CELEX: 51987PC0046
Language: en
Date: 1987-02-12
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON HEALTH PROBLEMS AFFECTING THE PRODUCTION AND THE PLACING ON THE MARKET OF EGG PRODUCTS

14.3.87                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                                No C 67/9
             Proposal for a Council Directive on health problems affecting the production and the placing
                                                  on the market of egg products
                                                        COM(87) 46 final
                               (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 13 February 1987)
                                                          (87/C 67/07)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                            checks and inspections, ensure that producers comply
                                                                    with the abovementioned health requirements; whereas
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European               the rules governing these checks and inspections must
Economic Community, and in particular Article 43                    take account of the demands of the internal market;
thereof,
                                                                    Whereas a random check must be made to detect the
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                  presence of residues of substances liable to be harmful to
                                                                    human health;
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-
liament,                                                            Whereas Community control measures should be
                                                                    introduced to guarantee the uniform application in all
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                    Member States of the standards laid down in this
Social Committee,                                                   Directive;
                                                                    Whereas in the context of intra-Community trade the
Whereas, in order to ensure the smooth operation of the             consignor, the consignee or their representative must be
common market and more especially of the common                     given the opportunity, where a dispute arises with the
organization of the market in eggs established by                   competent authorities of the Member State of
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2771/75 0) as last                      destination, of seeking an expert's opinion;
amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3768/85 (2) and of
the common system of trade for ovalbumin and                        Whereas egg products manufactured in a third country
lactalbumin introduced by Council Regulation (EEC)                  intended to be placed on the market on Community
No 2783/75 (3), it is essential that the marketing of egg           territory must not qualify for more favourable
products should no longer be hindered by disparities                arrangements than those laid down in this Directive;
existing in the Member States in respect of health                  whereas provision should be made for a Community
requirements in this area; whereas this will enable                 procedure for inspecting establishments in third
production to be better harmonized and bring about                  countries;
competition on equal terms while assuring consumers of
                                                                    Whereas the Commission should be entrusted with the
a quality product;
                                                                    task of adopting certain measures for implementing this
                                                                    Directive; whereas, to that end, procedures should be
Whereas the marketing of certain egg products which
                                                                    laid down introducing close and effective cooperation
are not covered by Annex II to the Treaty is closely
                                                                    between the Commission and the Member States within
linked with the marketing of egg products for which a
                                                                    the Standing Veterinary Committee,
market organization exists; whereas distortions of
competition should be eliminated for all egg products;
                                                                    HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
Whereas health requirements should be laid down for
                                                                                               Article 1
the production, storage and transport of egg products;
whereas, in particular, it is important that health rules be        This Directive lays down requirements concerning health
laid down governing the approval of establishments;                 problems affecting the production and the placing on the
                                                                    market of egg products for use in the manufacture of
Whereas it is important also that the health requirements           foodstuffs.
to be met by egg products be laid down;
                                                                                               Article 2
Whereas the said rules must apply in an identical manner
to intra-Community trade and to trade within the                    For the purposes of this Directive, the following
Member States;                                                      definitions shall apply:
                                                                      1. Egg products: whole egg, as well as yolk and egg
Whereas it is the responsibility primarily of producers to               white or mixtures thereof, after removal of the shell
ensure that egg products meet the health requirements                    and membranes, intended for human consumption;
laid down in this Directive; whereas the competent auth-                 they may be obtained from eggs of hens, ducks,
orities of the Member States must, by carrying out                       geese, turkeys, guineafowl or quails; they may be
                                                                         partly supplemented with other foodstuffs or
                                                                         additives provided that at least 50 % of the egg
(') OJNoL282, 1. 11. 1975, p. 49.                                        products thus obtained consists of natural egg
(2) OJ No L 362, 31. 12. 1985, p. 8.                                     constituents; they may be liquid, concentrated,
O OJ No L 282, 1. 11. 1975, p. 104.                                      dried, crystallized, frozen or deep frozen;
 ---pagebreak--- No C 67/10                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                   14.3.87
 2. Farm of production: farm for the production of eggs           (c) they must have undergone treatment in accordance
    intended for human consumption;                                    with point 7 of Chapter V ot the Annex; however,
                                                                       —     other forms of treatment having a similar effect
 3. Packing centre: establishment as referred to in point 7
                                                                             may be permitted in accordance with the
    of Article 1 of Council Regulation (EEC) No
                                                                             procedure laid down in Article 14,
    2772/75 of 29 October 1975 on marketing standards
    for eggs (>);                                                      —     the competent authority of a Member State may
                                                                             decide, where it is necessary for technological
 4. Establishment: establishment approved for the manu-                      reasons associated with the preparation of
    facture of egg products;                                                 foodstuffs manufactured from egg products,
                                                                             that certain egg products need not undergo
 5. Treatment: the heat treatment of egg products;                           treatment; in such a case the egg products must
                                                                             be processed as soon as possible in the Member
 6. Cracked eggs: eggs with a fractured shell but with                       State concerned,
    intact membranes;
                                                                       —     the competent authority may decide that the
 7. Broken eggs: eggs showing breaks of both the shell                       treatment of egg products is not compulsory
    and the membranes resulting in the exposure of their                     where they are used without delay, in the
    contents;                                                                establishment where they were obtained, for the
                                                                             manufacture of other foodstuffs;
 8. Batch: a quantity of egg products which have been
    prepared under the same conditions and in particular          (d) they      must    comply      with   the    end-product
    treated in a single continuous operation;                          specifications set out in Chapter VI of the Annex;
 9. Consignment: a quantity of egg products for a single
    delivery for one destination for further processing by        (e) they must have undergone a health check               in
    the food industry;                                                 accordance with Chapter VII of the Annex;
10. Country of dispatch: the Member State from which              (f) they must have been appropriately packed              in
    egg products are dispatched to another Member                      accordance with Chapter VIII of the Annex;
    State;
11. Country of destination: the Member State to which             (g) they must be stored and transported under satis-
    egg products are dispatched from another Member                    factory hygiene conditions in accordance with
    State;                                                              Chapters IX and X of the Annex;
12. Packing: the placing of egg products in any form of            (h) they must bear the mark of wholesomeness provided
    package;                                                            for in Chapter XI of the Annex.
