2001/305/EC: Commission Decision of 11 April 2001 on marking and use of certain animal products in relation to Decision 2001/223/EC concerning certain protection measures with regard to foot-and-mouth disease in the Netherlands (Text with EEA relevance) (notified under document number C(2001) 1117)

Commission Decision
of 11 April 2001
on marking and use of certain animal products in relation to Decision 2001/223/EC concerning certain protection measures with regard to foot-and-mouth disease in the Netherlands
(notified under document number C(2001) 1117)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2001/305/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Directive 90/425/EEC of 26 June 1990 concerning veterinary and zootechnical checks applicable in intra-Community trade in certain live animals and products with a view to the completion of the internal market(1), as last amended by Directive 92/118/EEC(2), and in particular Article 10 thereof,
Having regard to Council Directive 89/662/EEC of 11 December 1989 concerning veterinary checks in intra-Community trade with a view to the completion of the internal market(3), as last amended by Directive 92/118/EEC, and in particular Article 9 thereof,
Having regard to Council Directive 64/433/EEC(4) on health conditions for the production and marketing of fresh meat, as last amended by Directive 95/23/EC(5), and in particular Article 6(1)(f) thereof,
Having regard to Council Directive 77/99/EEC(6) on health problems affecting the production and marketing of meat products and certain other products of animal origin, as last amended by Council Directive 97/76/EC(7), and in particular Article 3(A)(7), second indent thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Following the reports of outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in the Netherlands, the Commission adopted Decision 2001/223/EC concerning certain protection measures with regard to foot-and-mouth disease in the Netherlands(8), as last amended by Decision 2001/.../EC(9).
(2) The measures to be carried out in a surveillance zone are laid down in Article 9 of Directive 85/511/EEC of 18 November 1985 introducing Community measures for the control of foot-and-mouth disease(10), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden.
(3) The disease situation in the Netherlands requires restrictions to remain in place for a prolonged period with consequent problems due to the increasing numbers of susceptible animals intended for slaughter kept in holdings not affected by foot-and-mouth disease.
(4) Council Directive 72/461/EEC on health problems affecting intra-Community trade in fresh meat(11), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, requires that meat obtained from animals from a holding or area which for health reasons is subject to prohibition pursuant to Article 3(2)(b) of Council Directive 64/432/EC on animal health problems affecting intra-Community trade in bovine animals and swine(12), as last amended by Council Directive 2000/20/EC(13), shall not be sent from the territory of one Member State to the territory of another Member State and that such meat may not bear the Community health mark unless this health mark is superimposed by a cross.
(5) Council Directive 80/215/EEC on animal health problems affecting intra-Community trade in meat products(14), as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, allows meat products made from meat marked with a stamp as provided for in Article 5a of Directive 72/461/EEC to be marked in accordance with Chapter VI of Annex B of Directive 77/99/EEC, after such meat has undergone certain treatment.
(6) Article 6(1)(f) of Council Directive 64/433/EEC requires Member States to ensure that meat from an area subject to animal health restrictions is subject to specific rules to be determined on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 16 of that Directive. Furthermore, Article 6(1)(h) of Directive 64/433/EEC requires that such meat must be marked with a national stamp which cannot be confused with the Community stamp and in particular is not oval.
(7) Article 3(A)(7), second indent, of Council Directive 77/99/EEC requires meat products made from meat which must be marketed locally to be marked with a mark to be determined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 20 of Directive 77/99/EEC.
(8) Article 3(1)(f) of Council Directive 91/495/EEC of 27 November 1990 concerning public health and animal health problems affecting the production and placing on the market of rabbit meat and farmed game meat(15), as last amended by Directive 94/65/EC(16), provides for the health marking of farmed game meat.
(9) Commission Decision 2001/223/EC prohibits, with the exception of meat obtained from animals slaughtered before 20 February 2001, dispatch of fresh meat obtained from animals of the bovine, ovine, caprine and porcine species and other biungulates originating in the areas listed in Annex I of that Decision and meat products produced from such meat, except after certain treatment.
(10) It is therefore the purpose of this Decision to determine the health mark applied to fresh meat obtained from susceptible animals and to meat products made from such meat which, in accordance with Community legislation concerning foot-and-mouth disease are not eligible for intra-Community trade and moreover the conditions under which such health marks can be applied.
(11) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Veterinary Committee,