WRITTEN QUESTION E-1614/99

by Marianne Thyssen (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(15 September 1999)

Subject: European standard for PCBs

In response to the dioxin crisis, the Belgian government has laid down a standard for testing certain poultry, pigmeat and beef products for human consumption or for use as feed that are intended for export. The standard has been fixed at 200ng/g of fat. The European Standing Veterinary Committee has approved that standard.

No Community reference standards for PCBs have been laid down at European level. In terms of the internal market, the fact that certain Belgian products intended for export are required to comply with this stringent standard consequently can be considered as tending to distort competition.

Does the Commission not consider that in the interests of optimum protection of public health and in a concern for fair conditions of competition on the internal market, it would be appropriate to lay down PCB reference standards at Community level? Will it submit proposals for the necessary legislation?

Reply given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(9 November 1999)

The contamination of foodstuffs notified by Belgium to the Commission and the other Member States on 27 May 1999 concerned abnormal dioxin levels in recycled fatty matter accidentally fed to certain poultry, pigs and bovines.

The level of 200 nanogrammes (ng) of polychlorobiphenyls per gram (PCB/g) of fat in the meat and derived products corresponds to the particular case of contamination from fats supplied by the Verkest/Fogra firms. In this case, seven identified PCB congeners make it possible to define the products contaminated as a result of this incident. The standard of 200 ng/g fat was adopted at Community level in the decisions on the Belgian crisis in order to certify, on the basis of analyses, Belgian meat intended for exportation or for intra-Community trade. The Scientific Committee on Food held that the values selected were appropriate for managing this crisis.

The latest Commission decision, namely Decision 1999/640/EC of 23 September 1999 on protective measures with regard to contamination by dioxins of certain products of porcine and poultry origin intended for human consumption(1), lifts all the restrictions on bovine meat and derived products of Belgian origin. The standard of 200 ng/g fat prescribed for bovine meat is thus no longer pertinent and has not been included in the annexes to the new Decision.

The adoption of PCB limits in food and feedingstuffs is closely linked to the adoption of dioxin limits for these products. As regards the adoption of limit values for dioxins in food, the Commission in June 1998 launched an in-depth study of food contamination levels ascertained in several Member States. This study belongs in the framework of the scientific cooperation programme between the Member States (SCOOP). The preliminary results of this study, which should be available very shortly, should cast light on the public health risk and will be one of the factors in the ongoing deliberations with a view to laying down Community limits at a later stage.

Finally, in view of the current state of Community law, and quite apart from the values laid down in the Commission's decisions specifically concerning the Belgian dioxin crisis, a maximum level of dioxins for citrus pulp is specified in Annex I, under B, point 21, of Council Directive 1999/29/EC of 22 April 1999 on undesirable substances and products in animal nutrition(2). Besides, a proposal laying down dioxin limit values in raw materials and final products intended for animal nutrition is currently being discussed. Any examination of the advisability of prescribing such levels for food should take account of all the available scientific, technical and economic data and their implications for consumer protection.

(1) OJ L 253, 28.9.1999.

(2) OJ L 115, 4.5.1999.