EEC and, as regards pathogens, to Directive 90/425/EEC ( 3 ) as last amended by Directive 96/90/EC ( 4 ), and in particular Article 10 (2) (c), Whereas Council Directive 77/99/EEC ( 5 ), as last amended by Council Directive 95/68/EC ( 6 ), defines a meat product through laying down minimum treatment requirements; Whereas Commission Decision 91/449/EEC ( 7 ) as last amended by Decision 96/92/EC ( 8 ) lays down the specimen animal health certificates in respect of meat products from bovine animals, swine, equidae, sheep and goats imported from third countries; Whereas it is necessary to lay down animal health conditions and model veterinary certificates required for imports of meat products manufactured from farmed game meat, domestic rabbits and wild game meat from third countries; Whereas the categories of meat products that may be imported from third countries depend on the health situation of the third country or parts of third country of manufacture; whereas, in order to be able to be imported, certain meat products must have been subjected to a particular treatment; Whereas a list of third countries from which Member States import meat products is laid down in Commission Decision 97/222/EC ( 9 ); Whereas it is necessary to lay down the animal health conditions and certificate required to import these products from the manufacturing third country; whereas in order to clarify and simplify the Community legislation, it is justified to group together the animal health conditions and certification required for importations of various categories of meat products and to revoke Decision 91/449/EEC; Whereas these animal health conditions and veterinary certification apply without prejudice to the requirement for a residues testing programme to have been approved for the third country concerned under Council Decision 79/542/EEC ( 10 ), as last amended by Commission Decision 97/160/EC ( 11 ); Whereas the measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Veterinary Committee, HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:







Article 1

For the purposes of this Decision:

1. the definition of meat products as laid down in Article 2 (a) of Directive 77/99/EEC shall apply;

2. the meat or meat products used in the manufacture of the meat products must be derived from: — domestic poultry of the following species: domestic fowl, turkeys, guinea fowl, geese and ducks, — or — domestic animals of the following species: bovine animals (including Bubalus bubalis, Bison bison), swine, sheep, goats and solipeds, — or — farmed game and domestic rabbits as defined in Article 2 (3) of Council Directive 91/495/EEC ( 12 ), — or — wild game as defined in Article 2 (1) (a) of Council Directive 92/45/EEC ( 13 ).

Article 2

Member States shall authorize imports of meat products:

1. derived from the species referred to in Article 1; and:

(a) either originating from third countries listed in Part II of the Annex to Decision 97/222/EC, or parts of third countries as defined in Part I of the Annex to the same Decision, under the following conditions: — the meat products contain meat and/or meat products derived from one or more species which have undergone a non-specific treatment as laid down in Part IV of the Annex to Decision 97/222/EC; (b) or originating from third countries, listed in Parts II and III of the Annex to Decision 97/222/EC, or parts of third countries, as defined in Part I of the Annex to the same Decision, under one of the following conditions: — the meat products contain meat and/or meat products derived from a single species as authorized under the relevant column indicating the species concerned and have been subjected to at least the specific treatment regime required for meat of that species as laid down in Part IV of the Annex to Decision 97/222/EC, — the meat products contain fresh, processed or partly processed meats from more than one species which are mixed prior to undergoing their final treatment. This final treatment must be at least equal to the most severe treatment as laid down in Part IV of the Annex to Decision 97/222/EC, for any one of the individual meat constituents for the species concerned, — the final meat product is prepared by the mixing of previously treated meat from more than one species, the earlier treatment which each constituent meat underwent must have been at least equal to the relevant treatment as laid down in Part IV of the Annex to Decision 97/222/EC, for the species of meat concerned. The treatments indicated in Part IV of the Annex to Decision 97/222/EC represent the minimum acceptable processing conditions for animal health purposes for meat of the species concerned from the indicated countries; 2.

3. the fresh meat used in the production of the meat products must conform to the relevant public health conditions required for importation of that meat into the Community.

Article 3

The meat products referred to in Article 2 must conform to the requirements laid down in the specimen health certificate in the Annex. This certificate must accompany the consignment and be duly completed and signed by the official veterinarian.

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Article 3a

Member States shall ensure that consignments of meat products for human consumption, introduced onto the territory of the Community and which are destined for a third country either by transit immediately or after storage in accordance with Articles 12 (4) or 13 of Directive 97/78/EC, and not intended for importation into the EC shall comply with the following requirements:

(a) they shall come from the territory of a third country or a part thereof listed in the Annex to Decision 97/222/EC and have undergone the minimum treatment for the import of meat products of the species concerned foreseen therein.

(b) they shall meet the specific animal health conditions for the species concerned set out in the model animal health certificate drawn up under the Annex I to Decision 97/221/EC.

(c) they shall be accompanied by an animal health certificate established in accordance with the model laid down in Annex III, signed by an official veterinarian of the competent veterinary services 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.

Article 3b

1. By way of derogation from Article 3a Member States shall authorise the transit by road or by rail through the Community, between designated Community border inspection posts listed in Annex IV to Decision 2001/881/EC, of consignments coming from and destined to Russia directly or via another third country provided that the following conditions are met:

(a) the consignment shall be sealed with a serially numbered seal at the border inspection post of entry to the European Community by the veterinary services of the competent authority;

(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 responsible for the BIP;

(c) the procedural requirements provided for in Article 11 of Directive 97/78/EC shall be complied with;

(d) the consignment is certified as acceptable for transit on the Common Veterinary Entry Document by the Official Veterinarian of the Border Inspection Post of introduction.

2. unloading or storage, as defined in Article12 (4) or Article 13 of Directive 97/78/EC, on EC territory of such consignments shall not be allowed.

3. regular audits shall be made by the competent authority to ensure that the number of consignments and the quantities of products leaving the European Community territory matches the number and quantities entering.

▼B

Article 4

Decision 91/449/EEC is revoked.

Article 5

This Decision shall apply from 1 March 1997.

Article 6

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.









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ANNEX I

▼B

SPECIMEN ANIMAL HEALTH CERTIFICATE FOR MEAT PRODUCTS INTENDED FOR CONSIGNMENT TO THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY

►(2) C1 ►(2) C1

▼M1









ANNEX II

(Transit and/or storage)