13. Competent authority: the veterinary department or
    any other equivalent department designated by
                                                                                             Article 4
    the Member State concerned to monitor the
    implementation of this Directive;                             The competent authorities of the Member States shall
                                                                   ensure that the manufacturers of egg products adopt all
14. Placing on the market: the marketing of egg                    measures necessary to comply with the requirements of
    products, as defined in point 5 of Article 1 of Regu-          this Directive, and in particular that:
     lation (EEC) No 2772/75.
                                                                   — samples for laboratory examination are taken in
                          Article 3                                    order to check that the end-product specifications set
Member States shall ensure that only egg products which                out in Chapter VI of the Annex have been observed,
meet the following general requirements are produced
and placed on the market:                                          — the temperatures at which the egg products must be
                                                                        transported and stored and .the period during which
(a) they must have been prepared in an establishment                    their preservation is thus assured have been
     approved in accordance with Article 6 (1) and (2)                  established,
     which complies with Chapters I and II of the Annex
     and satisfy the requirements of this Directive, and in
                                                                   — the results of the various checks and tests are
     particular those of Article 5;
                                                                        recorded and kept for presentation to the competent
(b) they must have been prepared under satisfactory                     authority for a period of two years,
     hygiene conditions in accordance with Chapters III
     and V of the Annex, with eggs meeting the                     — each batch is given a number indicating its date and
     requirements laid down in Chapter IV of the Annex;                 time of production, and in particular treatment; this
                                                                        batch number must appear on the heat treatment
                                                                        record and on the mark of wholesomeness provided
O OJ No L 282, 1. 11. 1975, p. 56.                                      for in Chapter XI.
 ---pagebreak---  14.3.87                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                No C 67/11
                            Article 5                              may check whether establishments are in effect
                                                                   complying with this Directive, and in particular the
 1. Member States shall ensure that random checks are              Annex thereto. The Commission shall inform the
carried out on eggs and egg products to detect any                 Member States of the results of such checks.
residues of substances having a pharmacological or
hormonal effect, and of antibiotics, pesticides, detergents        A Member State in whose territory a check is being
or other substances which are harmful or liable to render          carried out shall give all necessary assistance to the
their consumption dangerous or harmful to human                    experts in carrying out their duties.
health, where those residues exceed the permitted levels
established pursuant to paragraph 4.                               General provisions for the application of this Article shall
                                                                   be determined in accordance with the procedure laid
                                                                   down in Article 14.
2. If the egg products examined show traces of
residues in excess of the permitted levels, they must not          2. The Member State concerned shall take all
be allowed to be placed on the market.                             measures necessary to take account of the results of the
                                                                   checks referred to in paragraph 1. If the Member State
3. Tests for residues must be carried out in                       fails to take those measures, the Commission may, in
accordance with proven and scientifically recognized               accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 13,
methods.                                                           prohibit the placing on the market of egg products
                                                                   coming from the establishment which no longer complies
                                                                   with the provisions of this Directive.
4. The Commission, acting in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 14, shall establish:
                                                                                             Article 8
— the detailed arrangements for checks and tests,                  1. Without prejudice to Article 6 and 7, the country
                                                                   of destination may, where there are serious grounds for
                                                                   suspecting that there are irregularities, carry out non-
— the permitted levels for residues,
                                                                   discriminatory inspections of egg products which are the
                                                                   subject of intra-Community trade in order to check that
— the intervals at which samples are to be taken.                  a consignment meets the requirements of this Directive.
