REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL ON FOOD INGREDIENTS TREATED WITH IONISING RADIATION FOR THE YEAR 2012
Date: 2014-02-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU Member State, disclosure of information, food additive, food inspection, foodstuff, ionising radiation, irradiated product













EUR-Lex - 52014DC0052 - EN











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52014DC0052

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL ON FOOD INGREDIENTS TREATED WITH IONISING RADIATION FOR THE YEAR 2012 /* COM/2014/052 final */









REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL
ON FOOD INGREDIENTS TREATED WITH IONISING
RADIATION FOR THE YEAR 2012
1.       Introduction
The current report, as requested by Article
7(4) of Directive 1999/2/EC, covers the period from 1 January 2012 to
31 December 2012. It contains a compilation of the information forwarded
to the Commission by 27 Member States.
2.       Legal basis and background
Article 7(3) of Directive 1999/2/EC of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 February 1999 on the
approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning foods and food
ingredients treated with ionising radiation[1],
requires Member States to forward to the Commission every year:
–         
the results of checks carried out in irradiation
facilities, in particular regarding the categories and quantities of food and
food ingredients treated and the doses administered
and
–         
the results of checks carried out at the product
marketing stage and the methods used to detect treatment with ionising
radiation.
Article 7(4) of the Directive requires the
Commission to publish in the Official Journal of the European Union 
–         
the details of the approved irradiation
facilities in the Member States as well as any changes in their status;
–         
a report on the information provided by the
national supervisory authorities.
Information on general aspects of food
irradiation is available on the website of the European Commission’s
Directorate-General for Health and Consumer[2].
2.1.      Irradiation facilities
According to Article 3(2) of Directive 1999/2/EC,
food and food ingredients may be irradiated only in approved irradiation
facilities. For facilities in the EU, approval is given by the competent
authorities of the Member States. Article 7(3) requires Member States to inform
the Commission on the list of their approved irradiation facilities.
Irradiation of food
and food ingredients may only be carried out by means of the following sources:
–         
Gamma rays from radionuclides 60Co or
137Cs;
–         
X-rays generated from machine sources operated
at or below a nominal energy (maximum quantum energy) level of 5 MeV;
–         
Electrons generated from machine sources
operated at or below a nominal energy (maximum quantum energy) level of 10 MeV.
The list of approved irradiation
facilities in Member States is publicly available as it was published by the
Commission[3].
2.2.      Irradiated food and food ingredients
The irradiation of dried aromatic herbs,
spices and vegetable seasonings is authorised at EU level by Directive 1999/3/EC
of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 February 1999 on
the establishment of a Community list of food and food ingredients treated with
ionising radiation[4].
In addition, seven Member States have notified to the Commission that they
maintain national authorisations for certain food and food ingredients in
accordance with Article 4(4) of Directive 1999/2/EC. The list of
national authorisations has been published by the Commission[5].
Any irradiated foodstuff containing one or
more irradiated food ingredient must be labelled with the words “irradiated” or
“treated with ionising radiation”. If an irradiated product is used as an
ingredient in a compound food, the same words shall accompany its designation
in the list of ingredients. In the case of products sold in bulk, these words
shall appear together with the name of the product on a display or notice above
or beside the container in which the products are placed.
To enforce correct labelling or to detect
non-authorised products, several analytical methods have been standardised by
the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN), following a mandate given by
the European Commission.
3.       Results of checks carried
out in irradiation facilities and doses administered
This section of the report deals with the
results of the checks carried out in irradiation facilities, in particular
regarding categories and quantities of products treated and doses administered.
According to the information submitted by the Member States, the controls
carried out by the competent authorities confirmed the compliance of the
approved irradiation facilities with the requirements of
Directive 1999/2/EC.
The following tables and figures show the
results of checks carried out in the approved irradiation facilities in EU
Member States in 2012, in particular regarding the categories and quantities of
food and food ingredients treated and the doses administered.
