Commission Decision of 5 November 2010 concerning a financial contribution from the Union towards a coordinated monitoring programme on the prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in certain ready-to-eat foods to be carried out in the Member States (notified under document C(2010) 7516) (2010/678/EU) (c. 678)

Article 4 U.K. Sampling, analyses and recording of data by the Member States

1. Sampling shall be performed by the competent authority or under its supervision.

2. National reference laboratories for Listeria monocytogenes shall perform the Listeria monocytogenes, pH and water activity analyses.

3. The competent authority may designate other laboratories than the national reference laboratories which are accredited for and involved in official controls of Listeria monocytogenes to perform the Listeria monocytogenes, pH and water activity analyses.

4. The sampling and analyses provided for in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, as well as recording of all relevant data, shall be performed in accordance with the technical specifications set out in Annex I.

5. The number of samples to be taken per ready-to-eat food category in each Member State is set out in Annex II.