CELEX: 51989PC0428
Language: en
Date: 1989-09-12
Title: AMENDMENT TO THE PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) LAYING DOWN HEALTH CONDITIONS FOR THE MARKETING OF FISH AND FISH PRODUCTS CONCERNING NEMATODES

8. 11. 89                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                  No C 282/7
                                                                II
                                                        (Preparatory Acts)
                                                  COMMISSION
                Amendment to the proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) laying down health conditions for
                                the marketing of fish and fish products concerning nematodes (')
                                                       COM(89) 428 final
                 (Submitted by the Commission pursuant to the third paragraph of Article 149 of the EEC Treaty on
                                                       18 September 1989)
                                                         (89/C 282/05)
On 22 February 1988 the Commission presented the                      6. The third recital is replaced by the following:
above proposal to the Council. Following the opinion of
the European Parliament delivered at its sitting of 14                   'Whereas larvae of nematodes may be present in
March 1989, the original proposal is amended as                          certain species and parts of fish;'
follows:
                                                                      7. The fourth recital is replaced by the following:
  1. The title is replaced by the following:
                                                                         'Whereas it is necessary to prevent any health risks
      'Proposal for a Council Regulation laying down, as                 associated with the presence of nematodes in fish,
      regards nematodes, health guarantees for the                       particularly in the case of direct consumption of
      marketing of fresh fish intended to be consumed raw                fresh fish, and in certain fish products;'
      and fish products'
                                                                      8. The sixth recital is replaced by the following:
  2. The following recital la is inserted:
      'Whereas, with a view to the completion of the                     'Whereas, in the context of Intra-Community trade
      internal market, it is essential to lay down rules on              and imports from third countries, rules should be
      health guarantees for fish, which is a staple                      laid down concerning inspections in the country of
      foodstuff, and for fish products, similar to those                 destination together with rules concerning the
      applying to other foodstuffs;'                                     follow-up to such inspections; whereas such rules
                                                                         should be consistent with those resulting from
                                                                         general rules to be adopted in the context of the
  3. The following recital lb is inserted:
                                                                          establishment of the internal market;'
      'Whereas, in view of the marketing problems which
       have already occurred, this Regulation represents the          9. The following recital 7b is inserted:
       first stage of the health protection measures to be
       adopted by the Council in accordance with Article                  'Whereas the Commission is to draw up annexes to
       43 of the Treaty by 31 December 1991;'                             clarify this Regulation, containing lists of:
  4. The following recital lc is inserted:                               — fish affected,
       'Whereas completion of the internal market                         — dangerous nematodes,
       necessitates the introduction of quality standards for
       fish products which are more stringent than existing               — recognized scientific methods of treatment,
       standards, while maintaining a high level of
       protection for the consumer;'                                      and to submit a proposal for a Directive laying down
                                                                          health provisions for fish products;'
   5. The following recital 2a is inserted:
                                                                     10. In Article 1, point 1 is replaced by the following:
       *Whereas legislation must be adopted which is
       appropriate to the specific requirements and                       ' 1 . Fish: seawater fish species liable to contain viable
       conditions of the fishing industry;'                                     larvae of nematodes which may constitute a
                                                                                hazard to human health when such species are
                                                                                consumed raw or nearly raw without having
 (') OJ No C 66, 11. 3. 1988, p. 3.                                             undergone suitable treatment;'
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 282/8                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                   8. 11. 89
11. In Article 1, point 2 is replaced by the following:               intended to be consumed raw and fish products
                                                                      which are the subject of Intra-Community trade, and
    '2. Fresh fish: fish or parts thereof which have                  also in the case of imports from third countries, in
         undergone no treatment to ensure preservation.               order to check that a consignment meets the
         Chilling at 0—5 °C is not considered a                       requirements of the Regulation.'
         treatment;'
                                                                 20. Article 4 (2) is replaced by the following:
12. In Article 1, point 7 is replaced by the following:
                                                                      '2.     The inspections referred to in paragraph 1
    '7. Marketing: the placing on the market, after intro-            shall be carried out at the place of destination of the
         duction into the Community and before delivery               goods. The inspections may not unduly delay the
         to the retail trade, of fish and fish products for           marketing of the goods or cause delays which might
         human consumption;'                                          adversely affect their quality.'