5. The Commission, acting in accordance with the                   2. The inspections referred to in paragraph 1 shall be
procedure laid down in Article 15, shall establish:                carried out at the place of destination of the goods or at
                                                                   another suitable place, provided that in the latter case the
                                                                   choice of the place interferes as little as possible with the
— the reference methods for evaluating the results of
                                                                   routing of the goods. Inspections may not be carried out
    the tests for residues,                                        at or because of the crossing of internal Community
                                                                   frontiers.
— the list of reference laboratories in the Community.
                                                                   Such inspections may not delay unduly the placing of
                                                                   egg products on the market, or cause delays which might
                           Article 6                               impair their quality.
1. Member States shall draw up a list of their
                                                                   3. If, during an inspection carried out in accordance
approved establishments, each of which shall have an
                                                                   with paragraphs 1 and 2 above, it is found that the egg
official number. Member States shall forward this list to
                                                                   products do not comply with this Directive, the
the other Member States and to the Commission.
                                                                   competent authority may give the consignor, the
                                                                   consignee or their representative the choice of
2. The inspection and monitoring of establishments                 withdrawing the consignment from the market in order
shall be carried out regularly on the responsibility of the        that it may undergo further treatment or of using it for
competent authority, which shall at all times have free            other purposes if this is permissible on health grounds. If
access to all parts of the establishments, in order to             not, one of the choices offered must be the destruction
ensure that this Directive is being observed.                      of the egg products. In any event, precautionary
                                                                   measures shall be taken by the competent authority to
                                                                   prevent improper use of such egg products.
If such inspections reveal that not all the requirements of
this Directive are being met the competent authority               4. (a) Decisions and the grounds for taking them must
shall take the appropriate action.                                         be notified to the consignor, the consignee or
                                                                           their representative. Should such person so
                                                                           request, reasons must be given for such decisions
                            Article 7                                      and must be notified to him immediately in
1. Experts from the Commission may, in cooperation                         writing together with particulars of the remedies
with the competent authorities of the Member States,                       available to him under the law, their forms and
make on-the-spot checks in so far as is necessary to                       the time limits within which action must be taken.
ensure the uniform application of this Directive. They                     Remedies available to the consignor, the
 ---pagebreak--- No C 67/12                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                  14.3.87
        consignee or their representative shall not be             In the light of the opinion provided for in the fourth
        affected by this Directive.                                subparagraph or the result of the check performed in
                                                                   accordance with Article 7 (1), Member States may be
    (b) If such decisions are based on the existence of a          authorized, under the procedure laid down in Article 13,
        particularly serious risk to human health, they            temporarily to deny access to their territory for egg
        shall be communicated forthwith to the                     products coming from that establishment.
        Commission or, where appropriate, to the
        competent authority of the Member State of
                                                                   Such authorization may be withdrawn under the
        dispatch.
                                                                   procedure laid down in Article 13 on the basis of a
    (c) Following such communication,            appropriate       further opinion delivered by one or more experts.
        measures may be taken in accordance with the
        procedure laid down in Article 13, in particular           The experts shall be nationals of a Member State other
        for the purpose of coordinating the measures               than those involved in the dispute.
        taken in other Member States with regard to the
        egg products concerned.                                    Detailed rules for the application of this Article shall be
                                                                   adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in
5.     Member States shall grant consignors whose egg              Article 14.
products may not be placed on the market as a result of
an inspection as provided for in paragraph 1 the right to
obtain an expert's opinion.                                                                 Article 10
The expert must be a national of a Member State other              The Annexes to this Directive shall be amended in
than the country of dispatch or the country of                     accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14.
destination.
                                                                                            Article 11
The Commission, acting on a proposal from the Member
States, shall draw up a list of experts who may be                 1.    National provisions governing imports of egg
instructed to prepare such opinions. It shall, in                  products from third countries shall not be more
accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14,             favourable than those governing intra-Community trade.
determine detailed rules for the application of this
paragraph.                                                         2.    Pending the adoption of Community rules relating
                                                                   to third countries, on-the-spot inspections shall be
                           Article 9                               carried out by experts from the Member States and the
                                                                   Commission. Member States' experts instructed to carry
Where a Member State considers, after carrying out an              out these inspections shall be appointed by the
inspection in accordance with Article 8, that the                  Commission on proposals from the Member States.
provisions of this Directive are no longer being observed          Inspections shall be carried out on behalf of the
in an establishment in another Member State, it shall so           Community, which shall bear the costs relating thereto.
inform the competent central authority of that State. The
latter shall take all necessary measures and notify the
                                                                   3.    A list of the establishments which meet the
competent central authority of the former Member State
                                                                   requirements set out in the Annex shall be drawn up in
of the decisions taken and of the reasons for such
                                                                   accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 15.
decisions.