3.1.      Summary for the EU
The following table summarises the
quantities of foodstuffs (in tonnes) treated by ionising radiation in the approved
irradiation facilities within the European Union: 
 Member State || Number of approved facilities || Treated quantity (tonnes) 
 Belgium || 1 ||  5157,7 
 Bulgaria || 2 ||  No food irradiated 
 Czech Republic || 1 || 23.8 
 Germany || 4 || 125.8 
 Estonia || 1 || 33.7 
 Spain || 2* || 326.6 
 France || 5 || 612.9 
 Italy || 1 ||  No food irradiated 
 Hungary || 1 || 124.9 
 Netherlands || 2 || 1476.0 
 Poland || 2 || 89.0 
 Romania || 1 || 1.6 
 United Kingdom || 1 ||  No food irradiated 
 Total: || 24 || 7972.1 
*       No
food was irradiated in one of these facilities.
The following figure
summarises the quantities of foodstuffs (in tonnes) treated by ionising
radiation in approved irradiation facilities within the European Union in 2012:
There are no
approved facilities in the following Member States: Denmark, Ireland, Greece, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Austria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, Portugal.
3.2.      Belgium
 Foodstuffs || Absorbed dose (kGy) 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 5 - 9 
 Dehydrated blood, plasma, coagulates || 2 - 4 
 Frozen frog legs || 2.7 - 5.5 
 Frozen peeled or decapitated shrimps || 2 - 7 
 Poultry || 2 - 6.1 
3.3.      Czech Republic
 Foodstuffs || Absorbed dose (kGy) 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 5.77 - 9.82 
 Dried vegetables and fruits || 5.66 - 6.55 
3.4.      Germany
 Foodstuffs || Absorbed dose (kGy) 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetables seasoning (dried) || <10 
3.5.      Estonia
 Foodstuffs || Absorbed dose (kGy) 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 10 
3.6.      Spain
 Foodstuffs || Absorbed dose (kGy) 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 9.09 
3.7.      France 
 Foodstuffs || Absorbed dose (kGy) 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 10 
 Frozen frog legs || 5 
 Gum arabic || 3 
 Poultry || 5 
3.8.      Hungary
 Foodstuffs || Absorbed dose (kGy) 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 2 - 10 
3.9.      Netherlands
 Foodstuffs || Absorbed dose (kGy) 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 6.9 
 Chicken meat || 3.8 
 Dried vegetables and fruits || 3 
 Egg white || 1 
 Frozen frog legs || 4 
 Shrimps || 3.2 
3.10.    Poland
 Foodstuffs || Absorbed dose (kGy) 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 5 - 10 
3.11.    Romania
 Foodstuffs || Absorbed dose (kGy) 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 8 
4.       Results of checks carried
out at the product marketing stage and methods used to detect irradiated foods
The following
tables show the results of the checks carried out at the product marketing
stage and the methods used to detect treatment with ionising radiation.
4.1.      Summary for the EU
The following
table summarises the samples analysed and the results obtained for the European
Union as a whole:
 Member State || Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant || Total samples || % Versus EU total samples 
 BE || 89 || 18 || 3 || 110 || 2,1% 
 BG || 47 || 0 || 2 || 49 || 0,9% 
 CZ || 23 || 7 || 0 || 30 || 0,6% 
 DK || NCP || NCP || NCP || NCP ||   
 DE || 2676 || 27 || 13 || 2716 || 52,4% 
 EE || NCP || NCP || NCP || NCP ||   
 IE || 78 || 0 || 0 || 78 || 1,5% 
 EL || NCP || NCP || NCP || NCP ||   
 ES || 139 || 1 || 0 || 140 || 2,7% 
 FR || 46 || 5 || 3 || 54 || 1,0% 
 IT || 281 || 3 || 7 || 291 || 5,6% 
 CY || NCP || NCP || NCP || NCP ||   
 LV || 6 || 0 || 5 || 11 || 0,2% 
 LT || 63 || 0 || 20 || 83 || 1,6% 
 LU || 12 || 0 || 0 || 12 || 0,2% 
 HU || 60 || 0 || 0 || 60 || 1,2% 
 MT || 20 || 0 || 0 || 20 || 0,4% 
 NL || 362 || 0 || 11 || 373 || 7,2% 
 AT || 132 || 0 || 2 || 134 || 2,6% 
 PL || 241 || 1 || 4 || 246 || 4,7% 
 PT || 47 || 0 || 2 || 49 || 0,9% 
 RO || 104 || 0 || 1 || 105 || 2,0% 
 SI || 21 || 0 || 0 || 21 || 0,4% 
 SK || 22 || 1 || 0 || 23 || 0,4% 
 FI || 219 || 4 || 31 || 254 || 4,9% 
 SE || NCP || NCP || NCP || NCP ||   
 UK || 291 || 13 || 19 || 323 || 6,2% 
 Total EU || 4979 || 80 || 123 || 5182 || 100,0% 
 96,1% || 1,5% || 2,4% || 100,0% ||   
NDS: No data
submitted
NCP: No check performed
The following figure
summarises the samples analysed and the results obtained for the European Union
as a whole:
4.2.      Belgium
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 107 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 24 || 1 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Cereal products || 8 || 8 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Food supplements || 14 || 2 || 2* || EN 1788 
 Fruit (dried) || 6 || 3 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Molluscs || 16 || 3 || 1* || EN 1788 
