2006/264/EC: Commission Decision of  27 March 2006  concerning protection measures in relation to Newcastle disease in Romania  (notified under document number C(2006) 892)   (Text with EEA relevance)

4.4.2006 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 95/6
COMMISSION DECISION
of 27 March 2006
concerning protection measures in relation to Newcastle disease in Romania
(notified under document number C(2006) 892)
(Text with EEA relevance)
(2006/264/EC)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Directive 91/496/EEC of 15 July 1991 laying down the principles governing the organisation of veterinary checks on animals entering the Community from third countries and amending Directives 89/662/EEC, 90/425/EEC and 90/675/EEC (1), and in particular Article 18 thereof,
Having regard to Council Directive 97/78/EC of 18 December 1997 laying down the principles governing the organisation of veterinary checks on products entering the Community from third countries (2), and in particular Article 22 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Newcastle disease is a highly contagious viral disease in poultry and birds and there is a risk that the disease agent might be introduced via international trade in live poultry and poultry products.
(2) Romania has notified to the Commission the occurrence of outbreaks of Newcastle disease on its territory.
(3) In view of the animal health risk of disease introduction into the Community, it is therefore appropriate to take measures in relation to imports of live poultry, ratites, farmed and wild feathered game birds and hatching eggs of these species from Romania.
(4) Romania has communicated further information on the disease situation and asked for regionalisation to suspend importation into the Community from those regions affected by the disease only, since the situation in the rest of the country appears to be satisfactory. The information available at present gives the possibility to reduce the protection measures to specific regions.
(5) The information presented to the Commission shows that the disease was suspected in Romania for the first time on 22 November 2005.
(6) Therefore, taking into account the incubation period of the disease, the importation into the Community from the affected regions in Romania should be suspended for fresh meat of poultry, ratites and wild and farmed feathered game, meat preparations and meat products consisting of, or containing meat of those species, obtained from birds slaughtered after 1 October 2005.
(7) Commission Decision 2005/432/EC of 3 June 2005 laying down the animal and public health conditions and model certificates for imports of meat products for human consumption from third countries and repealing Decisions 97/41/EC, 97/221/EC and 97/222/EC (3) lays down the list of third countries or parts thereof from which meat products are authorised for importation into the Community and establishes treatment regimes for meat products considered effective in inactivating certain pathogens.
(8) In order to prevent the risk of disease transmission via the products covered by Decision 2005/432/EC, appropiate treatment should be applied depending on the health status of the country of origin and the species the product is obtained from. It is therefore appropriate that imports of poultry meat products, originating from the affected regions in Romania and treated to a temperature of at least 70 °C throughout the product, should continue to be authorised for importation into the Community.
(9) In order to authorise imports of meat products subjected to a heat treatment sufficient to inactivate any possible virus in the meat, it is necessary to specify the required treatment for poultry meat in the health certificates drawn up in accordance with Annexes III and IV to Decision 2005/432/EC.
(10) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,