2002/237/EC: Commission Decision of 21 March 2002 amending Decision 94/360/EC on the reduced frequency of physical checks of consignments of certain products to be imported from third countries, under Council Directive 90/675/EEC (Text with EEA relevance) (notified under document number C(2002) 1121)
Date: 2002-03-21
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: animal product, health control, import, simplification of formalities, third country, veterinary inspection

L 80/40

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

23.3.2002

II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 21 March 2002

amending Decision 94/360/EC on the reduced frequency of physical checks of consignments of
certain products to be imported from third countries, under Council Directive 90/675/EEC

(notified under document number C(2002) 1121)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2002/237/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 97/78/EC of 18 December
1997 laying down the principles governing the organisation of
veterinary checks on products entering the Community from
third countries (1), and in particular Article 10 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Directive 97/78/EC repealed and replaced Directive 90/
675/EEC (2), under which Commission Decision 94/360/
EC (3) was drawn up.

Following the discovery earlier of
traces of growth-
promoting xenobiotic hormones in meat imported from
the United States of America, Commission Decision
1999/302/EC (4) amended Decision 94/360/EC to put in
place an enhanced system of controls on all imports of
fresh bovine meat and offal, excluding bison meat and
offal,

imported from that country.

After the discovery of these residue findings, the authori-
ties in the United States of America reinforced their
hormone-free cattle programme in June 1999. In the
face of further difficulties with this programme, identi-
fied in the course of a mission to the United States of

(1) OJ L 24, 30.1.1998, p. 9.
(2) OJ L 373, 31.12.1990, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 158, 25.6.1994, p. 41.
(4) OJ L 117, 5.5.1999, p. 58.

America by the Commission's Food and Veterinary
Office, the programme was suspended in July 1999 and
relaunched in September 1999, in an enhanced form as
the non-hormone-treated cattle programme.

Commission Decision 1999/518/EC (5) further amended
the inspection measures at Community border inspec-
tion posts
stilbenes
following the detection by the competent authorities of
Switzerland of diethylstilboestrol
in beef meat
imported from the United States.

to include specific testing for

(DES)

In the light of the favourable results under the testing
programme, in September 2000 Commission Decision
2000/583/EC (6) reduced the frequency of checks on
fresh meat imported from the United States of America
from checks on all consignments to checks on 20 % of
consignments, and removed the obligation on Member
States to only allow the entry into their territory of
consignments for which the results of examination and
analyses were favourable.

This Decision was a first step towards phasing out
completely the obligation to test for hormones each
selected for physical checks, and the
consignment
Decision was subject to review in the light of future test
results in accordance with Article 2 of Decision 1999/
302/EC.

(4)

(5)

(6)

(5) OJ L 197, 29.7.1999, p. 50.
(6) OJ L 246, 30.9.2000, p. 67.

23.3.2002

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 80/41

(7)

(8)

(9)

The additional controls put in place by Decision 1999/
302/EC and Decision 1999/518/EC and the testing
carried out under the European Community additional
testing programme for hormones, have not resulted in
any positive samples of fresh bovine meat and offal
being identified during the intervening period.

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

Decision 94/360/EC is amended as follows:

Article 1a is repealed.

It is therefore appropriate to repeal the requirement for
20 % of consignments of meat
imported from the
United States of America to be tested for the possible
presence of hormones, and in respect of laboratory tests
to treat such imports on the same basis as imports of
meat from other third countries.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in
accordance with the opinion of the Standing Veterinary
Committee,

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Article 2

Done at Brussels, 21 March 2002.

For the Commission

David BYRNE

Member of the Commission