17.12.2005 EN Official Journal of the European Union L 331/12
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2067/2005
of 16 December 2005
amending Regulation (EC) No 92/2005 as regards alternative means of disposal and use of animal by-products
(Text with EEA relevance)
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 October 2002 laying down health rules concerning animal by-products not intended for human consumption (1), and in particular Articles 4(2)(e), 5(2)(g) and 6(2)(i) and Article 32(1) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 lays down rules concerning means of disposing of and ways of using animal by-products. It also provides for the possibility of additional means of disposing of and other ways of using animal by-products, to be approved following consultation of the appropriate scientific committee.
(2) On the basis of opinions issued by the Scientific Steering Committee and of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), following the entry into force of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety (2), the Commission has to date approved five processes as alternative means of disposing of or using animal by-products.
(3) On the basis of further information submitted by applicants after the adoption of Commission Regulation (EC) No 92/2005 of 19 January 2005 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards means of disposal or uses of animal by-products and amending its Annex VI as regards biogas transformation and processing of rendered fats (3), the EFSA issued an opinion on 22 April 2004 on the combustion of tallow in a thermal boiler and on 2 June 2004 on the biodiesel process as a safe means of disposing of Category 1 material.
(4) On the basis of this evaluation by the EFSA, the biodiesel process can be regarded as a safe means of disposing of and using Category 1 material too. Regulation (EC) No 92/2005 should therefore be amended to reflect this further evaluation.
(5) The EFSA also concluded that the combustion of tallow in a thermal boiler can be regarded as a safe means of disposal and use of animal by-products. The conditions under which the process was considered safe are therefore reflected in a further amendment to the Regulation. Fat treated in accordance with the process parameters should be allowed to be moved to other plants for combustion in order to avoid problems with the stockpiling of the resulting materials in existing establishments. Strict conditions of separation between combustion and food and feed processing apply.
(6) Technological progress has led to the development of a number of modified process parameters for the final stages of the processes of biodiesel production and combustion of tallow in a thermal boiler. Provided that one of the processing methods laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 has been applied previously, the competent authorities of Member States should be able to approve these modified process parameters.
(7) The approval and application of such alternative processes should be without prejudice to other applicable Community legislation, in particular environmental legislation. Accordingly, the requirements for gas clean-up systems in the alkaline hydrolysis process and the biodiesel process can be done away with.
(8) Biodiesel should not need to be marked permanently since the production process is safe and in order to facilitate its use as an alternative fuel.
(9) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,
Regulation (EC) No 92/2005 is amended as follows:
1. in Article 1, paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the following:
2. Article 2 is replaced by the following:
3. in the title and the first sentence of Article 3, ‘Annexes I to V’ is replaced by ‘Annexes I to VI’;
4. Article 4 is amended as follows:
(a) in paragraph 1, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:
(b) the following paragraph 5 is added:
5. Annexes I, III and IV are amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation and Annex VI is added.
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.