EN Official Journal of the European Union L 37/9

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 214/2005

of 9 February 2005

amending Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards monitoring of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in caprine animals

(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 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (1), and in particular the first paragraph of Article 23 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 lays down rules for the monitoring of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) in caprine animals.

(2) On 28 January 2005, a panel of experts on TSEs in small ruminants, chaired by the Community Reference laboratory for TSEs (CRL), confirmed the detection of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in a goat slaughtered in France. It was the first case of BSE in a small ruminant under natural conditions.

(3) The former Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) adopted during its meeting on 4-5 April 2002 an opinion on safe sourcing of small ruminant materials should BSE become likely in small ruminants. In its opinion, adopted during its meeting of 26 November 2003, the Scientific Panel on Biological Hazards of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) endorsed the statement of the SSC opinion with regard to the TSE-related safety of certain small ruminant products. In its statement of 28 January 2005, the above Panel of EFSA also stresses that the significance of this single case of BSE infection in a goat in France is yet to be assessed. In order to do so, the results of an increased monitoring of TSEs in goats will be essential.

(4) In line with the SSC and EFSA opinions and statement above, the monitoring of goats should be extended in order to improve Community eradication programmes. Those programmes also increase the level of consumer protection, although the safe sourcing of goat products is further assured by the current measures, in particular the provisions on the removal of specified risk materials, in Regulation (EC) No 999/2001.

(5) The extended monitoring should be based on a recommendation for a statistically valid survey by the CRL in order to determine the prevalence of BSE in goats as soon as possible and to improve knowledge of the geographical and within-flock distribution. It should therefore apply to all Member States with a focus on the Member States affected by BSE.

(6) Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(7) In view of the importance to ensure the highest level of consumer protection and to evaluate the prevalence of BSE in goats, the amendments made by this Regulation should enter into force without delay.

(8) The monitoring programme in caprine animals should be reviewed after at least 6 months of effective monitoring and when the EFSA has delivered its opinion on a quantitative assessment of the residual risk posed by goat meat and meat products derived there from.

(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 Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

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

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 9 February 2005. For the Commission Markos KYPRIANOU Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 147, 31.5.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 36/2005 (OJ L 10, 13.1.2005, p. 9).