CELEX: 51988PC0047
Language: en
Date: 1988-02-17
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL REGULATION ( EEC ) LAYING DOWN HEALTH CONDITIONS FOR THE MARKETING OF FISH AND FISH PRODUCTS CONCERNING NEMATODES

No C 66/2                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                 11. 3. 88
                                                              II
                                                      (Preparatory Acts)
                                                 COMMISSION
             Proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) laying down health conditions for the marketing of
                                       fish and fish products concerning nematodes
                                                     COM(88) 47 final
                            (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 22 February 1988)
                                                        (88/C 66/02)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES                           Whereas certain conditions should be laid down which
                                                                  apply both to producing establishments and to the
                                                                  competent authorities of the Member States and which
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European             allow them to limit those health risks;
Economic Community, and in particular Article 43
thereof,                                                          Whereas, in the context of intra-Community trade, rules
                                                                  should be laid down concerning inspections in the
                                                                  country of destination as well as rules concerning the
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                follow-up to those inspections; whereas those rules
                                                                  should be attuned to those resulting from general rules
                                                                  to be adopted in the context of the establishment of the
Having regard      to   the   opinion  of   the   European        internal market;
Parliament,
                                                                  Whereas it is necessary to adopt implementing measures
                                                                  in certain technical areas; whereas for the adoption of
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and                  those measures it is necessary to provide for collab-
Social Committee,                                                 oration between the Member States and the Commission
                                                                  within the Standing Veterinary Committee,
Whereas, in order to ensure the smooth operation of the
common market and more especially of the common                   HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
organization of the market in fishery products estab-
lished by Council Regulation (EEC) No 3796/81 ('), as                                       Article 1
last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3655/84 (2), it is
essential that the marketing of fish and fish products            For the purposes of this Regulation the following defi-
should no longer be hindered by disparities existing in           nitions shall apply:
the Member States in respect of health requirements;
whereas this will enable marketing to be better                     1. Fish: sea water fish species which are liable to
harmonized and bring about competition on equal terms;                 contain viable larvae of nematodes which may
                                                                       constitute a hazard to human health.
Whereas fishery products are covered by Annex II to the             2. Fresh fish: fish or parts thereof which have
Treaty;                                                                undergone no treatment to ensure preservation.
                                                                       Chilling at 0 to 2 °C is not considered as a
                                                                       treatment.
Whereas larvae of nematodes may be present in certain
                                                                    3. Fish products: fish which has undergone a treatment.
parts of fish;
                                                                    4. Treatment: heading, salting, marinating, smoking,
                                                                       freezing or a combination thereof.
Whereas it is necessary to prevent any health risks linked
 to the presence of nematodes in fish;                              5. Complete treatment: treatment, the effects of which
                                                                       are sufficient to inactivate larvae of any nematodes
                                                                       present in fish.
 (') OJ No L 379, 31. 12. 1981, p. 1.                               6. Incomplete treatment: treatment which does not meet
 (2) OJ No L 340, 28. 12. 1984, p. 1.                                  the requirements laid down in point 2 of the Annex.
 ---pagebreak--- 11. 3. 88                               Official Journal of the European Communities                               No C 66/3
  7. Marketing: the placing on the market after intro-             contain all information concerning the progress of the
     duction into the Community of fish and fish                   treatment and, in particular, charts recording heat or
     products for human consumption.                               cold treatment as well as the results of the analyses of
                                                                   brine and marinating solutions.
  8. Country of despatch: the Member State from which
     fish or fish products are despatched to another
     Member State.                                                 4.     Each establishment shall be subject to a regular
                                                                   control by the competent authorities. Controls shall
  9. Country of destination: the Member State to which             include, in particular, a check on the content of the
     fish or fish products are despatched from another             register referred to in paragraph 3 and the taking of
     Member State.                                                 samples in order to verify if the criteria laid down in
                                                                   point 2 of the Annex are complied with.
10. Drinking      water: water       complying with the
     requirements laid down          in Council Directive
     80/778/EEC (').                                               5.     Detailed rules for the implementation of paragraphs
                                                                   3 and 4 and possible derogations shall be adopted in
11. Clean seawater: seawater which meets the same                  accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 7.
     microbiological standards as drinking water and is
     free from objectionable substances which are likely
     to alter fresh fish or to transfer to them abnormal
                                                                                              Article 4
     characteristics.
