Commission Regulation (EC) No 1661/1999 of 27 July 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 737/90 on the conditions governing imports of agricultural products originating in third countries following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power-station
Date: 1999-07-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: agricultural product, export licence, health control, mushroom-growing, originating product, third country

29. 7. 1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 197/17

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1661/1999

of 27 July 1999

laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 737/90 on the
conditions governing imports of agricultural products originating in third countries following the
accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power-station

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

(8) Whereas there is a need to update these provisions and
them by specific conditions for the
to supplement
import of certain products; as appears from the consid-
erations herein set out;

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 737/90 of
22 March 1990 on the conditions governing imports of agri-
cultural products originating in third countries following the
as
accident
amended by Regulation (EC) No 686/95 (2), and in particular
Article 6 thereof,

the Chernobyl nuclear power-station (1),

at

(1) Whereas the fallout of radiocaesium from the accident at
the Chernobyl power station on 26 April 1986 has
third countries; whereas
affected a wide range of
repeated cases of non-compliance with the maximum
permitted levels of radioactive contamination have been
recorded in consignments of certain types of mush-
rooms imported from a number of third countries;

(2) Whereas similar fallout has affected certain parts of the
the European

territories of some Member States of
Union;

(3) Whereas forest and wooded areas generally are the
natural habitat of uncultivated mushrooms (the products
listed in Annex I) and such ecosystems tend to retain
radiocaesium in a cyclic exchange between soil and
vegetation;

(4) Whereas, as a result, continual radiocaesium contamina-
tion of uncultivated mushrooms has, in the period since
the abovementioned accident, hardly declined and may
well have increased in the case of certain species;

(5) Whereas the Commission has carried out in 1986 and
subsequently updated an assessment of possible risks on
human health from contaminated foodstuffs with radio-
active caesium; whereas that assessment of possible risks
is still valid today,
the physical
radioactive period of the substance in question, and, in
the maximum permitted level conforms in
addition,
essence to the level recommended by the Codex Alimen-
tarius Commission;

taking into account

(6) Whereas,

in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation
(EEC) No 737/90, the Member States must carry out
checks on products originating in third countries;

(7) Whereas the detailed rules for the application of that
Regulation are to be found in Commission Regulation
(EEC) No 1983/88 (3);

(1) OJ L 82, 29.3.1990, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 71, 31.3.1995, p. 15.
(3) OJ L 174, 6.7.1988, p. 32.

(9) Whereas Council Directive 92/59/EEC of 29 June 1992
on general product safety (4) has set up a system for the
rapid exchange of information;

(10) Whereas the measures in situ in the territories of the
Member States of the European Union flow from the
legal obligations of those States pursuant to Articles 35
and 36 of the Euratom Treaty, the Community measures
already referred to and national measures and controls
which, taken together, are, in terms of equivalence of
result, equal to those enacted in this Regulation; whereas
the Commission is taking all the necessary measures to
ensure that the Member States comply effectively with
their legal obligations in this respect;

(11) Whereas even if the provisions for sampling and analysis
of various agricultural products merit future considera-
tion, the immediate requirement is to strengthen those
provisions with respect to mushrooms;

(12) Whereas in order to allow more efficient controls, it is,
as a consequence, necessary to identify a restricted
number of customs offices where certain products may
be declared for free circulation in the European Union;

(13) Whereas the lists of customs offices and of third coun-
tries can be reviewed as appropriate, taking into account
inter
compliance with the maximum
permitted levels and other information allowing the
Commission to judge whether there is a need to main-
tain a third country on the list contained in Annex IV;

future

alia

(14) Whereas for the same reason it

is appropriate that
export certificates, as referred to in Article 4 of Regula-
tion (EEC) No 737/90, be provided for each consign-
ment of such products;

(15) Whereas it is appropriate that the competent authorities
of the Member States be authorised, at their sole discre-
tion, to levy charges for sampling and analysis and for
destruction of the product or its return provided that the
principle of proportionality is observed in exercising the
option of destruction or return and provided also that,
in any event, the charges so levied do not exceed the
costs incurred;

(4) OJ L 228, 11.8.1992, p. 24.