                                                                   4.    The health certificate accompanying the products
If the former Member State fears that such measures
                                                                   on importation and the form and nature of the mark of
have not been taken or are inadequate, the two Member
                                                                   wholesomeness applied to the products shall correspond
States shall together seek ways and means of remedying
                                                                   to a model to be determined in accordance with the
 the situation, if necessary by means of an inspection visit
                                                                    procedure laid down in Article 14.
 of the establishment.
 The Member States shall inform the Commission of                                            Article 12
 disputes and of the solutions reached.
                                                                    Without prejudice to Community rules concerning
 If the Member States are unable to reach agreement, one            permitted additives in foodstuffs, the use of additives in
 of them shall refer the matter within a reasonable period          egg products and the detailed rules for their use shall
 to the Commission, which shall instruct one or more                continue to be subject to national law.
 experts to deliver an opinion.
                                                                                             Article 13
 Pending that opinion, the Member State of dispatch shall
 intensify checks on egg products coming from the                   1.   Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to
 establishment in question and, at the request of the               be applied, the matter shall be referred fortwith to the
 Member State of destination, the Commission shall                  Standing Veterinary Committee set up by the Council
 immediately instruct an expert to go to the consignor              Decision of 15 October 1968 (hereinafter called 'the
 establishment in order to propose appropriate interim              Committee') by its Chairman on his initiative or at the
 protective measures.                                               request of a Member State.
 ---pagebreak--- 14. 3. 87                                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                No C 67/13
2.    Within the Committee, Member States' votes shall                  urgency of the matter to be considered. Opinions shall
be weighted as provided for in Article 148 (2) of the                   be delivered by a majority of 54 votes.
Treaty. The Chairman shall not vote.
                                                                        4.    Where the measures are in conformity with the
3.    The Commission representative shall submit a draft                opinion of the Committee, the Commission shall adopt
of the measures to be adopted. The Committee shall                      and apply them immediately. Where they are not in
deliver its opinion on such measures within two days.                   conformity with the opinion of the Committee, or if no
Opinions shall be delivered by a majority of 54 votes.                  opinion is delivered, the Commission shall without delay
                                                                        propose to the Council the measures to be adopted. The
4.    Where the measures are in conformity with the                     Council shall adopt the measures by a qualified majority.
opinion of the Committee the Commission shall adopt                     If, within three months from the date on which the
and implement them immediately. Where they are not in                   proposal was submitted to it, the Council has not
conformity with the opinion of the Committee, or if no                  adopted any measures, the Commission shall adopt the
opinion is delivered, the Commission shall without delay                proposed measures and apply them immediately.
propose to the Council the measures to be adopted. The
Council shall adopt the measures by a qualified majority.                                        Article 15
If, within 15 working days from the date on which a                     Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to be
matter is referred to it, the Council has not adopted any               followed, the Committee shall consider the matter on the
measures, the Commission shall adopt the proposed                       basis of a request for an opinion made by the
measures and implement them immediately.                                Commission. When requesting the Committee's opinion
                                                                        the Commission may set a time limit within which the
                                                                        opinion must be delivered.
                            Article 14
1.    Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to               The Committee's deliberations shall not be followed by a
be applied, the Chairman shall refer the matter without                 vote. However, each member of the Committee may
                                                                        require its opinion to be written into the minutes.
delay on his own initiative or at the request of a Member
State to the Committee.
                                                                                                 Article 16
2.    Within the Committee, Member States' votes shall                  Member States shall bring into force the laws, regu-
be weighted as provided for in Article 148 (2) of the                   lations and administrative provisions necessary to comply
Treaty. The Chairman shall not vote.                                    with this Directive not later than 1 January 1988. They
                                                                        shall inform the Commission thereof forthwith.
3.     The Commission representative shall submit a draft
of the measures to be adopted. The Committee shall                                               Article 17
deliver its opinion on such measures within a period to
be determined by the Chairman in relation to the                        This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
                                                                  ANNEX
                                                                 CHAPTER I
                                              GENERAL CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL
              Establishments must possess at least:
              1. in areas where egg products are manufactured or stored:
                 (a) flooring which is easy to clean and disinfect and laid in such a way as to facilitate the flow of
                      liquids;
                 (b) smooth, durable, impermeable walls, with a light-coloured, washable covering up to a height of at
                      least two metres in areas where egg products are worked on; wall-to-floor junctions must be
                      finished in such a way as to facilitate cleaning;
                 (c) doors in material that does not deteriorate and, if of wood, with a smooth and impermeable
                      covering on both sides;
 ---pagebreak--- No C 67/14                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                   14.3.87
               (d) ceilings which are easy to clean and which have been built and finished in such a way as to prevent
                    the accumulation of dirt and the formation of mould, the possible peeling of paintwork and the
                    condensation of water vapour;
               (e) adequate ventilation and, if necessary, good steam extraction;
               (f) adequate natural or artificial lighting;
               (g) as near as possible to the work stations an adequate number of facilities for the cleaning and
                     disinfecting of hands and the cleaning of equipment with hot water; taps must not be hand-
                    operable; for the cleaning of hands, these facilities must be provided with hot and cold running
                    water or water premixed to a suitable temperature, cleaning and disinfecting products, and hand
                    towels which can be used once only;
           2. an appropriate number of changing-rooms, with smooth, impermeable and washable walls and floors,
               wash basins and flush lavatories. The latter must not give directly on to the work area; wash basins must
               have hot and cold running water or water premixed to a suitable temperature, materials for cleaning and
               disinfecting the hands, and hand towels which can be used once only; wash basin taps must not be
               hand-operable; there must be a sufficent number of wash basins close to the lavatories;
           3. a special area and adequate facilities for cleaning and disinfecting containers and tanks; however, this
               area and facilities shall not be required if there are compulsory provisions for the cleaning and
               disinfecting of containers and tanks at other centres situated close to the establishment;
           4. facilities for the supply of exclusively potable water within the meaning of Council Directive
               80/778/EEC of 15 July 1980 relating the quality of water intended for human consumption (').
