2007/563/EC: Commission Decision of 1 August 2007 amending Decision 2006/504/EC on special conditions governing certain foodstuffs imported from certain third countries due to contamination risks of these products by aflatoxins as regards almonds and derived products originating in or consigned from the United States of America (notified under document number C(2007) 3613) (Text with EEA relevance )
Date: 2007-08-01
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: United States, dried product, food inspection, foodstuff, health certificate, import, nut, originating product

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Official Journal of the European Union

18.8.2007

(Acts adopted under the EC Treaty/Euratom Treaty whose publication is not obligatory)

II

DECISIONS

COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 1 August 2007

amending Decision 2006/504/EC on special conditions governing certain foodstuffs imported from
certain third countries due to contamination risks of these products by aflatoxins as regards
almonds and derived products originating in or consigned from the United States of America

(notified under document number C(2007) 3613)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2007/563/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European
Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down
the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing
the European Food Safety Authority
and laying down
food safety (1), and in particular
procedures in matters of
Article 53 (1)(b)(ii) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Commission Decision 2006/504/EC (2) establishes special
conditions governing certain foodstuffs imported from
certain third countries due to contamination risks of
these products by aflatoxins.

The Scientific Committee for Food has noted that
aflatoxin B1 is a potent genotoxic carcinogen and, even
at extremely low levels, contributes to the risk of liver
cancer. Commission Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 of
19 December 2006 setting maximum levels for certain

(3)

(4)

in foodstuffs (3)

lays down permitted
contaminants
maximum levels of aflatoxins in foodstuffs. However, in
2005 and 2006 an increasing number of notifications
through the Rapid Alert System for Feed and Food
(RASFF) indicated that those maximum levels have been
regularly exceeded in almonds and derived products from
the United States of America.

Such contamination constitutes a threat to public health
in the Community. It is therefore appropriate to adopt
special measures at Community level.

in

to

for

export

almonds

The Commission Food and Veterinary Office (FVO)
carried out a mission in the United States of America
from 11 to 15 September 2006 to assess the control
systems in place to prevent aflatoxin contamination
levels
the
intended
Community (4). That mission revealed the absence of
any compulsory legal requirements to control aflatoxin
levels in almond production and processing and the
inadequacy of the current control system to offer guar-
antees concerning the compliance of exported products
with Community standards. Furthermore, it showed the
the laboratories visited to provide any
inadequacy of
guarantees
to
comply with almost all aspects of EN ISO/IEC 17025
on ‘General requirements for the competence of testing
and calibration laboratories’.

for exports and demonstrated failures

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

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

(2) OJ L 199, 21.7.2006, p. 21. Decision as amended by Decision

2007/459/EC (OJ L 174, 4.7.2007, p. 8).

(3) OJ L 364, 20.12.2006, p. 5.
(4) Report of a mission carried out in the United States of America from
11 to 15 September 2006 in order to assess the control systems in
place to control aflatoxin contamination in almonds intended for
export to the European Union (DG (SANCO)/8300/2006 — MR).

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(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

provide

insufficient
future

those shortcomings. However,
is

In response to that FVO report, the United States of
America announced its intention to undertake action to
the proposed
address
guarantees
action
for
almonds with
compliance of
Community legislation on aflatoxins,
in particular due
to the voluntary nature of the aflatoxin control system.
It is therefore appropriate to subject almonds and derived
products originating in or consigned from the United
to
States of America to strict conditions
provide a high level of protection to public health.

to
shipments of

in order

and derived products

In the interest of public health, all consignments of
imported into the
almonds
Community from the United States of America should
be subjected to sampling and analysis for aflatoxin levels
by the competent authority of the importing Member
State, prior to release onto the market insofar as they
are not covered by the Voluntary Aflatoxin Sampling
Plan set up by the Almond Board of California in May
2006 (VASP). The consignments covered by the VASP
should be accompanied by a health certificate and made
subject to random sampling and analysis at the point of
import
into the Community. The measures will be
reviewed within one year on the basis of the reports
guarantees
by
and additional
provided by the competent authorities of
the United
States of America.

the Member

States

Decision 2006/504/EC should therefore be amended
accordingly.