L 197/18

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

29. 7. 1999

(16) Whereas the provisions enacted below conform to the
international obligations of the European Community, in
particular those resulting from the agreements estab-
lishing the World Trade Organisation,
taking into
account the right of the Community to adopt and apply
measures that are necessary to achieve the level of san-
itary protection chosen in the territory of its Member
States;

ficates referred to in Article 3 accompanying each consign-
ment. Each consignment exceeding 10 kg of fresh product
or the equivalent thereof shall be subject to systematic
sampling and analysis, taking appropriate account of the
information contained in the export certificate. These prod-
ucts may only be declared for free circulation in the
Member State of destination in a restricted number of
customs offices listed in Annex III.

(17) Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation
are in accordance with the opinion of
the ad hoc
committee referred to in Article 7 of Regulation (EEC)
No 737/90,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1.
Checks on the radiocaesium content referred to in Article
3 of Regulation (EEC) No 737/90 of products referred to in
Article 1 of the same Regulation, to ensure that the maximum
permitted levels laid down by the said Regulation are observed
shall be carried out by the Member States in which the prod-
ucts are released for free circulation and at the latest at that
time.

Checks shall be carried out by sampling in accordance

2.
with the following minimum standards:

(a) Without prejudice to paragraph 3(b), the choice of the
Member State as to the intensity of controls to be carried
out shall be made taking account in particular of the degree
of contamination of the country of origin, the characteris-
tics of the products in question, the results of the previous
checks and the export certificates referred to in Article 3.

(b) Without prejudice to the further measures provided for in
Articles 5 and 6 of Regulation (EEC) No 737/90, where a
product originating in a third country is recorded as
exceeding the maximum permitted levels, checks shall be
intensified for all products of the same type originating in
the third country in question.

Checks on specific products shall be carried out

3.
accordance with the following rules:

in

(a) For animals for slaughter, the checks shall be carried out
without prejudice to the customs rules laid down in
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 (1) and Commission
Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 (2) and to animal health
requirements. Clearance of release for free circulation shall
be subject to the presentation of a certificate issued by the
competent authorities responsible for controls to the effect
that the meat in question has undergone the system of
checks and that
the
those checks have shown that
maximum permitted levels have not been exceeded.

(b) For products listed in Annex I, originating in third coun-
tries listed in Annex IV, documentary checks shall be
performed on the basis of the duly completed export certi-

(1) OJ L 302, 13.10.1992, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1.

4. Where failure to comply with the maximum permitted
levels is observed in respect of a given product, the competent
authorities of the Member State may require the imported
product to be destroyed or returned to the country of origin. In
the latter case, written evidence that the product has left the
territory of the European Community will be forwarded to the
customs authority which refused the release for free circulation.

For

the products

referred to in Article 1(1),

5.
the
competent authorities may, at their sole discretion, levy charges
on the importer for the sampling and analysis of products for
compliance with Regulation (EEC) No 737/90. For consign-
ments which exceed the maximum permitted levels,
the
competent authorities may also recover from their intended
importer costs associated with either the destruction of the
consignment or its return to the country of origin.

Article 2

1.
Each Member State shall by analogy apply Article 8 of
Directive No 92/59/EEC to notify the Commission without
delay of recorded cases of non-compliance with the provisions
on maximum permitted levels, set out in Regulation (EEC) No
737/90, stating the country of origin,
the description and
degree of contamination of the goods, the means of transport,
the exporter and the decision taken in respect of the lots in
question.

2. Member States shall
bodies assigned to implement checks.

inform the Commission of

the

3.
The Commission shall inform the Member States without
delay of recorded cases of non-compliance with the maximum
permitted levels through the Community Rapid Alert System
laid down in Directive No 92/59/EEC.