 Mushrooms or mushrooms products (dried) || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Pulses || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Tea || 16 || 1 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Vegetables and vegetable products (dried) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Total: || 89 || 18 || 3 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 83% || 17% || 3% ||   
*       erroneously
labelled
4.3.      Bulgaria
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 49 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 19 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 1787 
 Fish and fish products || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786 
 Fruit (dried) || 5 || 0 || 0 || EN 13708 
 Herbal teas / Infusions || 8 || 0 || 2* || EN 1788;EN 13751;EN 1787 
 Meals and dishes (prepared) || 3 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 1787 
 nuts || 3 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 1787 
 Poultry meat || 5 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786 
 Shrimps || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786 
 Total: || 47 || 0 || 2 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 96% || 0% || 4% ||   
*       erroneously
labelled
4.4.      Czech Republic
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 30 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 7 || 2 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Food supplements || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Garlic || 3 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Herbal teas / Infusions || 3 || 1 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Instant noodles || 6 || 3 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Mushrooms or mushrooms products (dried) || 2 || 1 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Total: || 23 || 7 || 0 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 77% || 23% || 0% ||   
4.5.      Denmark
Due to limited
financial resources no checks were carried out at product marketing stage in
2012.
4.6.      Germany
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 2716 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 1285 || 15 || 4* || EN 1788;EN 13751; EN 1787 
 Butter (seasoned) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;L12.01-1; EN 13751;EN 1787 
 Cereals, seed, vegetables and fruit || 94 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786 
 Cheese (containing spices/herbs) || 41 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788; EN 1787 
 Cheese (preparations without herbs and spices) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788; EN 1787 
 Coffee || 64 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786 
 Crustaceans, shellfish, mussels and other aquatic animals (including their products) || 83 || 1 || 2* || EN 1788; EN 13751 
 Fish and fish products || 121 || 0 || 3** || EN 1788; EN 13751; EN 1786 
 Food supplements || 97 || 9 || 2** || EN 1786 
 Fruit (dried) || 63 || 1 || 1 || EN 1788; L12.01-1; EN 13751 
 Fruits (fresh) || 88 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751; EN 1787; EN 13708 
 Meals and dishes (prepared) || 64 || 1 || 2** || EN 1788; EN 13751; EN 1787 
 Meat || 41 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Meat (except poultry and game) || 61 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788; EN 1786 
 Meat products (except sausages) || 30 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786 
 Mushrooms (fresh) || 51 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784; EN 1786 
 Mushrooms or mushrooms products (dried) || 111 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788; EN 1785;ESR; EN 13751 
 Other || 21 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788; EN 13751; EN 1787 
 Egg and egg products || 16 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788; EN 13751 
 Pulses, oil seeds, nuts || 15 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784 
 Tea, tea like products || 73 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788; EN 13751; EN 1787 
 Potatoes || 30 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788; EN 13751; EN 1787 
 Poultry meat || 40 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788; EN 13751 
 Sauces and soups (dehydrated) || 83 || 0 || 1* || EN 1784; EN 1786 
 Sausage products || 9 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788; EN 13751 
 Vegetables and vegetable products (dried) || 46 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784; EN 1786 
 Vegetables (fresh) || 47 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788; EN 13751; EN 1787 
 Total: || 2676 || 27 || 13 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 98% || 1% || 1% ||   
*       erroneously labelled
**     irradiation
not allowed 
4.7       Estonia
No checks were
carried out at product marketing stage in 2012. 
