(2004/C58E/223) WRITTENQUESTIONP-2863/03
byOleSørensen(ELDR)totheCommission
(22September2003)
Subject:UrgentalertnotificationfromtheCommissionconcerningsalmonellainDanishpigmeat
On16September,IreceivedananswerfromtheCommissionconcerningtheissuingofawarningtothe
DanishslaughterhouseTicanaboutsalmonella(answertoWrittenQuestionP-2618/03(1)).
IthanktheCommissionforitsreviewoftherulesbutIamstillwithoutanswerstomyquestions.MyquestionsarelargelyconcernedwithhowtheCommissioninterpretsandappliestherulesinforceand
Iwouldthereforereiteratethem:
1. WhatchecksdidtheCommissioncarryouttoverifythefactsofthematterbeforeissuinganurgent
alertconcerningproductsfromTiCan?
2. What measures didthe Commissiontake toinvestigate the possibility that the salmonellain the
infectedkebabderivedfromothersourcesthanTiCanproducts?WereisolatedsamplestakenfromproductsfromTiCanoristhewholeaffairbasedonsamplesfromthepreparedkebab?HadtheunprocessedproductsfromTiCanundergonefurtherprocessingwhichcouldhavebeenthecauseofthesalmonellaoutbreak?Hasitbeenshownthatthemeatproductswerekeptintherestaurants/dashandhadbeenrepackagedandsentonbythewholesalers/dashunderproperhygienicconditions?
3. WhatistheCommission’sviewontheextenttowhichtheSwedishauthorities’actionswerebasedon
healthratherthanoncompetitiveconsiderations?
4. TheCommission’sanswerof16Septemberraisesanotherquestion/dashhowisitpossiblethatatthe
verytimetheCommissionissuedtheurgentalert,anumberofarticlesappearedintheDanishpressconcerning theaccusationsofsalmonellaagainstTican when‘thepublicdoesnothaveaccesstoinformationconcerningcompaniesorbrandnames’?
(1) OJC51E,26.2.2004,p.260.
AnswergivenbyMrByrneonbehalfoftheCommission
(20October2003)
FurthertoitsanswertoWrittenQuestionP-2618/03andtakingintoaccounttheadditionalinformation
suppliedbytheSwedishauthorities,theCommissionisnowabletoprovidethefollowingdetails.
AsexplainedintheanswertoWrittenQuestionP-2618/03,inlinewithitsobligationstheCommission
issuedtheoriginalnotification,followedbyadditionalnotifications,onthebasisofitsreviewoftheinitial
elementsandoftheadditionalinformationsuppliedbytheSwedishauthorities.TheCommissioncannotcastdoubtontheaccuracyofelementssuppliedbyacompetentauthoritywhichisbestplacedtocarryoutsuchchecks.Inanyevent,andinaccordancewiththeprincipleofsubsidiarity,theapplicablefoodsafetylegislationdoesnotprovideforsucharolefortheCommission.
AccordingtotheresultsoftheinvestigationscarriedoutinSweden,salmonellawasdetectednotonlyin
kebabs prepared with meat from the TiCan slaughterhouse, but also in a pack of meat from thisslaughterhousewhichwasusedbyarestaurantinthepreparationofkebabs.Inthelightoftheseresultsandoftheconditionsofpreparationintherestaurantsconcerned,theSwedishauthoritiesconcludedthat‘Therewasreasonablegroundfortheassumptionthatthesourceoftheinfection(humanoutbreak)wastheporkcollarmeatproducedintheTiCanslaughterhouse,notproperlypreparedinanumberofSwedishrestaurants’.6.3.2004EN C58E/207 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion
Asforthedetectionoftwostrainsofsalmonella(DT108andDT170),thecompetentlaboratoryservices
agreethatthesestrainsarevirtuallyidenticalandhenceextremelydifficulttodifferentiate.
TheCommissionwouldliketoreiteratethatthesolepurposeoftheRapidAlertSystemistoprotectthe
healthofconsumers.TheCommissionpublishesaweeklyoverviewofalertandinformationnotificationsat(http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/sfp/ras_index_en.html).CompaniesandbrandnamesdonotfigureontheselistsbutaresuppliedtothecompetentauthoritiesoftheMemberStatessoastoenablethem,wherenecessary,totaketheappropriateprotectivemeasures.
(2004/C58E/224) WRITTENQUESTIONP-2949/03
byGianGobbo(NI)totheCommission
(2October2003)
Subject:Indicationoffrozenproducts
DoestheCommissionconsiderthatitwouldbeappropriatetoadoptrulesrequiringpubliccommercial
establishmentsintheUniontoindicateclearly,forthepurposeofconsumerprotection,anyuseoffrozen
productsinthepreparationoffoodofferedtocustomers?
AnswergivenbyMrByrneonbehalfoftheCommission
(22October2003)
TheCommissiondoesnotconsiderthatitwouldbeappropriatetoobligerestaurants,canteens,etc.to
indicatetheuseoffrozenproductsinthepreparationofthefoodtheyserve,asameasureofthiskindisnotjustifiedfromafoodsafetyperspectiveinparticular.Inanycase,theadoptionofsuchmeasureswouldcomeunderthecompetenceoftheMemberStates.
However,theCommissionplanstomakeitcompulsoryforfoodssoldfrozenordefrostedtobearalabel
tothiseffect,togetherwithawarningthatthefoodinquestionshouldnotberefrozen.
(2004/C58E/225) WRITTENQUESTIONP-2951/03
byBriceHortefeux(PPE-DE)totheCommission
(2October2003)
Subject:DraftREACHregulation
The recent Internet consultation on the Commission’s draft regulation concerning the registration,
evaluationandauthorisationofchemicals(REACH)elicitedover6300contributions.
Thevastmajorityofcontributorsexpressedconcernaboutthefinancialandbureaucraticimplicationsof
thesemeasuresfortheEuropeanchemicalindustry,andalsoaboutthedamagingimpactoncompetitive-ness,employmentandEuropeanknow-how.SMEsinthechemicalindustrywillbeparticularlyaffected.The knock-on effect will mean that the economic impact on sectors downstream from the chemicalindustrywillbestronglyfeltacrosstheboard.Thecessationorrelocationofcertainproductionactivities,combinedwiththedesiretoavoidexcessiveredtapeinEuropewillleadsomeoperatorstodownsizeand/orrelocatesomeoftheirR&Dexpertiseinthelongterm.Lastly,theregistrationofpolymersonthebasisoftheoptionslaiddownbytheregulationcouldstifleinnovationinafieldwhosevibrancyisalmostunrivalled.C58E/208 EN6.3.2004 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanUnion