Commission Regulation (EC) No 1053/2003 of 19 June 2003 amending Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards rapid tests (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2003-06-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: bovine spongiform encephalopathy, cattle, disease prevention, sheep

L 152/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

20.6.2003

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1053/2003

of 19 June 2003

amending Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards
rapid tests

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of
the
European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 laying
down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of
certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (1), as last
amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 260/2003 (2), and
in particular the first subparagraph of Article 23 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 sets out a list of national
reference laboratories for TSEs for the purposes of that
Regulation. Greece has changed its national reference
laboratory.

Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 also sets out a list of rapid
tests approved for TSE monitoring.

The company marketing one of the rapid tests approved
for TSE monitoring has informed the Commission of its
intention to market the test under a new trade name.

In its opinion of 6 and 7 March 2003, the Scientific
Steering Committee recommended the inclusion of two
new tests in the list of rapid tests approved for moni-
toring of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). The

producers of both tests have provided data showing that
their test may also be used for monitoring of TSE in
sheep.

In order to ensure that approved rapid tests maintain the
same level of performance after approval a procedure
should be laid down for possible modifications to the
test or the test protocol.

Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 should therefore be
amended accordingly.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee
on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

(5)

(6)

(7)

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Annex X to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 is amended in accor-
dance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

into force on the 20th day
This Regulation shall enter
following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Union.

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

Done at Brussels, 19 June 2003.

For the Commission

David BYRNE

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 147, 31.5.2001, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 37, 13.2.2003, p. 7.

20.6.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 152/9

ANNEX

Annex X is amended as follows:

(a) In Chapter A, point 3, the text concerning Greece is replaced by the following:

‘Greece Ministry of Agriculture

Veterinary Laboratory of Larisa
7th km of Larisa — Trikala Highway
GR-411 10 Larisa
(rapid tests and immunological tests)

Laboratory of Gross Pathology
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki
Giannitson & Voutyra St.
GR-546 27 Thessaloniki
(histopathology)’

(b) In Chapter C, point 4 is replaced by the following:

‘4. Rapid tests

For the purposes of carrying out the rapid tests in accordance with Article 5(3) and Article 6(1), the following
methods shall be used as rapid tests:
— immuno-blotting test based on a Western blotting procedure for the detection of the protease-resistant frag-

ment PrPRes (Prionics-Check Western test),

— chemiluminescent ELISA test involving an extraction procedure and an ELISA technique, using an enhanced

chemiluminescent reagent (Enfer test),

— sandwich immunoassay for PrPRes carried out following denaturation and concentration steps (Bio-Rad TeSeE
test, the former Bio-Rad Platelia test). However, existing stocks bearing the name “Bio-Rad Platelia test” may
be used within nine months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation,

— microplate based immunoassay (ELISA) which detects protease-resistant PrPRes with monoclonal antibodies

(Prionics-Check LIA test),

— automated conformation-dependent immunoassay comparing the reactivity of a detection antibody to the
protease-sensitive and protease-resistant forms of PrPSc (some fraction of the protease-resistant PrPSc is equiva-
lent to PrPRes) and to PrPC (InPro CDI-5 test).

The producer of the rapid tests must have a quality assurance system in place agreed by the Community refer-
ence laboratory, which ensures that the test performance does not change. The producer must provide the test
protocol to the Community reference laboratory.

Modifications to the rapid test or to the test protocol may only be made following advance notification to the
Community reference laboratory and provided that the Community reference laboratory finds that the modifica-
tion does not reduce the sensitivity, specificity or reliability of the rapid test. That finding shall be communicated
to the Commission and to the national reference laboratories.’