                                                                   1.     The country of destination may, where there are
                                                                   serious grounds for suspecting that there are irregu-
                           Article 2                               larities, carry out non-discriminatory inspections of fish
1.     Fresh fish and fish products intended for marketing         and fish products which are the subject of intra-
shall comply with the conditions laid down in the Annex.           Community trade in order to check that a consignment
                                                                   meets the requirements of this Regulation.
2.     Fresh fish intended to be consumed raw and fish
products which have undergone an incomplete treatment
                                                                   2.     The inspections referred to in paragraph 1 shall be
and are liable to be consumed as such, can only be
                                                                   carried out at the place of destination of the goods.
marketed after they have been subjected to the treatment
referred to in point 2 (d) of the Annex; this treatment is
no longer necessary if the raw material from which they
                                                                   Those inspections may not unduly delay the marketing
have been prepared has already undergone such a                    of fresh fish and fish products or cause delays which
treatment.                                                         might adversely affect their quality.
3.     The Commission, following the procedure laid
down in Article 6, shall define the scope of paragraph 2,          3.     If, during an inspection carried out in accordance
as well as detailed implementing rules. In particular, the         with paragraphs 1 and 2 above, it is found that the fish
Commission shall specify the fish species and the nature            and fish products do not comply with this Regulation,
of the fish products to which the obligation laid down in          the competent authority may give the consignor, the
paragraph 2 is to apply.                                            consignee, or their representative the choice of with-
                                                                   drawing the consignment from the market in order that
                                                                    it may undergo further treatment or of using it for other
                           Article 3
                                                                    purposes if this is permissible on health grounds. If not,
1.     Each establishment carrying out a complete                  one of the choices offered must be the destruction of the
treatment of fish must be approved by the competent                 fish or fish products. In any event, precautionary
authority of the Member State on the territory of which             measures shall be taken by the competent authority to
it is situated.                                                     prevent improper use of such fish or fish products.
2.     That approval and the approval number linked
thereto shall be issued by the competent authority on               4. (a) Decisions and the grounds for taking them must
condition that the establishment concerned is able to                        be notified to the consignor, the consignee, or
comply, as far as the treatment is concerned, with the                       their representative. Should such persons so
conditions laid down in point 2 of the Annex.                                request, reasons must be given for such decisions
                                                                             and must be notified to them immediately in
                                                                             writing together with particulars of the remedies
 3.    Those responsible for each establishment must keep                    available to them under the law, their forms and
 a register to prove that each production load has                           the period within which action must be taken.
 undergone a complete treatment. That register shall                         Remedies available to the consignor, the
                                                                             consignee, or their representative shall not be
 O OJ No L 229, 30. 8. 1980, p. 11.                                          affected by this Regulation;
 ---pagebreak---  No C 66/4                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                 11. 3. 88
     (b) If such decisions are based on the existence of a        If, within 15 working days from the date on which a
         particularly serious risk to human health, they          matter is referred to it, the Council has not adopted any
         shall be communicated forthwith to the                   measures, the Commission shall adopt the proposed
         Commission or, where appropriate, to the                 measures and implement them immediately.
         competent authority of the Member State of
         despatch;                                                                          Article 6
                                                                  1.   Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to
     (c) Following such communication,           appropriate
                                                                 be applied, the chairman shall refer the matter without
         measures may be taken in accordance with the
                                                                 delay on his own initiative or at the request of a Member
         procedure laid down in Article 5, in particular for     State to the Committee.
         the purpose of coordinating the measures taken in
         other Member States with regard to the fish and         2.    Within the Committee, Member States' votes shall
         fish products concerned.                                be weighted as provided for in Article 148 (2) of the
                                                                 Treaty. The chairman shall not vote.
5.      Member States shall grant consignors whose fish or       3.    The Commission representative shall submit a draft
fish products may not be placed on the market as a result        of the measures to be adopted. The Committee shall
of an inspection as provided for in paragraph 1, the right       deliver its opinion on such measures within a period to
to obtain an expert's opinion.                                   be determined by the chairman in relation to the urgency
                                                                 of the matter to be considered. Opinions shall be
The expert must be a national of a Member State other            delivered by a majority of 54 votes.
than the country of despatch or the country of destin-
ation.                                                           4.    Where the measures are in conformity with the
                                                                 opinion of the Committee, the Commission shall adopt
                                                                 and apply them immediately. Where they are not in
The Commission shall draw up a list of experts proposed
                                                                 conformity with the opinion of the Committee, or if no
by the Member States who may be instructed to prepare
                                                                 opinion is delivered, the Commission shall, without
such opinions. It shall, in accordance with the procedure
                                                                 delay, propose to the Council the measures to be
laid down in Article 7, determine detailed rules for the
                                                                 adopted. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.
implementation of this paragraph.