The measures provided for
accordance with
Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

in this Decision are in
Standing
the

opinion

the

of

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Decision 2006/504/EC is amended as follows:

Article 1

1.

in Article 1:

points (b) to (g), where they are present therein in
a quantity of at least 10 %:’;

— the following points (f) and (g) are added:

‘(f) The

following

foodstuffs originating

in or
consigned from the United States of America,
which are covered by the Voluntary Aflatoxin
Sampling Plan set up by the Almond Board of
California in May 2006 (the Voluntary Aflatoxin
Sampling Plan):

(i) almonds in shell or shelled falling within CN

code 0802 11 or 0802 12;

(ii) roasted almonds falling within CN codes
2008 19 13 (in immediate packings of a
net
and
exceeding
2008 19 93 (in immediate packings of a
net content not exceeding 1 kg);

content

kg)

1

(iii) mixtures of nuts or dried fruits falling within
CN code 0813 50 and containing almonds;

(g) The following foodstuffs

imported from the
United States of America, which are not
covered by the Voluntary Aflatoxin Sampling
Plan:

(i) almonds in shell or shelled falling within CN

code 0802 11 or 0802 12;

(ii) roasted almonds falling within CN codes
2008 19 13 (in immediate packings of a
net
and
exceeding
2008 19 93 (in immediate packings of a
net content not exceeding 1 kg);

content

kg)

1

(iii) mixtures of nuts or dried fruits falling within
CN code 0813 50 and containing almonds.’;

(a)

the first paragraph is replaced by the following:

2.

in Article 3:

‘This Decision shall apply to the foodstuffs referred to in
points (a) to (g) and to processed and compound food-
stuffs derived from or containing a significant amount of
the foodstuffs referred to in points (b) to (g). However, it
shall not apply to consignments of foodstuffs with a
gross weight not exceeding 5 kg.’;

(b) in the second paragraph:

— the first sentence is replaced by the following:

‘Foodstuffs
shall be considered as containing a
significant amount of the foodstuffs referred to in

(a)

in the first paragraph, the following point (f) is added:

‘(f) the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
for foodstuffs from the United States of America.’;

(b) the following paragraph 8 is added:

‘8.
By way of derogation from paragraphs 1 to 6,
consignments of foodstuffs referred to in point (g) of
the second paragraph of Article 1 may be imported
into the Community without being accompanied by
the results of sampling and analysis and a health certi-
ficate.’;

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3.

in Article 5, paragraph 2, the following points (f) and (g) are
added:

5. Article 8 is replaced by the following:

‘(f) approximately 5 % of

foodstuffs
from the United States of America, referred to in point
(f) of the second paragraph of Article 1;

the consignments of

(g) each consignment of foodstuffs from the United States of
America, referred to in point (g) of the second paragraph
of Article 1.’;

4. the following Article 7a is inserted:

‘Article 7a

Additional conditions as regards imports of foodstuffs
from the United States of America

1.
As regards imports from the United States of America,
the analysis provided for in Article 3(1) must be performed
by an USDA approved laboratory for aflatoxin analysis or a
laboratory undergoing the USDA approval process, which
has been accredited in accordance with EN ISO/IEC 17025.

However, where the laboratory has not yet been so
accredited, it must:

(a) have initiated and be pursuing the necessary accredi-

tation procedures; and

‘Article 8

Costs related to imports of foodstuffs from Brazil, Iran
and the United States of America

1.
All costs resulting from sampling, analysis, storage and
issuing of accompanying official documents and of copies of
the health certificate and accompanying documents pursuant
to Articles 3(1) and 5(3) for foodstuffs from Brazil, Iran and
the United States of America as referred to in points (a), (d)
and (g) of
the second paragraph of Article 1 and to
processed and compound foodstuffs derived from or
containing the foodstuffs referred to in those points shall
be borne by the food business operator responsible for the
consignment or its representative.

as

authorities

non-compliance

2.
All costs related to official measures taken by the
of
competent
regards
consignments of foodstuffs referred to in points (a) to (g)
of the second paragraph of Article 1 and to processed and
compound foodstuffs derived from or containing the food-
stuffs referred to in these points shall be borne by the food
business operator responsible for the consignment or its
representative.’

This Decision shall apply from 1 September 2007.

Article 2

This Decision is not applicable to consignments of almonds and
derived products which left the United States of America before
1 September 2007.

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Article 3

(b) provide sufficient guarantees that quality control schemes
for the aflatoxin analyses it conducts are in place.

Done at Brussels, 1 August 2007.

The health certificate provided for

in Article 3(1)
2.
accompanying consignments of
foodstuffs referred to in
point (f) of the second paragraph of Article 1 shall make a
reference to the Voluntary Aflatoxin Sampling Plan.’;

For the Commission

Markos KYPRIANOU
Member of the Commission