               However, facilities supplying non-potable water are authorized for steam-production, fire-fighting and
               the cooling of refrigeration equipment, provided that the pipes installed for this purpose preclude the
               use of such water for other purposes and present no risk of contamination to the egg products. The
               steam and water concerned may not come into contact with the egg products or be used for cleaning or
               disinfecting containers, plant or equipment which come into contact with the egg products. Pipes
               carrying non-potable water must be clearly distinguished from those carrying potable water;
           5. appropriate equipment for protection against pests such as insects and rodents;
           6. equipment, couplings and instruments or their surfaces which are intended to come into contact with
               egg products must be made of smooth material which is easy to wash, clean and disinfect, resists
               corrosion and does not transfer substances to the egg products in such quantities as to endanger human
               health, cause deterioration in the composition of the egg products or adversely affect their organoleptic
               characteristics.
                                                            CHAPTER II
                             SPECIAL CONDITIONS FOR THE APPROVAL OF ESTABLISHMENTS
           In addition to the general conditions laid down in Chapter I, establishments must have at least:
              1. suitable rooms large enough for the separate storage of the eggs and the finished egg products, where
                  necessary, with refrigeration equipment to keep the egg products at the appropriate temperatures; cold
                  stores must be equipped with a thermometer or a remote recording thermometer;
              2. where soiled eggs are used, facilities for washing and disinfecting the eggs; a list of products auth-
                  orized for performing this disinfection shall be drawn up in accordance with the procedure laid down
                  in Article 14;
              3. where necessary, suitable equipment for handling eggs;
            (') OJ No L 229, 30. 8. 1980, p. 11.
 ---pagebreak--- 14.3.87                                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                 N o C 67/15
          4. a room with hygienic facilities for breaking eggs and collecting the eggs' contents and for further
              processing;
          5. suitable facilities for in-plant conveying of egg contents;
          6. in the cases provided for in this Directive, equipment approved by the competent authority for the
              treatment of egg products, fitted at least with:
              (a) automatic temperature control,
              (b) a recording thermometer;
          7. a room for the storage of ingredients;
          8. where the products are packed in disposable containers, an area for the storage of such containers and
              the raw materials intended for their manufacture;
              where the products are packed in re-usable containers, a special area for their storage and equipment
              designed to clean and disinfect them mechanically;
          9. facilities for the immediate removal and separate storage of empty shells, and of eggs and egg products
              which are unfit for human consumption;
        10. suitable equipment for the packaging of egg products;
        11. the establishment must have its own laboratory or secure the services of a laboratory equipped with the
              necessary facilities for carrying out the analyses and tests on raw materials and egg products provided
              for in this Directive;
        12. where required, suitable equipment for the thawing of frozen egg products which must undergo
             treatment and further handling in an approved establishment.