4.8       Ireland
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 78 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788; EN 13751 
 Food supplements || 4 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788; EN 13751 
 Instant noodles || 9 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788; EN 13751 
 Breadcrumbs || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788; EN 13751 
 Herbs and spices || 29 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788; EN 13751 
 Sauces and soups (dehydrated) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788; EN 13751 
 Seeds || 6 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788; EN 13751 
 Tea || 27 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788; EN 13751 
 Total: || 78 || 0 || 0 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 100% || 0% || 0% ||   
4.9.      Greece
No checks were
carried out at product marketing stage in 2012.
4.10.    Spain
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 140 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 76 || 1 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 13751;EN 1787 
 Fish and fish products || 30 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Herbal teas / Infusions || 8 || 0 || 0 || EN 1787 
 Meat and meat products || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751;EN 1787 
 Mushrooms or mushrooms products (dried) || 9 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Nuts || 6 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786 
 Vegetables (fresh) || 8 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786 
 Total: || 139 || 1 || 0 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 99% || 1% || 0% ||   
4.11.    France
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 54 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 5 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Crustaceans or molluscs (frozen) || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Food supplements || 6 || 3 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Frog legs || 9 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Fruit (dried) || 5 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Herbal teas / Infusions || 5 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Instant noodles || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Mushrooms or mushrooms products (dried) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784 
 Avocado || 2 || 1 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Poultry meat || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786 
 Sauces and soups (dehydrated) || 4 || 1 || 3* || EN 1788 
 Vegetables and vegetable products (dried) || 4 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784 
 Total: || 46 || 5 || 3 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 85% || 9% || 6% ||   
*       erroneously
labelled
4.12.    Italy
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 291 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Aromatic herbs and spices || 96 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Fish and fish products || 5 || 2 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Food supplements || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13783;EN 1788;EN 13751;EN 1787 
 Food supplements || 9 || 1 || 2 || EN 13784;EN 1788;EN 1785;EN 13751;EN 1786 
 Frog legs || 4 || 0 || 5 || EN 13751 
 Fruits (fresh) || 3 || 0 || 0 || EN 13783;EN 13751;EN 1787 
 Garlic and Onion || 14 || 0 || 0 || EN 1787;EN 13708 
 Herbal teas / Infusions || 9 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Land snail || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Meat || 67 || 0 || 0 || EN 13783;EN 13751;EN 1787 
 Mushrooms or mushrooms products (dried) || 7 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751;EN 1785;EN 1786 
 Nuts and dried fruit || 14 || 0 || 0 || EN 13783;EN 13751;EN 1787 
 Oil seeds || 6 || 0 || 0 || EN 13783;EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Potatoes || 7 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751;EN 1787 
 Pulses || 13 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 1786 
 Vegetable seasonings || 9 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Vegetables (fresh) || 15 || 0 || 0 || EN 1787;EN 13708 
 Wheat || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Total: || 281 || 3 || 7 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 97% || 1% || 2% ||   
4.13.    Cyprus
In 2012 no
checks were carried out at the product marketing stage. There is no laboratory
in Cyprus carrying out analyses for ionising radiation. Due to the limited
financial resources, samples were not sent abroad for analysis.
