No C 66/2 Official Journal of the European Communities 11. 3. 88 
II 
(Preparatory Acts) 
COMMISSION 
Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) laying down health conditions for the marketing of 
fish and fish products concerning nematodes 
COM(88) 47 final 
(Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 22 February 1988) 
(88/C 66/02) 
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 43 
thereof, 
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, 
Having regard to the opinion of the European 
Parliament, 
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and 
Social Committee, 
Whereas, in order to ensure the smooth operation of the 
common market and more especially of the common 
organization of the market in fishery products estab­
lished by Council Regulation (EEC) No 3796/81 ('), as 
last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3655/84 (2), it is 
essential that the marketing of fish and fish products 
should no longer be hindered by disparities existing in 
the Member States in respect of health requirements; 
whereas this will enable marketing to be better 
harmonized and bring about competition on equal terms; 
Whereas fishery products are covered by Annex II to the 
Treaty; 
Whereas larvae of nematodes may be present in certain 
parts of fish; 
Whereas it is necessary to prevent any health risks linked 
to the presence of nematodes in fish; 
(') OJ No L 379, 31. 12. 1981, p. 1. 
(2) OJ No L 340, 28. 12. 1984, p. 1. Whereas certain conditions should be laid down which 
apply both to producing establishments and to the 
competent authorities of the Member States and which 
allow them to limit those health risks; 
Whereas, in the context of intra-Community trade, rules 
should be laid down concerning inspections in the 
country of destination as well as rules concerning the 
follow-up to those inspections; whereas those rules 
should be attuned to those resulting from general rules 
to be adopted in the context of the establishment of the 
internal market; 
Whereas it is necessary to adopt implementing measures 
in certain technical areas; whereas for the adoption of 
those measures it is necessary to provide for collab­
oration between the Member States and the Commission 
within the Standing Veterinary Committee, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 
Article 1 
For the purposes of this Regulation the following defi­
nitions shall apply: 
1. Fish: sea water fish species which are liable to 
contain viable larvae of nematodes which may 
constitute a hazard to human health. 
2. Fresh fish: fish or parts thereof which have 
undergone no treatment to ensure preservation. 
Chilling at 0 to 2 °C is not considered as a 
treatment. 
3. Fish products: fish which has undergone a treatment. 
4. Treatment: heading, salting, marinating, smoking, 
freezing or a combination thereof. 
5. Complete treatment: treatment, the effects of which 
are sufficient to inactivate larvae of any nematodes 
present in fish. 
6. Incomplete treatment: treatment which does not meet 
the requirements laid down in point 2 of the Annex. 
11. 3. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 66/3 
7. Marketing: the placing on the market after intro­
duction into the Community of fish and fish 
products for human consumption. 
8. Country of despatch: the Member State from which 
fish or fish products are despatched to another 
Member State. 
9. Country of destination: the Member State to which 
fish or fish products are despatched from another 
Member State. 
10. Drinking water: water complying with the 
requirements laid down in Council Directive 
80/778/EEC ('). 
11. Clean seawater: seawater which meets the same 
microbiological standards as drinking water and is 
free from objectionable substances which are likely 
to alter fresh fish or to transfer to them abnormal 
characteristics. 
Article 2 
1. Fresh fish and fish products intended for marketing 
shall comply with the conditions laid down in the Annex. 
2. Fresh fish intended to be consumed raw and fish 
products which have undergone an incomplete treatment 
and are liable to be consumed as such, can only be 
marketed after they have been subjected to the treatment 
referred to in point 2 (d) of the Annex; this treatment is 
no longer necessary if the raw material from which they 
have been prepared has already undergone such a 
treatment. 
3. The Commission, following the procedure laid 
down in Article 6, shall define the scope of paragraph 2, 
as well as detailed implementing rules. In particular, the 
Commission shall specify the fish species and the nature 
of the fish products to which the obligation laid down in 
paragraph 2 is to apply. 
Article 3 
1. Each establishment carrying out a complete 
treatment of fish must be approved by the competent 
authority of the Member State on the territory of which 
it is situated. 
