Commission Regulation (EC) No 1291/2008 of 18 December 2008 concerning the approval of control programmes for salmonella in certain third countries in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council and listing of avian influenza surveillance programmes in certain third countries and amending Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 (Text with EEA relevance)

19.12.2008 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 340/22
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1291/2008
of 18 December 2008
concerning the approval of control programmes for salmonella in certain third countries in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council and listing of avian influenza surveillance programmes in certain third countries and amending Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Directive 90/539/EEC of 15 October 1990 on animal health conditions governing intra-Community trade in, and imports from third countries of, poultry and hatching eggs (1), and in particular Article 21(1), Article 22(3), Article 23, Article 24(2) and Articles 26 and 27a thereof,
Having regard to Council Directive 2002/99/EC of 16 December 2002 laying down the animal health rules governing the production, processing, distribution and introduction of products of animal origin for human consumption (2), and in particular Article 8(4) and Article 9(2)(b) thereof,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 November 2003 on the control of Salmonella and other specified food-borne zoonotic agents (3), and in particular Article 10(2) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 of 8 August 2008 laying down a list of third countries, territories, zones or compartments from which poultry and poultry products may be imported into and transit through the Community and the veterinary certification requirements (4) provides that the commodities covered by that Regulation are only to be imported into and transit through the Community from the third countries, territories, zones or compartments listed in the table in Part 1 of Annex I thereto. It also lays down the veterinary certification requirements for such commodities and models of the veterinary certificates to accompany them are set out in Part 2 of that Annex. Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 applies from 1 January 2009.
(2) Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 provides that where an avian influenza surveillance programme is required in the certificate, commodities are only to be imported into the Community from those third countries, territories, zones or compartments which have had such a programme in place for a period for at least six months and the programme meets that requirement referred to in that Article and is indicated in column 7 of the table in Part 1 of Annex I to that Regulation.
(3) Brazil, Canada, Chile, Croatia, South Africa, Switzerland and the United States of America have submitted their avian influenza surveillance programmes to the Commission for evaluation. The Commission has examined those programmes and they meet the requirements referred to in Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 798/2008. Accordingly, those programmes should be indicated in column 7 of the table in Part 1 of Annex I to that Regulation.
(4) Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 lays down rules for the control of Salmonella and other zoonotic agents in different poultry populations in the Community. It provides for Community targets for the reduction of the prevalence of all Salmonella serotypes with public health significance in different poultry populations. As from the dates mentioned in Annex I, column 5 of that Regulation, admission to or retention on the list of third countries provided for in Community legislation, for the relevant species or category, from which Member States are authorised to import those animals or hatching eggs covered by this Regulation shall be subject to submission to the Commission by the third country concerned of a control programme. Such programme should be equivalent to those submitted by the Member States and subject to approval by the Commission.
(5) Croatia has submitted to the Commission its control programmes for Salmonella in breeding poultry of Gallus gallus, hatching eggs thereof, laying hens of Gallus gallus, table eggs thereof and day-old chicks of Gallus gallus intended for breeding or laying. Those programmes provide guarantees equivalent to the guarantees provided for in Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003. They should therefore be approved.
(6) Commission Decision 2007/843/EC (5) approved control programmes submitted by the United States of America, Israel, Canada and Tunisia as regards Salmonella in flocks of breeding hens. The United States of America has now submitted to the Commission its additional control programme for Salmonella in respect of day-old chicks of Gallus gallus, intended for laying or fattening. That programme provides guarantees equivalent to the guarantees provided for in Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003. It should therefore be approved. Israel clarified that its Salmonella control programme only applies to the broiler meat production chain.
(7) Within the framework of the Agreement between the European Community and the Swiss Confederation on trade in agricultural products (6), Switzerland has sent to the Commission its control programmes for Salmonella in breeding poultry of Gallus gallus, hatching eggs thereof, laying hens of Gallus gallus, table eggs thereof, day-old chicks of Gallus gallus intended for breeding or laying and broilers. Those programmes provide similar guarantees to the guarantees provided for in Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003. For clarity reasons, this should be reflected accordingly in column 9 of the table in Part 1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008.
(8) Certain other third countries currently listed in Part 1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 have not yet submitted any control programme for Salmonella to the Commission, or the programmes already submitted do not provide guarantees equivalent to those provided for in Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003. Since the requirements concerning breeding and productive poultry of Gallus gallus, eggs thereof and, day-old chicks of Gallus gallus, provided for in Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003, are to apply from 1 January 2009 within the Community, imports of such poultry and eggs should therefore no longer be authorised from those third countries after that date. The list of third countries, territories, zones or compartments set out in Part 1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(9) In order to provide guarantees equivalent to those provided for in Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003, third countries, from which Member States are authorised to import slaughter poultry of Gallus gallus, should certify that the control programme for Salmonella has been applied to the flock of origin and that that flock has been tested for the presence of Salmonella serotypes of public health significance.
(10) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1177/2006 of 1 August 2006 implementing Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards requirements for the use of specific control methods in the framework of the national control programmes for the control of salmonella in poultry (7) lays down certain rules for the use of antimicrobials and vaccines in the framework of the national control programmes.
(11) Third countries from which Member States are authorised to import slaughter poultry of Gallus gallus should certify that the specific requirements for the use of antimicrobials and vaccines provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1177/2006 are applied. If antimicrobials have been used for other purposes than the control of Salmonella, since such use may influence the testing for Salmonella at import, it should also be indicated in the veterinary certificate. The model veterinary certificate for the import of slaughter poultry and poultry for restocking game supplies other than ratites as set out in Part 2 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(12) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,