Commission Regulation (EC) No 1635/2006 of 6 November 2006 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: 2006-11-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: food contamination, food inspection, import, mushroom-growing, nuclear accident, originating product, third country

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1635/2006

of 6 November 2006

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

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

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
the Chernobyl nuclear power-station (1), and in
accident at
particular Article 6 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

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 (2) has been amended several times.
Since further amendments are to be made, it should be
recast in the interests of clarity, as provided for in the
simplification rolling programme
to the
Communication of the Commission on a strategy for
the simplification of the regulatory environment (3).

annexed

The fallout of radiocaesium from the accident at the
Chernobyl power
station on 26 April 1986 has
affected a wide range of third countries. Repeated cases
of non compliance with the maximum permitted levels
radioactive contamination have been recorded in
of
consignments of certain types of mushrooms imported
from a number of third countries.

Similar fallout has affected certain parts of the territories
of some Member States.

Forest and wooded areas generally are the natural habitat
of uncultivated mushrooms and such ecosystems tend to
retain radiocaesium in a cyclic exchange between soil and
vegetation.

(1) OJ L 82, 29.3.1990, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation

(EC) No 806/2003 (OJ L 122, 16.5.2003, p. 1.)

As a result, the continuous radiocaesium contamination
of uncultivated mushrooms has, in the period since the
Chernobyl accident, hardly declined and may well have
increased in the case of certain species.

the Commission carried out an assessment,
In 1986,
risks on human
subsequently updated, of possible
health from foodstuffs
contaminated by radioactive
caesium. That assessment of possible risks is still valid
today, taking into account the physical radioactive period
of
the
maximum permitted level conforms in essence to the
level
the Codex Alimentarius
Commission.

the substance in question, and,

recommended

in addition,

by

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

the

establishing

European
Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of
Parliament and of
the Council of 28 January 2002
laying down the general principles and requirements of
food law,
the European Food Safety
Authority and laying down procedures in matters of
food safety (4) set up a rapid alert system for information
on a direct or indirect risk to human health deriving
from food or
system should apply by
analogy to the notification of recorded cases of non-
compliance with the provisions on maximum permitted
levels under this Regulation.

feed. That

The measures in situ in the territories of the Member
States 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,
in terms of equivalence of result, equal to those
are,
enacted in this Regulation. The Commission is taking
all the necessary measures to ensure that the Member
States comply effectively with their legal obligations in
the Commission made a
this
recommendation to the Member States on 14 April
2003 on the protection and information of the public
with regard to exposure resulting from the continued
radioactive caesium contamination of certain wild food
the
products as a consequence of
Chernobyl nuclear power station (5).

the accident at

In particular,

respect.

(2) OJ L 197, 29.7.1999, p. 17. Regulation as last amended by the

(4) OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission

2003 Act of Accession.
(3) COM(2005) 535 final.

Regulation (EC) No 575/2006 (OJ L 100, 8.4.2006, p. 3).

(5) OJ L 99, 17.4.2003, p. 55.

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(10)

(11)

(12)

(13)

(14)

(15)

the provisions for sampling and analysis of
Even if
various agricultural products merit future consideration,
the
to strengthen those
provisions with respect to mushrooms.

requirement

immediate

is

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 products
are released for free circulation and at the latest at that time.

In order to allow more efficient controls,
is, as a
consequence, necessary to identify a restricted number
of customs offices where certain products may be
declared for free circulation in the Community.

it

Checks shall be carried out by sampling in accordance

2.
with the following minimum standards:

The lists of customs offices and of third countries can be
inter alia,
reviewed as appropriate, taking into account,
future compliance with the maximum permitted levels
information allowing the Commission to
and other
there is a need to maintain a third
judge whether
country on the list.

(a) without prejudice to paragraph 3(b),

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 characteristics
of the products in question, the results of the previous
checks and the export certificates referred to in Article 3;

the choice of

For the same reason it is appropriate that export certi-
ficates, as referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EEC) No
737/90, be provided for each consignment of such
products.

(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.

It is appropriate that the competent authorities of the
Member States be authorised, at their discretion, 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.

the Community,

The provisions of this Regulation are in accordance with
the international obligations of
in
particular those resulting from the agreements estab-
lishing the World Trade Organisation,
taking into
account
the Community to adopt and
apply measures that are necessary to achieve the level
of health protection chosen in the territory of
its
Member States.

the right of

3.
Checks on specific products
accordance with the following rules:

shall be carried out

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 Regu-
lation (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
maximum permitted levels have not been exceeded;

checks have

shown that

those

(16)

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

equivalent

(b) for products listed in Annex I, originating in third countries
listed in Annex II, documentary checks shall be performed
on the basis of
the duly completed export certificates
referred to in Article 3 accompanying each consignment.
fresh product or
Each consignment exceeding 10 kg of
the
to systematic
shall be
thereof
sampling and analysis, taking appropriate account of the
information contained in the export certificate. These
products may only be declared for free circulation in the
Member State of destination in a restricted number of
shall be
customs offices. The list of customs offices
published in the Official
the European Union,
following notification by the Member States.

Journal of

subject

1.
Checks on the radiocaesium content referred to in Article
3 of Regulation (EEC) No 737/90 of products referred to in

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

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is observed in respect of

4. Where failure to comply with the maximum permitted
levels
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 Community will be forwarded to the
customs authority which refused the release for free circulation.

a given product,

5.
For the products referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article,
the competent authorities may levy charges on the importer for
the sampling and analysis of products for compliance with
Regulation (EEC) No 737/90. For consignments 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 50 of
Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 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 means of
transport, the exporter and the decision taken in respect of
the lots in question.

the goods,

The Commission shall inform the Member States without
3.
delay of recorded cases of non-compliance with the maximum
permitted levels through the Community rapid alert system
established pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 178/2002.

Article 3

1.
The Member States shall ensure that the export certificates
issued by the competent authorities of third countries listed in
Annex II 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 III.

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.

Article 4

Regulation (EC) No 1661/1999 is repealed.

References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as
references to this Regulation.

Article 5

2. Member States shall inform the Commission of the bodies
assigned to implement checks.

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publi-
cation 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, 6 November 2006.

For the Commission

Andris PIEBALGS
Member of the Commission

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ANNEX I

List of products for which the provisions of Article 1(3)(b) shall be fulfilled

CN codes:

ex 0709 59

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 59 00

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 39 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 90 00

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

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ANNEX II

List of third countries referred to in Article 3

Albania

Belarus

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Croatia

Liechtenstein

Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

Moldova

Montenegro

Norway

Romania

Russia

Serbia

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

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ANNEX III

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

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