23.10.2010 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 279/10
COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 956/2010
of 22 October 2010
amending Annex X to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the list of rapid tests
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION
,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (1), and in particular the first paragraph of Article 23 and the introductory phrase and point (a) of Article 23a thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 lays down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) in animals. It applies to the production and placing on the market of live animals and products of animal origin and in certain specific cases to exports thereof.
(2) Point 4 of Chapter C of Annex X to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 sets out a list of rapid tests to be used for the monitoring of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in bovine animals and TSEs in ovine and caprine animals.
(3) On 18 December 2009 and 29 April 2010, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published two Scientific Opinions on Analytical sensitivity of approved TSE rapid tests. Those opinions were based on studies performed by the European Union Reference Laboratory (EURL) for TSEs. The EURL studies were intended to evaluate the analytical sensitivity of all the currently approved TSE rapid tests in order to produce robust analytical sensitivity data and evaluate each test against the same sample sets for the three main types of ruminant TSE: BSE, classical scrapie and atypical scrapie.
(4) As regards scrapie, the EFSA concluded in its opinion published on 18 December 2009 that the tests ‘Enfer TSE v2’, ‘Enfer TSE v3’, ‘Prionics®-Check LIA SR’ and ‘Prionics®-WB Check Western SR’ could fail in identifying atypical scrapie cases that other validated tests would detect and according to the EFSA protocol for evaluation of rapid post mortem tests to detect TSE in small ruminants (EFSA, 2007b) they could not be recommended for use for TSE monitoring in that field. Accordingly, those methods should no longer be included in the list of rapid tests to be used for the monitoring of TSEs in ovine and caprine animals set out in point 4 of Chapter C of Annex X to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001.
(5) On 2 July 2009, Idexx laboratories informed the Commission that their combined test ‘IDEXX HerdChek BSE-Scrapie Antigen Test Kit, EIA’, which was developed both for the monitoring of TSE in small ruminants and BSE in bovine animals, has never been included in the list of rapid tests to be used for the monitoring of BSE in the Union even though it has been officially approved by the EURL for that purpose. That test should therefore be added to the list of rapid tests for BSE monitoring set out in point 4 of Chapter C of Annex X to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001.
(6) For practical reasons, the amendments introduced by this Regulation should apply from 1 January 2011, as the Member States need sufficient time in order to align their monitoring procedures for TSEs in ovine and caprine animals with the new list of rapid tests.
(7) Annex X to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(8) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,
Annex X to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.
This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 1 January 2011.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.