Commission Regulation (EC) No 1041/2006 of  7 July 2006  amending Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards monitoring of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in ovine animals   (Text with EEA relevance)
Date: 2006-07-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU control, animal disease, disease prevention, goat, health control, public health, sheep

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Official Journal of the European Union

8.7.2006

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1041/2006

of 7 July 2006

amending Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council
as regards monitoring of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in ovine animals

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

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), and in particular
the first paragraph of Article 23 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 lays down rules for the
monitoring of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies
(TSE) in ovine animals.

by

chaired

On 8 March 2006, a panel of experts on TSEs in small
ruminants,
the Community Reference
Laboratory for TSEs (CRL), confirmed that bovine spon-
giform encephalopathy (BSE) in those animals cannot be
excluded following the results of the second stage of
discriminatory testing of brain samples of
two sheep
from France and one sheep from Cyprus. Further
testing is required in order to exclude the presence of
BSE in such animals.

In April 2002, the former Scientific Steering Committee
of the European Commission (SSC) adopted an opinion
on safe sourcing of small ruminant materials should BSE
become likely in small ruminants.
In its opinion of
November 2003,
the Scientific Panel on Biological
Hazards of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
endorsed the recommendations of the SSC opinion with
regard to the TSE-related safety of certain small ruminant
products.

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

(10)

in line with the SSC and EFSA opinions, the monitoring
of sheep should be extended in order to improve the
Community eradication programmes. Those programmes
also increase the level of consumer protection,
in
addition to the safe sourcing of sheep products assured
by the current measures, in particular the provisions on
the removal of specified risk materials, in Regulation (EC)
No 999/2001.

The extended monitoring should be based on a statis-
tically valid survey in order to determine the likely
prevalence of BSE in sheep as soon as possible and to
improve knowledge of the geographical distribution of
the disease.

In view of the high level of TSEs in the ovine and caprine
population in Cyprus the extended monitoring of ovine
animals can be limited to non-infected flocks.

The monitoring programme in ovine animals should be
reviewed after at least six months of effective monitoring.

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

In order to ensure the highest possible level of consumer
protection by assessing the possible prevalence of BSE in
ovine animals, the amendments made by this Regulation
should enter into force without delay.

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

opinion

the

the

of

(4)

The significance of those TSE cases in France and Cyprus,
where the presence of BSE cannot be excluded should be
assessed. In order to do so, the results of an increased
monitoring of TSEs in sheep is essential. Therefore, and

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

(1) OJ L 147, 31.5.2001, p. 1. Regulation as

last amended by
Commission Regulation (EC) No 688/2006 (OJ L 120, 5.5.2006,
p. 10).

Annex III
accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 is amended in

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

Article 2

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

Done at Brussels, 7 July 2006.

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU
Member of the Commission

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Official Journal of the European Union

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ANNEX

In Part II of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 points 2 and 3 of Chapter A are replaced by the following:

‘2. Monitoring in ovine and caprine animals slaughtered for human consumption

(a) Ovine animals

Member States shall test healthy slaughtered ovine animals in accordance with the minimum sample sizes listed in
Table A of this point and the sampling rules set out in point 4.

Member State

Germany

Greece

Spain

France

Ireland

Italy

the Netherlands

Austria

Poland

Portugal

United Kingdom

Other Member States

Table A

Minimum sample size in healthy slaughtered
ovine animals (1)

37 500

23 000

41 800

42 400

40 500

43 700

23 300

14 300

23 300

14 300

44 000

all

(1) Minimum sample sizes are set to take account of the size of the number of healthy slaughtered ovine animals and are intended
to provide achievable targets. The minimum sample sizes above 30 000 allow the detection of a prevalence of 0,003 % with a
95 % confidence.

By way of derogation from the minimum sample sizes listed in Table A Cyprus may decide to test only a
minimum of two ovine animals sent for slaughter for human consumption from every flock where no TSE cases
have been registered.

(b) Caprine animals

Member States shall test healthy slaughtered caprine animals in accordance with the minimum sample sizes listed
in Table B of this point and the sampling rules set out in point 4.

Table B

Member State

Minimum sample size in healthy slaughtered
caprine animals (1)

Greece

Spain

France

Italy

Cyprus

Austria

Other Member States

20 000

125 500

93 000

60 000

5 000

5 000

all

(1) Minimum sample sizes are set to take account of the size of the number of healthy slaughtered caprine animals and the
prevalence of BSE in the individual Member State. They are also intended to provide achievable targets. The minimum sample
sizes above 60 000 allow the detection of a prevalence of 0,0017 % with a 95 % confidence.

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(c) Where a Member State experiences difficulty in collecting sufficient numbers of healthy slaughtered ovine or
caprine animals to reach its allotted minimum sample size established in points (a) and (b), it may choose to
replace a maximum of 50 % of its minimum sample size by testing dead ovine or caprine animals over the age of
18 months at the ratio of one to one and in addition to the minimum sample size set out in point 3. In addition
a Member State may choose to replace a maximum of 10 % of its minimum sample size by testing ovine or
caprine animals killed in the framework of a disease eradication campaign over the age of 18 months at the ratio
of one to one.

3. Monitoring in ovine and caprine animals not slaughtered for human consumption

Member States shall test in accordance with the sampling rules set out in point 4 and the minimum sample sizes
indicated in Table C and Table D, ovine and caprine animals which have died or been killed, but which were not:

— killed in the framework of a disease eradication campaign, or

— slaughtered for human consumption.

Table C

Member State population of ewes and ewe lambs put to
the ram

Minimum sample size of dead ovine animals (1)

> 750 000

100 000-750 000

40 000-100 000

< 40 000

20 000

3 000

100 % up to 1 000

100 % up to 200

(1) Minimum sample sizes are set to take account of the size of the ovine and caprine populations in the individual Member States

and are intended to provide achievable targets.

Member State population of goats which have already
kidded and goats mated

Minimum sample size of dead caprine animals (1)

Table D

> 750 000

250 000-750 000

40 000-250 000

< 40 000

10 000

3 000

100 % up to 1 000

100 % up to 200

(1) Minimum sample sizes are set to take account of the size of the ovine and caprine populations in the individual Member States

and are intended to provide achievable targets.’