2. That approval and the approval number linked 
thereto shall be issued by the competent authority on 
condition that the establishment concerned is able to 
comply, as far as the treatment is concerned, with the 
conditions laid down in point 2 of the Annex. 
3. Those responsible for each establishment must keep 
a register to prove that each production load has 
undergone a complete treatment. That register shall 
O OJ No L 229, 30. 8. 1980, p. 11. contain all information concerning the progress of the 
treatment and, in particular, charts recording heat or 
cold treatment as well as the results of the analyses of 
brine and marinating solutions. 
4. Each establishment shall be subject to a regular 
control by the competent authorities. Controls shall 
include, in particular, a check on the content of the 
register referred to in paragraph 3 and the taking of 
samples in order to verify if the criteria laid down in 
point 2 of the Annex are complied with. 
5. Detailed rules for the implementation of paragraphs 
3 and 4 and possible derogations shall be adopted in 
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 7. 
Article 4 
1. The country of destination may, where there are 
serious grounds for suspecting that there are irregu­
larities, carry out non-discriminatory inspections of fish 
and fish products which are the subject of intra-
Community trade in order to check that a consignment 
meets the requirements of this Regulation. 
2. The inspections referred to in paragraph 1 shall be 
carried out at the place of destination of the goods. 
Those inspections may not unduly delay the marketing 
of fresh fish and fish products or cause delays which 
might adversely affect their quality. 
3. If, during an inspection carried out in accordance 
with paragraphs 1 and 2 above, it is found that the fish 
and fish products do not comply with this Regulation, 
the competent authority may give the consignor, the 
consignee, or their representative the choice of with­
drawing the consignment from the market in order that 
it may undergo further treatment or of using it for other 
purposes if this is permissible on health grounds. If not, 
one of the choices offered must be the destruction of the 
fish or fish products. In any event, precautionary 
measures shall be taken by the competent authority to 
prevent improper use of such fish or fish products. 
4. (a) Decisions and the grounds for taking them must 
be notified to the consignor, the consignee, or 
their representative. Should such persons so 
request, reasons must be given for such decisions 
and must be notified to them immediately in 
writing together with particulars of the remedies 
available to them under the law, their forms and 
the period within which action must be taken. 
Remedies available to the consignor, the 
consignee, or their representative shall not be 
affected by this Regulation; 
No C 66/4 Official Journal of the European Communities 11. 3. 88 
(b) If such decisions are based on the existence of a 
particularly serious risk to human health, they 
shall be communicated forthwith to the 
Commission or, where appropriate, to the 
competent authority of the Member State of 
despatch; 
(c) Following such communication, appropriate 
measures may be taken in accordance with the 
procedure laid down in Article 5, in particular for 
the purpose of coordinating the measures taken in 
other Member States with regard to the fish and 
fish products concerned. 
5. Member States shall grant consignors whose fish or 
fish products may not be placed on the market as a result 
of an inspection as provided for in paragraph 1, the right 
to obtain an expert's opinion. 
The expert must be a national of a Member State other 
than the country of despatch or the country of destin­
ation. 
The Commission shall draw up a list of experts proposed 
by the Member States who may be instructed to prepare 
such opinions. It shall, in accordance with the procedure 
laid down in Article 7, determine detailed rules for the 
implementation of this paragraph. 
Article 5 
1. Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to 
be applied, the matter shall be referred forthwith to the 
Standing Veterinary Committee set up by Council 
Decision 68/361/EEC (') (hereinafter called 'the 
Committee') by its chairman on his initiative or at the 
request of a Member State. 
2. Within the Committee, Member States' votes shall 
be weighted as provided for in Article 148 (2) of the 
Treaty. The chairman shall not vote. 
3. The Commission representative shall submit a draft 
of the measures to be adopted. The Committee shall 
deliver its opinion on such measures within two days. 
Opinions shall be delivered by a majority of 54 votes. 
4. Where the measures are in conformity with the 
opinion of the Committee, the Commission shall adopt 
and implement them immediately. Where they are not in 
conformity with the opinion of the Committee, or if no 
opinion is delivered, the Commission shall, without 
delay, propose to the Council the measures to be 
adopted. The Council shall act by a qualified majority. 