                                                                 If, within three months from the date on which the
                                                                 proposal was submitted to it, the Council has not
                           Article 5                             adopted any measures, the Commission shall adopt the
                                                                 proposed measures and apply them immediately.
1.     Where the procedure laid down in this Article is to
be applied, the matter shall be referred forthwith to the                                   Article 7
Standing Veterinary Committee set up by Council
Decision 68/361/EEC (') (hereinafter called 'the                 The Commission shall be assisted by a committee of an
Committee') by its chairman on his initiative or at the          advisory nature composed of the representatives of the
request of a Member State.                                       Member States and chaired by the representative of the
                                                                 Commission.
2.     Within the Committee, Member States' votes shall          The representative of the Commission shall submit to the
be weighted as provided for in Article 148 (2) of the            committee a draft of the measures to be taken. The
Treaty. The chairman shall not vote.                             committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft, within a
                                                                 time limit which the chairman may lay down according
3.      The Commission representative shall submit a draft       to the urgency of the matter, if necessary by taking a
of the measures to be adopted. The Committee shall               vote.
deliver its opinion on such measures within two days.            The opinion shall be recorded in the minutes; in
Opinions shall be delivered by a majority of 54 votes.           addition, each Member State shall have the right to ask
                                                                 to have its position recorded in the minutes.
4.      Where the measures are in conformity with the
                                                                 The Commission shall take the utmost account of the
opinion of the Committee, the Commission shall adopt
                                                                 opinion delivered by the committee. It shall inform the
and implement them immediately. Where they are not in
                                                                 committee of the manner in which its opinion has been
conformity with the opinion of the Committee, or if no
                                                                 taken into account.
opinion is delivered, the Commission shall, without
delay, propose to the Council the measures to be
                                                                                            Article 8
adopted. The Council shall act by a qualified majority.
                                                                 This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 April 1988.
                                                                 This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and
 (') OJ No L 255, 18. 10. 1968, p. 23.                           directly applicable in all Member States.
 ---pagebreak--- 11. 3. 88                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                   No C 66/5
                                                             ANNEX
          1. (a) Fresh fish shall be cleaned and gutted immediately after having been caught.
                 Derogation from this requirement and the detailed rules of application of these conditions shall be
                 adopted following the procedure provided for under Article 6, account being taken in particular of
                 the technical constraints with reference to the catch and handling on board of certain species or
                 groups of species.
                 Fresh fish for which such a derogation has been given must in any case be refrigerated to less than
                 2 ° C immediately after capture.
             (b) Fillets of fresh fish must be visually inspected by the processing establishment. Any larvae present
                 must be removed.
          2. 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 65 °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 %                      10 days
                 15 °/o                    14 days
                 12 %                      28 days
                 10 %                      35 days
                 when using sugar (anchovis production)
                 15 %                     28 days
                 Other methods having a similar effect may be approved by the competent authorities;
             (c) marinating, by immersion of the fish in a solution having a suitable pH and a suitable salt concen-
                 tration during a well determined period, possibly in combination with the use of other additives.
                 The combination of those parameters must be approved by the competent authority;
             (d) cold treatment, in which the internal temperature of the fish has to be at maximum — 20 °C for at
                 least 24 hours.
          The competent authorities shall communicate to the Commission and to the other Member States the
          methods approved for the treatments referred to under (b) and (c).
           Amendment to the proposal for a Council Regulation (EEC) on a Research and Development
           Programme in the field of Applied Metrology and Chemical Analyses in the European
                                             Economic Community 1988 to 1992
                                     (The Community Bureau of Reference — BCR) (')
                                                       COM(88) 79 final
           (Amendment submitted by the Commission to the Council pursuant to Article 149, (3) of the EEC
                                                  Treaty on 26 February 1988)
                                                          (88/C 66/03)
          The Commission proposal is hereby amended as follows:
                                                                Title
                                     Replace 'Council Regulation' by 'Council Decision'.
          (') OJ No C 304, 14. 11. 1987, p. 4.