Article 3

1.
The Member States shall ensure that the export certi-
ficates issued by the competent authorities of third countries
listed in Annex IV shall attest that the products that they
accompany comply with the maximum permitted levels laid
down in Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 737/90. The export
certificates shall be compiled using a form printed on white
paper in accordance with the specimen in Annex II.

2.
The Commission shall communicate to the Member
States the details received concerning the authorities authorised
in the third countries in question to issue export certificates.

29. 7. 1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 197/19

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European
Communities.

Article 4

Regulation (EEC) No 1983/88 is repealed.

Article 5

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 27 July 1999.

For the Commission

Ritt BJERREGAARD

Member of the Commission

L 197/20

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

29. 7. 1999

ANNEX I

LIST OF PRODUCTS FOR WHICH THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 1(3)(b) SHALL BE FULFILLED

CN Codes

ex 0709 51

Mushrooms, fresh or chilled, other than cultivated mushrooms

ex 0710 80 69

Mushrooms (uncooked or cooked by steaming or boiling in water), frozen, other than cultivated
mushrooms

ex 0711 90 60

Mushrooms provisionally preserved (for example, by sulphur dioxide gas, in brine, in sulphur water
or in other preservative solutions), but unsuitable in that state for immediate consumption, other
than cultivated mushrooms

ex 0712 30 00

Dried mushrooms, whole, cut, sliced, broken or in powder, but not further prepared, other than
cultivated mushrooms

ex 2001 90 50

Mushrooms, prepared or preserved by vinegar or acetic acid, other than cultivated mushrooms

ex 2003 10 80

Mushrooms, prepared or preserved otherwise than by vinegar or acetic acid, other than cultivated
mushrooms

29. 7. 1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 197/21

EXPORT CERTIFICATE FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS (ONE CERTIFICATE PER SPECIES)

This certificate must be lodged in triplicate with the entry for free circulation and be kept by the customs

ANNEX II

Statement by the exporter

1. Exporter (name, full address, country)

5. Country of origin

6. Country of destination

2. Consignee (name, full address, country)

7. Invoice(s) number(s)

3. Identity of means of transport

8. Number and kind of packages

9. Marks and batch numbers

4. Description of products

10. Gross mass (kg)

11. Net mass (kg)

12. I, undersigned, responsible for these exports, certify the above information

Date

Place

Name (in block letters)

Signature (2)

Certification by the laboratory

13. Number of analysed samples from the above products:

15. Identity of the laboratory (name, full address, country)

14. Recorded radioactivity levels for each sample (Bq/kg)

16. Accredited by (name and address of the body)

(specify the batch No for each sample):

Report No . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
This report must be presented immediately on the demand
of the control authorities

17. Date, name (in block letters) signature and stamp of the labor-

atory (2)

Certification by the competent authority

18. I, undersigned, certify that the accumulated radioactivity level

in terms of caesium 134 and 137 for the products described above

does not exceed:

370 Bq/kg for milk and milk products and for foodstuffs intended for the special feeding of infants, and 600 bq/kg for all other
products listed in the current Commission Regulation relating to Council Regulation (EEC) No 737/90 (1)

Place

Date

Name (in block letters)

Signature (2)

Stamp–cachet (2)

(1) Delete as appropriate
(2) Signatures and stamps must be in a different colour from that of the text.

