RECOMMENDATION OF THE EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY No 167/97/COL of 17 June 1997 concerning a co-ordinated programme of inspections in 1997 to ensure compliance with maximum levels of pesticide residues in and on certain products of plant origin, including fruit and vegetables

THE EFTA SURVEILLANCE AUTHORITY,

Having regard to the European Economic Area Agreement, and in particular Article 109 and Protocol 1 thereof,

Having regard to the Agreement relating to the establishment of a Surveillance Authority and a Court of Justice, and in particular Article 5 (2) (b) and Protocol 1 thereof,

Having regard to the Act referred to in point 54 of Chapter XII of Annex II to the EEA Agreement on the fixing of maximum levels for pesticide in and on certain products of plant origin, including fruit and vegetables (Council Directive 90/642/EEC as amended), as adapted by way of Protocol 1 to the EEA Agreement (below referred to as the Act), and in particular Article 4 (3) thereof,

After consulting the EFTA Foodstuffs Committee assisting the EFTA Surveillance Authority,

Whereas it follows from Article 4 (2) of the Act, that the EFTA States are required to send to the EFTA Surveillance Authority by 1 August 1996, all necessary information on the implementation during 1995 of their national programmes of inspection to ensure compliance with maximum levels of pesticide residues as set in Annex II to the said Directive; whereas the Authority has received certain information in accordance with this requirement;

Whereas Article 4 (1) of the Act requires the EFTA States to draw up forward programmes laying down the nature and frequency of the inspections to be carried out to ensure compliance with the established list of maximum levels of pesticide residues;

Whereas the amount of information made available to the EFTA Surveillance Authority has not been sufficient to permit a complete overview of the EFTA States' pesticide residues monitoring activities during 1995 or to allow a comprehensive evaluation of the EFTA States' monitoring intentions for 1997; whereas, nevertheless, sufficient information is available to coordinate a programme of monitoring of specific pesticides/product combinations at EEA level; whereas this is the third such specific co-ordinated programme to be recommended and indications as to the products to be included in future annual specific co-ordinated programmes are important for the planning of the competent authorities of the EFTA States; whereas products will not normally be repeated in specific co-ordinated programmes within an interval of three years;

Whereas Annex II of the Act, as amended, contains lists of harmonized maximum residue levels for certain pesticides, which should be subject to the national and co-ordinated programmes of inspections in 1997;

Whereas it remains necessary to recommend general basic arrangements for the inspections for pesticide residues to be carried out by the EFTA States during 1997 in order to ensure compliance with the mandatory maximum levels of pesticides residues and to contribute to the good functioning of the European Economic Area;

Whereas it is important that information on current national quality assurance measures applied to sampling and analyses of pesticide residue levels is made available by the EFTA States as a basis for further discussion;

Whereas it would also be helpful for the establishment of future recommendations for the EFTA Surveillance Authority to be informed in advance of the EFTA States' forward programmes for 1998 for the monitoring of maximum levels of pesticide residues provided for by the Act;

Whereas the inspections and check sampling by EFTA States to ensure compliance with the maximum levels of pesticide residues set out in the list referred to in Article 1 (1) of Commission Directive 90/642/EEC should be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Act referred to in point 20 of Chapter XII of Annex II to the EEA Agreement establishing Community methods of sampling for the official control of pesticide residues in and on fruit and vegetables (Commission Directive 79/700/EEC), the Act referred to in point 37 of Chapter XII of Annex II to the EEA Agreement concerning the introduction of Community methods of sampling and analysis for the monitoring of foodstuffs intended for human consumption (Council Directive 85/591/EEC), the Act referred to in point 50 of Chapter XII of Annex II to the EEA Agreement on the official control of foodstuffs (Council Directive 89/397/EEC) and the Act referred to in point 54n of Chapter XII of Annex II to the EEA Agreement on the subject of additional measures concerning the official control of foodstuffs (Council Directive 93/99/EEC);

Whereas Liechtenstein shall comply with the provisions of the acts referred to in Chapter XII of Annex II to the EEA Agreement by 1 January 2000; whereas Liechtenstein was to do its utmost to comply with the provisions of the acts referred to in that Chapter by 1 January 1997; whereas therefore Liechtenstein is included in this recommendation for 1997;

Whereas the European Commission, in its Recommendation of 2 December 1996 concerning a co-ordinated programme of inspections in 1997 to ensure compliance with maximum levels of pesticide residues in an on certain products of plant origin, including fruit and vegetables, has recommended the Member States of the European Union to apply a corresponding programme,

HAS ADOPTED THIS RECOMMENDATION:

It is recommended that Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway:

1. as a specific exercise for 1997, sample and analyse for the product/pesticide residue combinations set out in the Annex, on the basis of a target number of 50 samples of each product, reflecting as appropriate national, EEA and third-country shares of the EFTA States' market and report the results, including analytical methods used, reporting levels achieved and quality assurance measures, at the latest by 1 August 1998;

2. by 1 August 1997, send to the EFTA Surveillance Authority all the information as required by Article 4 (2) of the Act concerning the 1996 monitoring exercise to ensure, at least by check sampling, compliance with maximum pesticide residue levels and, in particular:

2.1. the results of the specific exercise for 1996, as set out in point 5 of Recommendation of EFTA Surveillance Authority No 85/96/COL concerning a co-ordinated programme of inspections in 1996 to ensure compliance with maximum levels of pesticide residues in and on certain products of plant origin, including fruit and vegetables;

2.2 the results of their national programmes concerning pesticides listed in Annex II of Directive 90/642/EEC, in relation to harmonized levels and, where these have not yet been fixed at EEA level, in relation to the national levels in force;

2.3. the criteria applied when drawing up their national programmes concerning the numbers of samples taken and the analyses carried out;

2.4. the criteria applied when defining and fixing reporting levels;

2.5. the quality assurance measures applied to sampling of products or changes in those measures reported in previous years;

2.6. details of accreditation, in accordance with the provisions of Article 3 of Directive 93/99/EC, of the laboratories carrying out the analyses and, where such accreditation has not yet been accorded, the criteria applied in establishing quality assurance measures in those laboratories;

3. by 1 July 1997, send to the EFTA Surveillance Authority their intended national programme for monitoring maximum pesticide residue levels fixed by Directive 90/642/EEC for the year 1998 and, as far as possible, for following years.

4. This Recommendation is addressed to Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

Done at Brussels, 17 June 1997.

For the EFTA Surveillance Authority

The President

Knut ALMESTAD

ANNEX

Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) to be monitored in the specific exercise for 1997 set out in point 1 of the Recommendation

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