2004/363/EC: Commission Decision of 6 April 2004 concerning protection measures in relation to highly pathogenic avian influenza in the United States of America (Text with EEA relevance) (notified under document number C(2004) 1310)
Date: 2004-04-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: United States, animal disease, health certificate, import restriction, originating product, poultry

21.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 114/19

II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 6 April 2004

concerning protection measures in relation to highly pathogenic avian influenza in the United
States of America

(notified under document number C(2004) 1310)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2004/363/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 91/496/EEC of 15 July
1991 laying down the principles governing the organisation of
veterinary checks on animals entering the Community from
third countries and amending Directives 89/662/EEC, 90/425/
EEC and 90/675/EEC (1), and in particular Article 18(6) and (7)
thereof,

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 (2), and in particular Article 22(1) and (6)
thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Avian influenza is a highly contagious viral disease in
poultry and birds, which can quickly take epizootic
proportions liable to present a serious threat to animal
and public health and to reduce sharply the profitability
of poultry farming.

There is a risk that the disease agent might be intro-
duced via international trade in live poultry and poultry
products.

On 23 February 2004 the United States of America have
confirmed one outbreak of highly pathogenic avian
influenza in a poultry flock in the State of Texas
(Gonzales County), which has been detected as positive
during surveillance carried out on 17 February 2004.

(1) OJ L 268, 24.9.1991, p. 56, as last amended by Directive 96/43/EC

(OJ L 162, 1.7.1996, p. 1).

(2) OJ L 24, 31.1.1998, p. 9.

(4)

(5)

(6)

This detected avian influenza virus strain is of subtype
H5N2 and therefore different from the strain currently
causing the
in Asia. Current knowledge
suggests that the risk for public health in relation to this
subtype is inferior to the risk of the strain circulating in
Asia, which is an H5N1 virus subtype.

epidemic

imports of

and meat products

in view of the animal health risk of disease
However,
introduction into the Community,
live
poultry, ratites, farmed and wild feathered game birds
and hatching eggs of these species and of fresh meat of
poultry, ratites, wild and farmed feathered game, meat
preparations
consisting of, or
containing meat of those species, obtained from birds
slaughtered after 27 January 2004, and imports of eggs
for human consumption, have been suspended from the
United States of America as of 25 February 2004 by
Commission Decisions 2004/187/EC (3), 2004/256/
EC (4), and by Decision 2004/274/EC (5) of 23 March
2004.

Commission Decision 94/984/EC of 20 December 1994
laying down animal health conditions and veterinary
certificates for the importation of
fresh poultrymeat
from certain third countries (6), Commission Decision
96/482/EC of 12 July 1996 laying down animal health
conditions and veterinary certificates for the importation
of poultry and hatching eggs other than ratites and eggs
from third countries including animal health
thereof
such importation (7),
measures
Commission Decision 2000/585/EC drawing up a list

to be applied after

(3) OJ L 57, 25.2.2004, p. 35.
(4) OJ L 80, 18.3.2004, p. 31.
(5) OJ L 86, 24.3.2004, p. 27.
(6) OJ L 378, 31.12.1994, p. 11. Decision as last amended by Decision

2004/118/EC (OJ L 36, 7.2.2004, p. 34).

(7) OJ L 196, 7.8.1996, p. 13. Decision as last amended by Decision

2004/118/EC.

L 114/20

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

21.4.2004

thereof

from third countries

from which Member States authorise imports of rabbit
meat and certain wild and farmed game meat, and laying
down the animal and public health and the veterinary
certification conditions for such imports (1), Commission
Decision 2000/609/EC of 29 September 2000 laying
down animal and public health conditions and veter-
inary certification for imports of farmed ratite meat (2)
and Commission Decision 2001/751/EC of 16 October
2001 laying down animal health conditions and veter-
inary certification for imports of live ratites and hatching
including animal
eggs
health measures to be applied after such importation,
amending Commission Decision 95/233/EC drawing up
a list of third countries from which the Member States
authorise imports of live poultry and hatching eggs and
amending Commission Decision 96/659/EC on protec-
tive measures in relation to Crimean Congo haemor-
rhagic fever (3) respectively require that the veterinary
the United States of America, before
authorities of
live ratites
dispatching live poultry and hatching eggs,
and hatching eggs, fresh meat of poultry, ratites, farmed
and wild feathered game certify that the United States of
America are free from avian influenza. The veterinary
authorities of the United States of America had therefore
to suspend all certification following that outbreak.

(7)

(8)

The certificates for meat products and meat preparations
consisting of or containing poultry meat are laid down
in Commission Decision 97/221/EC of 28 February
1997 laying down the animal health conditions and
model veterinary certificates in respect of imports of
meat products from third countries and revoking Deci-
sion 91/449/EEC (4) and Commission Decision 2000/
572/EC of 8 September 2000 laying down animal and
public health conditions and veterinary certification for
imports of minced meat and meat preparations from
third countries and repealing Decision 97/29/EC (5) and
make reference to the animal health requirements set
out in Decision 94/984/EC for fresh poultrymeat.