                                                          CHAPTER III
        HYGIENE REQUIREMENTS RELATING T O T H E PREMISES, EQUIPMENT A N D STAFF O F
                                                      ESTABLISHMENTS
        The highest degree of cleanliness shall be required of staff, premises and equipment:
        1. staff who treat or handle eggs and egg products must in particular wear clean working clothes and
            headgear;
            they must also have clean hands; it shall be forbidden to smoke, eat, spit or chew in areas where eggs
            and egg products are handled and stored;
        2. no animals may enter the establishments. Any rodents, insects or other vermin found must be
            systematically destroyed;
        3. premises, equipment and instruments used for working on egg products shall be kept clean and in a
            good state of repair. Equipment and instruments must be carefully cleaned and disinfected several times
            during the working day, at the end of the day's work and before being re-used where they have been
            soiled; closed pipe-line systems for conveying egg products must be provided with an appropriate
            cleaning system which ensures their cleaning and disinfection in all parts; after having been cleaned and
            disinfected, pipes must be rinsed out with potable water;
        4. premises, instruments and equipment must not be used for purposes other than the processing of egg
            products except the processing of other foodstuffs either simultaneously or at different times after the
            authorization of the competent authority has been obtained, provided that all appropriate measures are
            taken to prevent contamination of or adverse changes in the products covered by this Directive; the
            preparation of egg products not intended for human consumption shall be carried out entirely separately
            from the preparation of the egg products covered by this Directive;
        5. potable water must be used for all purposes: however, non-potable water may be used in exceptional
            cases for steam production provided that the pipes installed for this purpose preclude the use of this
            water for other purposes and present no danger of contamination of eggs or egg products. In addition,
            non-potable water pipes must be clearly distinguished from pipes used for potable water;
        6. detergents, disinfectants and similar substances must be used in such a way that instruments, equipment
            and egg products are not adversely affected. Their use must be followed by thorough rinsing of such
            instruments and equipment with potable water;
        7. any person who is a possible source of contamination, in particular through pathogenic agents, shall be
            prohibited from working with or handling eggs or egg products;
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            8. any person employed to work with or handle eggs or egg products shall be required to show by a
                medical certificate that there is no reason why he or she should not engage in such work. The medical
                certificate shall be renewed yearly unless another staff medical check-up scheme offering equivalent
                guarantess is recognized in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14.
                                                                   CHAPTER IV
            REQUIREMENTS C O N C E R N I N G EGGS I N T E N D E D FOR T H E MANUFACTURE O F EGG
                                                                    PRODUCTS
            1. Eggs used for the manufacture of egg products must be put up in packaging materials which are not
                capable of transmitting to them substances harmful to human health; packaging material intended to be
                re-used must be easily cleaned; it shall be cleaned regularly and kept in good condition.
            2. (a) For the manufacture of egg products, only non-incubated eggs which are fit for                human
                     consumption may be used; their shells must be fully developed and contain no breaks;
                (b) by way of derogation from (a), cracked eggs may be used for the manufacture of egg products
                     provided they are delivered directly from the packing centres and the farm of production to an
                     approved establishment, where they shall be broken as quickly as possible;
                (c) by way of derogation from (a), eggs which have accidentally been broken at the farm of production
                     or at the packing centre may be used for the manufacture of egg products; the egg contents must be
                     obtained under the best possible hygiene conditions, and in particular:
                    — the egg contents must be immediately separated from the shell after accidental breakages,
                    — containers must be of a material which does not deteriorate and it must be possible to close
                         them; they must be cleaned, disinfected and rinsed before being filled,
                    — egg contents must be deep frozen immediately after they have been collected,
                     — egg contents must be transported to an approved establishment under the conditions laid down
                         in this Directive,
                     — egg contents must undergo treatment at an approved establishment;
            3. eggs and egg products which are unfit for human consumption shall be removed and denatured in such
                a way that they cannot be re-used for human consumption; they shall immediately be placed in the
                room provided for in Chapter II, point 9.
               The denaturing of egg products shall be carried out in accordance with the rules laid down in
                Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2696/77 of 7 December 1977 determining the conditions of entry of
                goods under subheadings 04.05 B II, 11.04 ex B I and C I, 25.01 A II a) and 35.02 A I of the Common
                Customs Tariff.
                                                                    CHAPTER V
                  SPECIAL HYGIENE REQUIREMENTS FOR T H E MANUFACTURE O F EGG PRODUCTS
            All operations shall be carried out in such a way as to avoid all contamination during the production,
            handling and storage of egg products, and in particular:
              1. eggs and egg products presented for subsequent treatment at an approved establishment shall be stored
                  immediately on arrival in the rooms provided for in Chapter II, point 1 until they are processed; the
                  temperature of these rooms shall be such as to ensure that they are not contaminated; trays of shell
                  eggs shall not be placed directly on the floor;
              2. eggs shall be unpacked, and if necessary washed and disinfected, in a room which is separate from the
                  breaking room; packaging material shall not be taken into the breaking room;
              3. eggs shall be broken in the room provided for in Chapter II, point 4; cracked eggs as mentioned in
                  Chapter IV, point 2 (b) shall be processed without delay;
 ---pagebreak--- 14.3.87                                Official Journal of the European Communities                                 No C 67/17
         4. dirty eggs shall be cleaned before being broken; this shall be carried out in a room which is separate
            from the breaking room or from any room where exposed egg contents are handled; cleaning pro-
            cedures shall be such as to prevent contamination or adulteration of the egg contents; shells must be
            sufficiently dry at the time of breaking to prevent adulteration of the egg contents by the remains of
            the cleaning water;
         5. eggs other than hen eggs or those of turkeys or guineafowl shall be handled and processed separately;
            all equipment shall be cleaned and disinfected when processing of hen eggs and those of turkeys and
            guineafowl is resumed;
         6. breaking, whatever procedure is used, shall be carried out in such a way as to avoid as far as possible
            contamination of the egg contents. The breaking of eggs in bulk in prohibited. The remains of shells or
            membranes must be kept out of the egg product as far as possible and must not exceed the quantity
            specified in Chapter VI, point 4;
         7. after breaking, each particle of egg product shall undergo treatment as quickly as possible, heat
            treatment shall consist of treating the egg product at an appropriate temperature for an appropriate
            period in order to eliminate any pathogenic organisms present; during heat treatment, temperatures
            must be registered continuously; the records of each batch having undergone treatment shall be kept at
            the disposal of the competent authority; a batch which has been insufficiently treated shall undergo
            treatment again if it is intended for human consumption;
         8. if treatment is not carried out immediately after breaking, the egg contents must be stored under
            satisfactory hygiene conditions, either frozen or at a temperature of not more than 4 °C. The storage
            period at 4 °C shall not exceed 48 hours;
         9. egg products from an approved establishment may undergo treatment at another approved
            establishment provided the following conditions are met:
            (a) as soon as they have been obtained, they must be deep frozen or chilled to a temperature of not
                 more than 4 °C; in the latter case, they shall be treated at their place of destination within 48
                 hours of the breaking of the eggs from which they were obtained;
            (b) they must be packaged, transported and handled in accordance with the requirements of this
                 Directive;
            (c) they must be labelled in accordance with the requirements laid down in Chapter XI; the nature of
                 the goods shall be indicated as follows:
                 'non-pasteurized egg products — to be treated at place of destination'.