13. In Article 1, point 8 is replaced by the following:          21. Article 4 (5) is replaced by the following:
    '8. Country of dispatch: the Member State or third                '5.      Member States shall grant the right to obtain
         country from which fish or fish products are                 an expert opinion to any consignor whose fish or
         dispatched to another Member State;'                         fish products may not be placed on the market as a
                                                                      result of an inspection as provided for in paragraph
14. In Article 1, point 9 is replaced by the following:               1.
    '9. Country of destination: the Member State to                   The expert must be a national of a Member State.
         which fish or fish products are dispatched from
         another Member State or third country;'                      Where there are doubts as to the impartiality of the
                                                                      expert opinion, the Commission may seek a second
15. In Article 1, points 10 and 11 are deleted.                       opinion, in which case it shall be provided by an
                                                                      expert who is a national of a Member State other
                                                                      than the country of dispatch or the country of desti-
16. Article 2 (2) is replaced by the following:                       nation.
    '2.     Fresh fish intended to be consumed raw and                The Commission shall draw up, on the basis of
    fish products as listed in the Annex which have not               Member States' proposals, a list of experts who may
    undergone       sufficient   treatment    to   eliminate          be instructed to prepare such opinions. It shall, in
    nematodes may be marketed only after they have                    accordance with the procedure laid down in Article
    been subjected to the treatment referred to in the                7, adopt detailed rules for the implementation of this
    Annex or after the nematodes have been eliminated                 paragraph.'
    by freezing. Freezing may be applied to the raw
    material or to the end product;'
                                                                  22. The following Article is inserted:
17. In Article 3, the following paragraph is inserted:
                                                                       'Article 7a
    '3a. Consignments of fish products which are the
           subject of Intra-Community trade must be                   The conditions laid down in this Regulation shall
           accompanied by a document certifying that they              apply until the entry into force of a Regulation
           have been treated;'                                        laying down health conditions for the production
                                                                      and marketing of fish products.'
18. Article 3 (4) is replaced by the following:
                                                                  23. Article 8 is replaced by the following:
    '4.     Each establishment shall be subject to a regular
    control by the competent authorities. Controls shall
                                                                        'Article 8
    include in particular a check on the content of the
    register referred to in paragraph 3 and the taking of
    samples in order to verify that the criteria laid down            This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of
     in point 2 of the Annex are complied with;'                       its publication in the Official Journal of the European
                                                                       Communities.
19. Article 4 (1) is replaced by the following:                       This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
                                                                       directly applicable in all Member States.'
     '1.    The country of destination may, where there
     are serious grounds for suspecting irregularities,
     carry out non-discriminatory inspections of fresh fish       24. The Annex is replaced by the following:
 ---pagebreak--- 8. 11. 89                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                     No C 282/9
           'ANNEX
          1. Fish products which have not undergone sufficient treatment to eliminate any nematodes:
             (a) products which are only slightly salted and are consumed almost raw, e.g. young herring (maatje);
             (b) Products which have undergone cold smoking, e.g. herring, mackerel, sprat and salmon;
             (c) Preserved herring, where the process does not constitute a complete treatment.
          2. (a) Before being presented for sale to consumers, fresh fish must undergo, on land, an appropriate
                 treatment unless such treatment has already been carried out aboard a fishing vessel. Detailed rules
                 for the application of this paragraph must be adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down
                 in Article 6.
             (b) Fillets of fresh fish must be visually inspected during the filleting operation. Any larvae must be
                 removed.
          3. A complete treatment must comply with one of the following conditions:
             (a) heating, in which the internal temperature in all parts of the fish is raised to at least 70 ° C ;
             (b) salting, by using salt (NaCl) in such a way that the combination between the minimum salt concen-
                 tration (MSC) in the tissue fluid of the fish and the minimum action time (MAT) of the salt is as
                 follows:
                 MSC                                                  MAT
                 20 %                                                21 days
                 15 %                                                28 days
                 when using sugar (anchovy production)
                 12 %                                                35 %
             (c) marinating, by immersion of the fish for a clearly-specified period in a solution having a suitable pH
                 and a suitable salt concentration, possibly in combination with other additives. The combination of
                 these parameters must be approved by the competent authority;
             (d) cold treatment, during which the internal temperature of the fish must not exceed — 2 0 °C for at
                 least 24 hours.
             The competent authorities must communicate to the Commission and to the other Member States the
             methods approved for the treatments referred to in (c).'