Commission Decision 97/222/EC (6), lays down the list
of
third countries from which Member States may
authorise the importation of meat products, and estab-
lishes treatment regimes in order to prevent the risk of
disease transmission via such products. The treatment
that must be applied to the product depends on the
health status of the country of origin, in relation to the
species the meat is obtained from; in order to avoid an

(1) OJ L 251, 6.10.2000, p. 1. Decision as last amended by Decision

2004/245/EC, (OJ L 77, 13.3.2004, p. 62).

(2) OJ L 258, 12.10.2000, p. 49. Decision as last amended by Decision

2004/118/EC.

(3) OJ L 281, 25.10.2001, p. 24. Decision as last amended by Decision

2004/118/EC.

(4) OJ L 89, 4.4.1997, p. 32.
(5) OJ L 240, 23.9.2000, p. 19. Decision as last amended by Decision

2004/212/EC (OJ L 73, 11.3.2004, p. 11).

(6) OJ L 98, 4.4.1997, p. 39, Decision as last amended by Decision

2003/826/EC (OJ L 311, 27.11.2003, p. 29).

(9)

(10)

(11)

imports of poultrymeat
unnecessary burden on trade,
products originating in the United States of America
least 70 °Celsius
treated to a temperature of at
throughout
to be
continue
should
authorised.

the product

Sanitary control measures applicable to raw material for
the manufacture of animal feedingstuffs and pharmaceu-
tical or technical products allow the exclusion from the
scope of this Decision of channelled imports of such
products.

The United States of America have signed an Agreement
with the European Community on sanitary measures to
protect public and animal health in trade in live animals
and animal products (7).

The United States of America have communicated addi-
tional information on the epidemiological situation and
the control measures taken to confine the disease, with a
view to obtain the implementation by the Community
of
in accordance with the
provisions in the Veterinary Agreement; in the light of
this information, Community measures can be reduced
to Texas, only.

regionalisation measures

(12) Decision 2004/274/EC should be repealed.

(13)

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

1. Member States shall only authorise the importation from
the United States of America of live poultry and hatching eggs
thereof,
live ratites and hatching eggs thereof, fresh meat of
poultry, ratites, farmed and wild feathered game, meat products
and meat preparations consisting of or containing meat of any
of those species and of eggs for human consumption, if they
originate in, or come from, the region of the United States of
America as described in the Annex.

2.
Imports of the products referred to in paragraph 1 origin-
ating in, or coming from, other parts of the United States of
America shall be prohibited.

(7) Council Decision 98/258/EC (OJ L 118, 21.4.1998, p. 1).

21.4.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 114/21

Article 2

(d) ‘Meat preparation in accordance with Commission

By derogation from Article 1(2), Member States shall authorise
the importation of the following:

(a) meat products, consisting of, or containing meat of poultry,
ratites, farmed and wild feathered game, when the meat of
these species has undergone one of the specific treatments
referred to under points B, C or D in Part IV of the Annex
to Decision 97/222/EC;

(b) fresh meat of poultry, ratites, farmed and wild feathered
game, meat products and meat preparations consisting of
or containing meat of these species, provided that the meat
was obtained from birds slaughtered before 27 January
2004.

Decision 2004/363/EC’;

(e) ‘Fresh meat of farmed/wild (delete as appropriate) feath-
ered game in accordance with Commission Decision
2004/363/EC’;

(f) ‘Fresh ratite meat in accordance with Commission Deci-

sion 2004/363/EC’;

(g) ‘Live ratites or hatching eggs

in accordance with

Commission Decision 2004/363/EC’;

2. Member States shall verify that those animal health certifi-
cates certify the freedom from avian influenza with the regional
code ‘US-1’ being inserted.

Article 3

Article 4

In the veterinary certificates accompanying consignments

1.
of the products mentioned in Article 2, provided by:

(a) Decision 94/984/EC, for fresh poultry meat originating in

the United States of America;

(b) Decision 94/482/EC,

for live poultry or hatching eggs

originating in the United States of America;

(c) Decision 97/221/EC, for meat products consisting of or
containing meat of poultry, ratites and farmed or wild
feathered game originating in the United States of America;

(d) Decision 2000/572/EC, for meat preparations consisting of
or containing meat of poultry, ratites and farmed and wild
feathered game originating in the United States of America;

(e) Decision 2000/585/EC, for fresh meat of farmed and wild
feathered game originating in the United States of America;

(f) Decision 2000/609/EC, for fresh ratite meat originating in

the United States of America;

(g) Decision 2001/751/EC for live ratites or their hatching

eggs originating in the United States of America;

the following words as appropriate to the species and products
concerned shall be inserted respectively:

(a) ‘Fresh poultrymeat

in accordance with Commission

Decision 2004/363/EC’;

(b) ‘Live poultry or hatching eggs in accordance with

Commission Decision 2004/363/EC’;

(c) ‘Meat products in accordance with Commission Deci-

sion 2004/363/EC’;

Member States shall amend the measures they apply to imports
to make them comply with this Decision. They shall give
immediate appropriate publicity to the measures adopted.

They shall immediately inform the Commission thereof.

Article 5

This Decision shall be reviewed in the light of the evolution of
the avian influenza situation in the United States of America.

Decision 2004/274/EC is repealed.

Article 6

This Decision shall apply until 23 August 2004.

Article 7

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Article 8

Done at Brussels, 6 April 2004.

For the Commission

David BYRNE

Member of the Commission

US-1:

The territory of the United States of America except for the State of Texas.

ANNEX