        10. further processing operations after treatment shall ensure that there is no recontamination of the egg
            product; liquid products or concentrated products which have not been stabilized so as to keep at
            room temperature shall be cooled to a temperature not exceeding 4 °C; products for freezing shall be
            frozen immediately after treatment;
        11. egg products shall be kept at the temperatures required by this Directive until they are used for the
            manufacture of other foodstuffs.
                                                         CHAPTER VI
                                             END-PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS
        1. Each batch of egg products shall undergo a microbiological check in order to ensure that it meets the
           microbiological criteria laid down in this paragraph:
           (a) salmonellae: absence in 25 g or ml of egg product; n = 10, c = 0, m = 0;
           (b) other criteria:
                mesophilic aerobic bacteria: n = 5, c = 2, m = 104, M = 10s, in 1 g or 1 ml;
                enterobacteriaceae:n = 5, c = 2; m = 10, M = 102 in 1 g or 1 ml;
                where
                n = number of sample units comprising the sample;
                m = threshold value for the number of bacteria; the result is considered satisfactory if the number
                       of bacteria in all sample units does not exceed m;
 ---pagebreak--- No C 67/18                                 Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t i e s              14. 3. 87
                   M = maximum value for the number of bacteria; the result is considered unsatisfactory if the
                          number of bacteria in one or more sample units is M or more;
                   c   = number of sample units the bacterial count of which may be between m and M, the sample
                          still being considered acceptable if the bacterial count of the other sample units is m or less.
           2. The concentration of 3 OH-butyric acid shall not exceed 10 mg/kg in the dry matter of the unmodified
              egg product.
           3. In order to ensure the hygienic handling of eggs and egg products before treatment, the following
              standards shall apply:
              (a) the lactic acid content shall not exceed 1 000 mg/kg of egg product dry matter (applicable only to
                   the untreated product);
              (b) the succinic acid content shall not exceed 25 mg/kg of egg product dry matter.
           4. The quantity of eggshell remains, egg membrane and any other particles in the egg product shall not
              exceed 100 mg/kg of egg product.
           The methods and, where necessary, sampling plans and analytical tolerances to be applied in order to
           check compliance with the criteria laid down in this Chapter shall be established in accordance with the
           procedure laid down in Article 15.
                                                                 CHAPTER VII
                                 H E A L T H C O N T R O L AND SUPERVISION O F P R O D U C T I O N
           1. Establishments shall be subject to supervision by the competent authority.
              Supervision by the competent authority shall include any supervision measures considered necessary to
              ensure that manufacturers of egg products meet the requirements of this Directive, and in particular:
              — inspection of the register of the origin and destination of eggs and egg products and of the register
                  referred to in the third indent of Article 4,
              — health inspection of eggs for the manufacture of egg products,
              — inspection of egg products on dispatch from the establishment,
              — verification of the cleanliness of the premises, facilities and instruments and of staff hygiene,
              — taking of any samples required for laboratory tests to ensure that eggs and egg products comply with
                  the requirements of this Directive; the results of such tests shall be entered in a register and notified
                  to the egg products manufacturer.
           2. At the request of the competent authority, manufacturers of egg products shall increase the frequency of
              the laboratory tests referred to in the first indent of Article 4 where this is considered necessary to
              ensure hygienic production of the egg products.
                                                                 CHAPTER VIII
                                                 PACKAGING OF EGG PRODUCTS
           1. Egg products shall be put up in satisfactory hygiene conditions so as to ensure that they are not
              contaminated.