(') OJ No L 255, 18. 10. 1968, p. 23. If, within 15 working days from the date on which a 
matter is referred to it, the Council has not adopted any 
measures, the Commission shall adopt the proposed 
measures and implement them immediately. 
Article 6 
1. Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to 
be applied, the chairman shall refer the matter without 
delay on his own initiative or at the request of a Member 
State to the Committee. 
2. Within the Committee, Member States' votes shall 
be weighted as provided for in Article 148 (2) of the 
Treaty. The chairman shall not vote. 
3. The Commission representative shall submit a draft 
of the measures to be adopted. The Committee shall 
deliver its opinion on such measures within a period to 
be determined by the chairman in relation to the urgency 
of the matter to be considered. Opinions shall be 
delivered by a majority of 54 votes. 
4. Where the measures are in conformity with the 
opinion of the Committee, the Commission shall adopt 
and apply them immediately. Where they are not in 
conformity with the opinion of the Committee, or if no 
opinion is delivered, the Commission shall, without 
delay, propose to the Council the measures to be 
adopted. The Council shall act by a qualified majority. 
If, within three months from the date on which the 
proposal was submitted to it, the Council has not 
adopted any measures, the Commission shall adopt the 
proposed measures and apply them immediately. 
Article 7 
The Commission shall be assisted by a committee of an 
advisory nature composed of the representatives of the 
Member States and chaired by the representative of the 
Commission. 
The representative of the Commission shall submit to the 
committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The 
committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft, within a 
time limit which the chairman may lay down according 
to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a 
vote. 
The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in 
addition, each Member State shall have the right to ask 
to have its position recorded in the minutes. 
The Commission shall take the utmost account of the 
opinion delivered by the committee. It shall inform the 
committee of the manner in which its opinion has been 
taken into account. 
Article 8 
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 April 1988. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and 
directly applicable in all Member States. 
11. 3. 88 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 66/5 
ANNEX 
1. (a) Fresh fish shall be cleaned and gutted immediately after having been caught. 
Derogation from this requirement and the detailed rules of application of these conditions shall be 
adopted following the procedure provided for under Article 6, account being taken in particular of 
the technical constraints with reference to the catch and handling on board of certain species or 
groups of species. 
Fresh fish for which such a derogation has been given must in any case be refrigerated to less than 
2 ° C immediately after capture. 
(b) Fillets of fresh fish must be visually inspected by the processing establishment. Any larvae present 
must be removed. 
2. A complete treatment must comply with one of the following conditions: 
(a) heating, in which the internal temperature in all parts of the fish is raised to at least 65 °C; 
(b) salting, by using salt (NaCl) in such a way that the combination between the minimum salt concen­
tration (MSC) in the tissue fluid of the fish and the minimum action time (MAT) of the salt is as 
follows: 
MSC MAT 
20 % 10 days 
15 °/o 14 days 
12 % 28 days 
10 % 35 days 
when using sugar (anchovis production) 
15 % 28 days 
Other methods having a similar effect may be approved by the competent authorities; 
(c) marinating, by immersion of the fish in a solution having a suitable pH and a suitable salt concen­
tration during a well determined period, possibly in combination with the use of other additives. 
The combination of those parameters must be approved by the competent authority; 
(d) cold treatment, in which the internal temperature of the fish has to be at maximum — 20 °C for at 
least 24 hours. 
The competent authorities shall communicate to the Commission and to the other Member States the 
methods approved for the treatments referred to under (b) and (c). 
Amendment to the proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on a Research and Development 
Programme in the field of Applied Metrology and Chemical Analyses in the European 
Economic Community 1988 to 1992 
(The Community Bureau of Reference — BCR) (') 
COM(88) 79 final 
(Amendment submitted by the Commission to the Council pursuant to Article 149, (3) of the EEC 
Treaty on 26 February 1988) 
(88/C 66/03) 
The Commission proposal is hereby amended as follows: 
Title 
Replace 'Council Regulation' by 'Council Decision'. 
(') OJ No C 304, 14. 11. 1987, p. 4.