L 197/22

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

29. 7. 1999

ANNEX III

LIST OF CUSTOMS OFFICES IN WHICH PRODUCTS LISTED IN ANNEX I MAY BE DECLARED FOR FREE
CIRCULATION IN THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY

Member State

Customs offices

BELGIQUE/BELGI(cid:220)

Anvers D.E. — voie maritime
Bierset — (Gr(cid:131)ce-Hollogne) D.E. — voies a(cid:130)riennes et/ou terrestre
Bruxelles D.E. — voie a(cid:130)rienne
Zaventem D. — voie a(cid:130)rienne

DANMARK

Every port and airport in Denmark

DEUTSCHLAND

Baden-W(cid:129)rttemberg

Bayern

Berlin

HZA L(cid:148)rrach — ZA Weil am Rhein-Autobahn
HZA Stuttgart — ZA Flughafen

HZA M(cid:129)nchen-Flughafen
HZA Hof — ZA Schirnding-Landstraße
HZA Weiden — ZA Furth im Wald-Schafberg
HZA Weiden — ZA Waldhaus-Autobahn

HZA Berlin-Packhof — ZA Marzahn, Abfertigungsstelle
Grossmarkthallen
HZA Berlin-Packhof — ZA Tegel-Flughafen

Brandenburg

HZA Frankfurt (Oder) — ZA Autobahn
HZA Cottbus — ZA Forst-Autobahn

Bremen

Hamburg

HZA - Bremen ZA Neust(cid:132)dter Hafen
HZA Bremerhaven — ZA Container-Terminal
HZA Bremerhaven — ZA Rotersand

HZA Hamburg-Freihafen — Abfertigungsstelle
HZA Hamburg-Freihafen — ZA Ericus-Abfertigungsstelle S(cid:129)dbahnhof
Hamburg-Harburg — ZA K(cid:148)hkleetdamm
HZA Hamburg-Hamburg — St. Annen-ZA Altona
HZA Hamburg-Hamburg — St. Annen-ZA Oberelbe
HZA Hamburg-Waltershof — Abfertigungsstelle
HZA Hamburg-Waltershof — ZA Flughafen

Hessen

HZA Frankfurt am Main-Flughafen

Meklenburg-Vorpom-
mern

HZA Neubrandenburg — ZA Pomellen — Grenzkontrollstelle Pomellen
HZA Schwerin — ZA Rostock-Seehafen — Grenzkontrollstelle Rostock-
Seehafen
HZA Stralsund — ZA Mukran Grenzkontrollstelle R(cid:129)gen/Mukran,
Im Flughafen

Niedersachsen

HZA L(cid:129)neburg — Abfertigungsstelle
HZA G(cid:148)ttingen — Abfertigungsstelle
HZA Hannover — Abfertigungsstelle

Nordrhein-Westfalen

HZA Dortmund — ZA Ost

Rheinland-Pfalz

HZA Trier — ZA Idar-Oberstein,
Grenzkontrollstelle Flughafen Hahn, Geb(cid:132)ude 401

Sachsen

HZA Dresden — ZA Friedrichstadt,
Grenzkontrollstelle Dresden/Friedrichstadt (f(cid:129)r Eisenbahntransport)
HZA Pirna — ZA Zinnwald, Grenzkontrollstelle Zinnwald (f(cid:129)r Stra-
ßentransport)
HZA L(cid:148)bau — ZA Ludwigsdorf-Autobahn, Grenzkontrollstelle
Ludwigsdorf (f(cid:129)r Straßentransport)

Schleswig-Holstein

HZA Kiel — ZA Wik, Grenzkontrollstelle Kiel Ostuferhafen
HZA L(cid:129)beck — ZA Travem(cid:129)nde Grenzkontrollstelle

EKKADA

Ahgm(cid:150)m, Peqai(cid:145), Jqatijo(cid:151) Aeqokil(cid:146)ma Ahgm(cid:150)m, Hes/m(cid:148)jgr, Aeqokil(cid:146)ma L(cid:148)jqar, B(cid:149)kou, Patq(cid:150)m,
Gqajke(cid:148)ou, Aeqokil(cid:146)ma Gqajke(cid:148)ou Jq(cid:147)tgr, Jab(cid:145)kar, Iyamm(cid:148)mym, Maupk(cid:148)ou