4.14.    Latvia
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 11 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Food supplements || 6 || 0 || 5* || EN 1788 
 Total: || 6 || 0 || 5 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 55% || 0% || 45% ||   
*       irradiation
in facilities not approved by the EU
4.15.    Lithuania
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 83 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 50 || 0 || 0 || EN 13783 
 Food supplements || 13 || 0 || 20 || EN 13783 
 Total: || 63 || 0 || 20 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 76% || 0% || 24% ||   
4.16.    Luxembourg
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 12 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Cereals, seed, vegetables and fruit || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Fruit (dried) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Herbal teas / Infusions || 3 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Mushrooms or mushrooms products (dried) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Tea || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Vegetables and vegetable products (dried) || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 1787 
 Yeast products || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Total: || 12 || 0 || 0 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 100% || 0% || 0% ||   
4.17.    Hungary
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 60 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried), tea || 60 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Total: || 60 || 0 || 0 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 100% || 0% || 0% ||   
4.18.    Malta
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 20 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Coffee || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Fish and fish products || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Frog legs || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Garlic || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Herbal teas / Infusions || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Honey and other bee products || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Instant noodles || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Mushrooms or mushrooms products (dried) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Poultry meat || 3 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Prawns and snacks (fried) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Sausage products || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Soup || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Tea || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Total: || 20 || 0 || 0 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 100% || 0% || 0% ||   
4.19.    Netherlands
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 373 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Cereal products || 34 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Fish and fish products || 19 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Food supplements || 52 || 0 || 9* || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Fruit (dried) || 36 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Other || 6 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Poultry meat || 23 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Salads, pasta and soup etc. || 40 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Seeds || 35 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Special herb mixtures || 57 || 0 || 2* || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Spices/flavours || 34 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Vegetables and vegetable products (dried) || 22 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Vitamin preparations || 4 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Total: || 362 || 0 || 11 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 97% || 0% || 3% ||   
*       non
compliance either for irradiation in a unapproved facility or lack of labelling
4.20.    Austria
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 134 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 46 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Poultry meat || 62 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786 
 Sauces and soups (dehydrated) || 24 || 0 || 2* || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Total: || 132 || 0 || 2 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 99% || 0% || 1% ||   
*       erroneously
labelled
4.21.    Poland
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 246 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 9 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 57 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Berries || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1787 
 Cheese containing spices/herbs || 7 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Cheese (cottage) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Coffee || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Crustaceans or molluscs (frozen) || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Crustaceans, shellfish, mussels and other aquatic animals (including their products) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Dried fruit || 17 || 0 || 0 || EN 13708 
 Dried fruit || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Fish and fish products || 9 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786 
 Fish and seafood (dried) || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Food for particular nutritional uses || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Food for particular nutritional uses || 1 || 0 || 2 || EN 1788 
 Food supplements || 5 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Food supplements || 6 || 1 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Frog legs || 1 || 0 || 2 || EN 1786 
 Fruits (fresh) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784 
 Fruits (fresh) || 3 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Fruit (tropical) || 3 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784 
 Fruit (tropical) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1787 
 Fruit (tropical) || 8 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Garlic || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Garlic || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1787 
 Garlic || 10 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Herbal teas/Infusions || 7 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Meat || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784 
 Meat and meat products || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784 
 Meat (except poultry and game) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784 
 Meat (except poultry and game) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786 
 Meat from different birds, kangaroo, hare) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784 
 Meat from different birds, kangaroo, hare) || 4 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786 
 Meat products (except sausages) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786 
 Milk and milk products || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Nuts || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786 
 Nuts || 20 || 0 || 0 || EN 1787 
 Other || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13708 
 Other || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Other || 5 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Pulses || 3 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Red Pepper || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Sauces and soups (dehydrated) || 11 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Shrimps || 7 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Soups || 5 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Tea || 11 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Vegetables and vegetable products (dried) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Vegetables (fresh) || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788 
 Total: || 241 || 1 || 4 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 98% || 0% || 2% ||   
4.22.    Portugal
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 49 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 4 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Food supplements || 18 || 0 || 2 || EN 13751 
 Tea || 4 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Vegetable extracts (dried) || 7 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Plant parts (roots, bay leaves) || 7 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Frozen clam (with shell) || 7 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Total: || 47 || 0 || 2 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 96% || 0% || 4% ||   
4.23     Romania
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 105 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 68 || 0 || 1* || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Food supplements || 4 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Herbal teas / Infusions || 10 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Seeds || 6 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Tea || 11 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Vegetables and vegetable products (dried) || 5 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Total: || 104 || 0 || 1 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 99% || 0% || 1% ||   
*       irradiation
in facilities not approved by the EU
4.24.    Slovenia
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 21 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 14 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Tea || 7 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Total: || 21 || 0 || 0 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 100% || 0% || 0% ||   
4.25.    Slovakia
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 23 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 15 || 1 || 0 || EN 1784;EN 1788 
 Cheese (ripened) || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784 
 Nuts || 5 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784 
 Total: || 22 || 1 || 0 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 96% || 4% || 0% ||   
4.26.    Finland
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 254 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 119 || 3 || 8* || EN 1788 for confirmation; EN 13751 
 Berries || 6 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Food for particular nutritional uses || 4 || 0 || 2** || EN 1788 for confirmation; EN 13751 
 Food supplements || 35 || 0 || 13** || EN 1788 for confirmation; EN 13751 
 Herbal teas / Infusions || 11 || 1 || 1** || EN 1788 for confirmation; EN 13751 
 Other (sauce ingredients, food ingredients etc.) || 26 || 0 || 7** || EN 1788 for confirmation; EN 13751 
 Tea || 17 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Vegetables and vegetable products (dried) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Total: || 219 || 4 || 31 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 86% || 2% || 12% ||   
*       erroneously labelled, irradiation in
facilities not approved by the EU
**     irradiation
not allowed
4.27.    Sweden
In 2012 no
checks were carried out at the product marketing stage.
