EN Official Journal of the European Union L 151/21

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 646/2007

of 12 June 2007

implementing Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards a Community target for the reduction of the prevalence of Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium in broilers and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1091/2005

(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 2160/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 November 2003 on the control of salmonella and other specified food-borne zoonotic agents (1) and, in particular Article 4(1), Article 8(1) and Article 13 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) The purpose of Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 is to ensure that proper and effective measures are taken to detect and control salmonella and other zoonotic agents at all relevant stages of production, processing and distribution, particularly at the level of primary production, in order to reduce their prevalence and the risk they pose to public health.

(2) Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 provides for a Community target to be established for the reduction of the prevalence of all salmonella serotypes with public health significance in broilers at the level of primary production. Such reduction is important in view of the strict measures which are to apply to fresh meat from infected flocks of broilers in accordance with that Regulation, as from 12 December 2010. In particular, fresh poultry meat, including meat of broilers, may not be placed on the market for human consumption unless Salmonella is absent in 25 grams of such meat.

(3) Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 provides that the Community target is to include a numerical expression of the maximum percentage of epidemiological units remaining positive and/or the minimum percentage of reduction in the number of epidemiological units remaining positive, the maximum time limit within which the target must be achieved and the definition of the testing schemes necessary to verify achievement of the target. It is also to include a definition, where relevant, of serotypes with public health significance.

(4) In order to set the Community target, comparable data on the prevalence of the concerned Salmonella serotypes in flocks of broilers in Member States have been collected in accordance with Commission Decision 2005/636/EC (2) concerning a baseline study on the prevalence of Salmonella in flocks of broilers.

(5) Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 provides that for a transitional period of three years, the Community target for broilers is to cover only Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium. Other serotypes with public health significance may be considered after that period.

(6) In order to verify progress on the achievement of the Community target, it is necessary to provide for repeated sampling of flocks of broilers, in this Decision.

(7) In accordance with Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was consulted on the setting of the Community target for broilers. In particular, the EFSA Task Force on Zoonoses Data Collection adopted on 28 March 2007 the Report on the Analysis of the baseline survey on the prevalence of Salmonella in broiler flocks of Gallus gallus in the EU, 2005-2006, Part A: Salmonella prevalence estimates (3).

(8) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1091/2005 of 12 July 2005 implementing Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards requirements for the use of specific control methods in the framework of the national programmes for the control of salmonella (4), has been replaced by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1177/2006 of 1 August 2006 implementing Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards requirements for the use of specific control methods in the framework of the national programmes for the control of salmonella in poultry (5). For the sake of clarity, it is appropriate to repeal Regulation (EC) No 1091/2005.

(9) 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

Community target

1. The Community target, as referred to in Article 4(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003, for the reduction of Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium in broilers (Community target) shall be a reduction of the maximum percentage of flocks of broilers remaining positive of Salmonella enteritidis and Salmonella typhimurium to 1 % or less by 31 December 2011.

2. The testing scheme necessary to verify progress in the achievement of the Community target is set out in the Annex.

3. The Commission shall consider a review of the testing scheme set out in the Annex based on the experience gained in 2009 being the first year of the national control programmes as referred to in Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003.

Article 2

Repeal of Regulation (EC) No 1091/2005

Regulation (EC) No 1091/2005 is repealed with effect from 1 July 2007.

References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as references to Regulation (EC) No 1177/2006.

Article 3

Entry into force and applicability

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Article 1(1) and (3) shall apply from 1 July 2007 and Article 1(2) shall apply from 1 January 2009.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 12 June 2007. For the Commission Markos KYPRIANOU Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 325, 12.12.2003, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006 (OJ L 363, 20.12.2006, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 228, 3.9.2005, p. 14.

(3) The EFSA Journal (2007) 98, 1-85.

(4) OJ L 182, 13.7.2005, p. 3.

(5) OJ L 212, 2.8.2006, p. 3.