              Containers must comply with all rules of hygiene, including the following:
              — they must not be such as to impair the organoleptic characteristics of the egg products,
              — they must not be capable of transmitting to the egg products substances harmful to human health,
              — they must be strong enough to protect the egg products adequately.
 ---pagebreak--- 14. 3. 87                                 Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t i e s           N o C 67/19
          2. The room in which containers are stored must be dust and vermin free; materials for making disposable
              containers must not be stored on the floor.
          3. Containers used for egg products must be cleaned prior to being filled; re-usable containers must be
              cleaned, disinfected and rinsed before being filled.
          4. Containers must be brought into the work room in a hygienic manner and must be used without undue
              delay.
          5. Immediately after packaging, the containers must be closed and placed in the storage rooms referred to
              in Chapter II.
          6. Containers intended for egg products may be used for other foodstuffs if required, provided the egg
              products are not contaminated.
          7. Containers which are to be used for the transport of egg products in bulk must comply with all the rules
              of hygiene, and in particular the following:
              — their inside surfaces and any other part which come into contact with the egg product must be made
                  of a smooth material which is easy to wash, clean and disinfect, resists corrosion and does not
                  transfer substances to the egg product in such quantities as to endanger human health, cause deteri-
                  oration in the composition of the egg product or adversely affect its organoleptic characteristics,
              — they must be designed so that the egg product can be removed completely; if they are fitted with
                  taps, these must be easy to remove, dismantle, wash, clean and disinfect,
              — they must be washed, cleaned, disinfected and rinsed immediately after each use and, if necessary,
                  before re-use,
              — they must be appropriately sealed after being filled and remain sealed during transportation until
                  they are used,
              — they may be used to transport other food products, provided there are no adverse effects for the egg
                  products.
                                                                 CHAPTER IX
                                                                     Storage
          1. Egg products must be stored in the storage rooms referred to in Chapter II, point 1.
          2. Egg products for which certain storage temperatures are required must be maintained at those temper-
               atures; the storage temperatures must be recorded, the cooling rate must be such that the product
               reaches the required temperatures as quickly as possible and the containers must be stored in such a way
               that air can freely circulate round them.
                                                                  CHAPTER X
                                                                 TRANSPORT
           1. Vehicles and containers for the transport of egg products must be designed and equipped in such a way
               that the temperatures required by this Directive can be maintained throughout the period of transport.
           2. Egg products must be dispatched in such a way that they are adequately protected during transportation
               from anything which may be detrimental to them.
 ---pagebreak---  No C 67/20                                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                       14. 3. 87
                                                               CHAPTER XI
                                                    MARKING OF EGG PRODUCTS
               Each consignment of egg products leaving the establishment shall bear a label containing the following
               particulars:
               (a) the nature of the products with an indication of the species of origin;
               (b) the official number of the establishment;
               (c) the initials of the producing country, i.e.
                    B — D — DK — F — GR — I — IRL — L — NL — P — SP — UK;
               (d) one of the following sets of initials: CEE — EEG — EWG — EEC — E0F or EOK;
               (e) the temperature at which the egg products must be maintained and the period during which their
                    preservation may thus be assured;
               (f) the batch number;
               (g) the place of destination.
              The label must be legible, indelible and in easily decipherable characters at least 2 cm high.
               During transportation the particulars referred to under (a), (e), (f) and (g) need not appear on the label if
               they are shown clearly in the transportation documents.
               Information contained in the mark of wholesomeness shall be given in the official language or languages of
               the country of destination.
              Proposoal for a Council Regulation (EEC) amending Regulation (EEC) No 2176/84 on
              protection against dumped or subsidized imports from countries not members of the European
                                                          Economic Community
                                                             COM(87) 57 final
                                 (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 23 February 1987)
                                                               (87/C 67/08)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                                 — where the value of the parts used in the assembly
                                                                             operation and originating in the country of origin of
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European                        the product subject to an anti-dumping duty exceeds
Economic Community, and in particular Article 113                            the value of all other parts used,
thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                       such assembly is considered likely                to lead     to
                                                                         circumvention of the anti-dumping duty;
Whereas experience gained from the implementation of
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2176/84 (') has shown
that assembly in the Community of products whose                         Whereas, in order to prevent circumvention, it is
importation in a finished state is subject to anti-dumping               necessary to provide for the collection of anti-dumping
duty may give rise to certain difficulties;                              duty on products thus assembled;
Whereas in particular:
                                                                         Whereas it is necessary to lay down procedures and
— where assembly is carried out by a party which is                      conditions for the collection of duty in such circum-
    related to any of the manufacturers whose exports of                 stances;
    the like product are subject to an anti-dumping duty,
    and
                                                                         Whereas the amount of anti-dumping duty collected
                                                                         should be limited to that necessary to prevent
O O J N o L 2 0 1 , 30.7. 1984, p. 1.                                    circumvention,