29. 7. 1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 197/23

Member State

Customs offices

ESPA(cid:158)A

FRANCE

Algeciras (Puerto), Alicante (Aeropuerto, Puerto), Almer(cid:146)a (Aeropuerto, Puerto), Barcelona
(Aeropuerto, Puerto), Bilbao (Aeropuerto, Puerto), C(cid:145)diz (Puerto), Cartagena (Puerto), Gij(cid:155)n
(Aeropuerto, Puerto), Huelva (Puerto), La Coru(cid:157)a-Santiago de Compostela (Aeropuerto, Puerto),
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Aeropuerto, Puerto), Madrid-Barajas (Aeropuerto), M(cid:145)laga (Aero-
puerto, Puerto), Palma de Mallorca (Aeropuerto), Pasajes-Ir(cid:156)n (Aeropuerto, Puerto), Santa Cruz
de Tenerife (Aeropuerto, Puerto), Santander (Aeropuerto, Puerto), Sevilla (Aeropuerto, Puerto),
Tarragona (Puerto), Valencia (Aeropuerto, Puerto), Vigo-Villagareia (Aeropuerto), Mar(cid:146)n
(Puerto), Vitoria (Aeropuerto), Zaragoza (Aeropuerto)

Dunkerque (transport maritime)
Lille (transport a(cid:130)rien et terrestre)
Marseille (transport a(cid:130)rien, terrestre et maritime)
Roissy (transport a(cid:130)rien et terrestre)
St Louis/B(cid:131)le (transport a(cid:130)rien et terrestre)
Strasbourg (transport terrestre)

IRELAND

All customs offices

ITALIA

Ufficio di Sanit(cid:133) marittima ed aerea di Trieste
Ufficio di Sanit(cid:133) aerea di Torino-Caselle
Ufficio di Sanit(cid:133) aerea di Roma — Fiumicino
Ufficio di Sanit(cid:133) marittima ed aerea di Venezia
Ufficio di Sanit(cid:133) marittima ed aerea di Genova
Ufficio di Sanit(cid:133) marittima di Livorno
Ufficio di Sanit(cid:133) marittima ed aerea di Ancona
Ufficio di Sanit(cid:133) marittima ed aerea di Brindisi
Ufficio di Sanit(cid:133) aerea di Varese — Malpensa
Ufficio di Sanit(cid:133) aerea di di Bologna — Panicale
Ufficio di Sanit(cid:133) marittima ed aerea di Bari
Posto d’Ispezione frontaliera di Chiasso

LUXEMBOURG

Bureau des Douanes et Accises Centre Douanier — Luxembourg
Bureau des Douanes et Accises Luxembourg-A(cid:130)roport — Niederanven

NEDERLAND

All customs offices

(cid:153)STERREICH

Drasenhofen (Repulik Tschechien)
Berg (Slowakische Republik)
Nickelsdorf (Republik Ungarn)
Heiligenkreuz (Republik Ungarn)
Spielfeld (Republik Slownien)
Tisis (Schweiz)
Wien Flughafen Schwechat

PORTUGAL

Airports of Lisabon, Porto and faro
Ports of Lisbon an Leix(cid:210)es.

SUOMI-FINLAND

Helsinki, Vaalimaa, Niirala, Vartius, Raja-Jooseppi, Utsjoki, Kilpisj(cid:132)rvi

SVERIGE

Arlanda, G(cid:148)teborg, Landvetter, Helsingborg, Karlskrona, Stockholm, Ystad, Wallhamn, Varberg

UNITED KINGDOM

Belfast International Airport, Port of Belfast, Port of Dover, Port of Falmouth, Port of Felix-
stowe, Gatwick Airport, Port of Hull, Port of Larne, Port of London, Port of Southampton

L 197/24

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

29. 7. 1999

ANNEX IV

LIST OF THIRD COUNTRIES REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 3

Albania

Belarus

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Croatia

Czech Republic

Estonia

Hungary

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Moldova

Norway

Poland

Romania

Russia

Slovak Republic

Slovenia

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia