WRITTEN QUESTION P-3853/02

by Francesco Fiori (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(23 December 2002)

Subject: Exports of Grana Padano cheese to Switzerland

A decree passed by the Swiss Confederation (RS 632 110 411: Decree on Switzerland/EC cheese imports) states that Grana Padano cheese is exempted from customs duties and quotas provided its water content does not exceed 33,2 %.

In November 2002, entry was refused to certain consignments of Grana Padano (aged at least 16 months and with a water content of either 34,1 % or 34,8 %).

It appears from past and present records of the Italian authorities and research institutes that no Grana Padano samples aged 16 months or more have exhibited a water content in excess of 33,2 % unless there has been a deliberate decision when preparing the sample for analysis to remove a large part of both the crust and the soft cheese under it. The latter elements are, as is well known, edible components of Grana Padano, and it follows that any analysis must take them into account.

A contrastive analysis cannot be made on the basis of a single sample, and the existing sampling procedure for all frontier checks in the EU requires the contrastive taking of samples together with the party concerned, or his delegate, and the subdivision of the sample into six equal lots, of which one or two are left with the exporter company, one is sent for analysis, and the remainder are kept so that further checks can be made in case of complaint.

Can the Commission confirm:

- whether the Swiss customs authorities are requiring only a single sample (a wedge-shaped slice cut from the centre, with crust on both sides and weighing approximately 1,5 kg) for the laboratory checks to determine whether the water content of the Grana Padano concerned complies with the international standard FIL-IDF 4a:1982;

- whether this procedure is in fact the reflection of a deliberate policy of gradual but constant import reduction, with particular regard to Grana Padano;

- whether the procedure could therefore be considered a form of indirect protectionism running counter to the basic rules of free trade between nations?

Supplementary answergiven by Mr Lamy on behalf of the Commission

(12 March 2003)

To measure the moisture content of Grana Padano, Berne federal customs laboratory uses the CH 5.02 procedure described in the Swiss handbook of food analysis methods. This method is equivalent to the FIL-IDF 4a-1982 procedure used by the Member States' customs laboratories. As the method used by the Swiss laboratory is accredited ISO 17 025, the results must meet the requisite quality requirements, notably where the repeatability and reproducibility of measures are concerned.

Sample-taking may in itself constitute a source of discrepancy, depending on the sampling method and sampling plan used. The method used by Swiss customs is to remove a section of the wheel of cheese, while the Italian industry makes core borings into the wheel. The sampling plan must take account of the fact that the lots of cheese are not homogenous. Swiss customs usually remove sections of two to three kilogrammes (kg) from the wheels and select at random one wheel from 10 different lots, resulting in 10 samples. This seems to constitute a representative sample.

In the light of the foregoing, the Commission has no objective reasons to doubt the quality of the results obtained by Berne federal customs laboratory.

The Commission does not, therefore, share the Honourable Member's fears as to a deliberate policy by Switzerland indirectly to reduce imports from the Community.

Cheese exports between the Community and Switzerland, consisting mainly of Italian exports, increased considerably over the last decade. However, in the last few years they have stabilised. The entry into force of the Agreement on Trade in Agricultural Products between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on 1 June 2002 will facilitate bilateral exchanges. The complete liberalisation of the cheese market over five years is one of the important elements of the agreement. The Agreement (Annex 11, Appendix 6) provides for equivalence, reciprocally for the Community and Switzerland, for milk and milk products of bovine species intended for human consumption. These products therefore move between the Community and Switzerland under intra-Community trade conditions. The bilateral structures put in place by the Agreement should improve cooperation with the Swiss authorities, in particular on all aspects connected with integration of the cheese market.