4.28.    United Kingdom
 Foodstuffs analysed at product marketing stage || Number of Samples: 323 || CEN method used 
 Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-Compliant 
 Aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasoning (dried) || 156 || 5 || 3* || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Cereal products || 3 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Cereals, seed, vegetables and fruit || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Crustaceans, shellfish, mussels and other aquatic animals (including their products) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Flavoured couscous || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Flavoured icing sugar || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Food supplements || 26 || 3 || 1** || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Fruit (dried) || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Fruit Juice || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Fruits (fresh) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Garlic || 13 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Herbal teas / Infusions || 5 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Herb and spice pastes || 7 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Herbs and spices (fresh) || 4 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Instant noodles || 40 || 4 || 7* || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Meals and dishes (prepared) || 3 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Nuts || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Rice || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Sauces and soups (dehydrated) || 21 || 1 || 7** || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Seeds || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Vegetables and vegetable products (dried) || 0 || 0 || 1* || EN 1788;EN 13751 
 Vegetables (fresh) || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 
 Total: || 291 || 13 || 19 ||   
 Total % of analysed samples: || 90% || 4% || 6% ||   
*       erroneously labelled and/or
irradiation in facilities not approved by the EU
**     irradiation
not allowed, erroneously labelled, irradiation in facilities not approved by
the EU
5.       Summary
The current report
covers the period from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2012.
It contains a compilation of the information forwarded to the Commission by the
27 Member States. 
In 2012, 24 approved
irradiation facilities were operational in 13 Member States in accordance with
Article 7(2) of Directive 1999/2/EC. No new irradiation facilities have
been approved. No approved irradiation facilities have been closed. Five
irradiation facilities did not irradiate any food during 2012.
A total quantity of 7972
tonnes of products were treated with ionising irradiation in EU Member States,
91% of which were irradiated mainly in three Member States: Belgium (64.7%),
Netherlands (18.5%) and France (7.7%). The three biggest commodities within the
irradiated categories are: frog legs (36%), poultry (35%) and dried aromatic
herbs and spices (15%). There
has been a slight decrease in the total quantity of products irradiated in the
EU compared to the previous year 2011 (8.067,5 tonnes). 
27 Member States
submitted information regarding the checks carried out at the product marketing
stage. Five Member States did not perform any analytical checks in official
control and inspection in 2012.
A total of 5.182
samples have been analysed by 22 Member States, three Member States accounted
for 66% of the samples (Germany 52,4.0%, the Netherlands 7.2%, and United Kingdom
6.2%). 4.979 samples (96.1%) were compliant with the provisions of the
Directive, 123 samples (2.4%) were non-compliant, 80 samples (1.5%) gave
inconclusive results. The two main reasons for non-compliance of tested samples were
incorrect labelling and forbidden irradiation; non-compliance was also due to
irradiation in facilities not approved by the EU. Reasons for non-compliance
are given in each table reporting the tests carried out in each Member State.
[1]       OJ L 66, 13.3.1999, p. 16.
[2]       http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biosafety/irradiation/index_en.htm
[3]       OJ C 265, 1.9.2012, p. 3.
[4]       OJ L 66, 13.3.1999, p. 24.
[5]       OJ C 283, 24.11.2009, p. 5.