Commission Decision of 19 January 2011 concerning certain protection measures against foot-and-mouth disease in Bulgaria (notified under document C(2011) 179) (Text with EEA relevance) (2011/44/EU)

Article 2 U.K. Meats

1. For the purposes of this Article, ‘meats’ means ‘fresh meat’, ‘minced meat’, ‘mechanically separated meat’ and ‘meat preparations’ as defined in points 1.10, 1.13, 1.14 and 1.15 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004.

2. Bulgaria shall not dispatch meats of the bovine, ovine, caprine and porcine species and other biungulates coming from or obtained from animals originating in the areas listed in Annex I.

3. Meats not eligible for dispatch from Bulgaria in accordance with this Decision shall be marked in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 4(1) of Directive 2002/99/EC or in accordance with Annex IV.

4. Without prejudice to Articles 6 and 8b of Decision 2008/855/EC, the prohibition set out in paragraph 2 shall not apply to meats bearing the health mark in accordance with Chapter III of Section I of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 854/2004, provided that:

(a) the meat is clearly identified, and has been transported and stored since the date of production separately from meat which is not eligible, in accordance with this Decision, for dispatch outside the areas listed in Annex I;

(b) the meat complies with one of the following conditions:

(i)

it was obtained before 9 December 2010; or

(ii)

it is derived from animals that have been reared for at least 90 days, or since birth if less than 90 days of age, prior to the date of slaughter and which have been slaughtered, or in the case of meat obtained from wild game of species susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease killed, outside the areas listed in Annexes I and II; or

(iii)

it complies with the conditions set out in points (c), (d) and (e);

(c) the meat was obtained from domestic ungulates or from farmed game of species susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease, as specified for the respective category of meat in one of the appropriate columns 4 to 7 in Annex III, and complies with the following conditions:

(i)

the animals have been reared for at least 90 days prior to the date of slaughter, or since birth if less than 90 days of age, on holdings situated within the areas specified in columns 1, 2 and 3 of Annex III, where there has been no outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease during at least 90 days prior to the date of slaughter;

(ii)

during the 21 days prior to the date of transport to the slaughterhouse, or in the case of farmed game of species susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease prior to the date of on-farm slaughtering, the animals have remained under the supervision of the competent veterinary authorities on a single holding which is situated in the centre of a circle around the holding of at least 10 km radius, where there has been no outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease during at least 30 days prior to the date of loading;

(iii)

no animals of species susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease have been introduced into the holding referred to in point (ii) during the 21 days prior to the date of loading, or in the case of farmed game of species susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease prior to the date of on-farm slaughtering, except in the case of pigs coming from a supplying holding which complies with the conditions laid down in point (ii), in which case the period of 21 days may be reduced to 7 days.

However, the competent authority may authorise the introduction into the holding referred to in point (ii) of animals of species susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease which comply with the conditions set out in points (i) and (ii) and which:

• come from a holding where no animals of species susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease have been introduced during the 21 days prior to the date of transport to the holding referred to in point (ii), except in the case of pigs coming from a supplying holding in which case the period of 21 days may be reduced to 7 days; or

• were subjected with negative results to a test for antibodies against the foot-and-mouth disease virus carried out on a blood sample taken within 10 days prior to the date of transport to the holding referred to in point (ii); or

• come from a holding that was subjected with negative results to a serological survey pursuant to a sampling protocol suitable to detect 5 % prevalence of foot-and-mouth disease with at least a 95 % level of confidence;

(iv)

the animals or, in the case of farmed game of species susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease slaughtered on the farm, the carcasses have been transported under official control in means of transport that have been cleansed and disinfected before loading from the holding referred to in point (ii) to the designated slaughterhouse;

(v)

the animals have been slaughtered less than 24 hours following the time of arrival at the slaughterhouse and separately from animals the meat of which is not eligible for dispatch from the area listed in Annex I;

(d) the meat, if positively marked in column 8 of Annex III, was obtained from wild game of species susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease, that was killed in areas where there has been no outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease for at least a period of 90 days before the date of killing and at a distance of at least 20 km from areas not specified in columns 1, 2 and 3 of Annex III;

(e) meat referred to in points (c) and (d) must in addition comply with the following conditions:

(i)

the dispatch of such meat is only to be authorised by the competent veterinary authority of Bulgaria, if

• the animals referred to in point (c)(iv) have been transported to the establishment without contact to holdings situated in areas not specified in columns 1, 2 and 3 of Annex III, and

• the establishment is not situated in a protection zone;

(ii)

the meat is at all times clearly identified, handled, stored and transported separately from meat which is not eligible for dispatch from the area listed in Annex I;

(iii)

during post-mortem inspection by the official veterinarian in the establishment of dispatch, or in the case of on-farm slaughtering of farmed game of species susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease on the holding referred to in point (c)(ii), or in the case of wild game of species susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease at the game-handling establishment, no clinical signs or post-mortem evidence of foot-and-mouth disease were established;

(iv)

the meat has remained in the establishments or holdings referred to in point (e)(iii) for at least 24 hours following the post-mortem inspection of the animals referred to in points (c) and (d);

(v)

any further preparation of meat for dispatch outside the area listed in Annex I shall be suspended:

• in the case where foot-and-mouth disease has been diagnosed in the establishments or holdings referred to in point (e)(iii), until the slaughter of all animals present and the removal of all meat and dead animals has been completed, and at least 24 hours have elapsed since the completion of the total cleansing and disinfection of those establishments and holdings under the control of an official veterinarian, and

• in the case of slaughter in the same establishment of animals susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease coming from holdings situated in areas listed in Annex I that do not comply with the conditions set out in point 4(c) or (d), until the slaughter of all such animals and the cleansing and disinfection of those establishments have been completed under the control of an official veterinarian;

(vi)

the central veterinary authorities shall communicate to the other Member States and the Commission a list of those establishments and holdings which they have approved for the purposes of application of points (c), (d) and (e).

5. Compliance with the conditions set out in paragraphs 3 and 4 shall be checked by the competent veterinary authority under the supervision of the central veterinary authorities.

6. Without prejudice to Articles 6 and 8b of Decision 2008/855/EC, the prohibition set out in paragraph 2 of this Article shall not apply to fresh meat obtained from animals reared outside the areas listed in Annex I and Annex II and transported, by way of derogation from Article 1(2) and (3), directly and under official control without contact to holdings situated in areas listed in Annex I to a slaughterhouse situated in the areas listed in Annex I outside the protection zone for immediate slaughter, provided that such fresh meat is only placed on the market in the areas listed in Annex I and Annex II and complies with the following conditions:

(a) all such fresh meat is marked in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 4(1) of Directive 2002/99/EC or in accordance with Annex IV to this Decision;

(b) the slaughterhouse:

(i)

is operated under strict veterinary control;

(ii)

suspends any further preparation of meat for dispatch outside the areas listed in Annex I in the case of slaughter in the same slaughterhouse of animals susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease coming from holdings situated in areas listed in Annex I until the slaughter of all such animals and the cleansing and disinfection of the slaughterhouse have been completed under the control of an official veterinarian;

(c) the fresh meat is clearly identified, and transported and stored separately from meat which is eligible for dispatch outside Bulgaria.

Compliance with the conditions set out in the first subparagraph shall be checked by the competent veterinary authority under the supervision of the central veterinary authorities.

The central veterinary authority of Bulgaria shall communicate to the Commission and to the other Member States the list of the establishments which they have approved for the purposes of application of this paragraph.

7. Without prejudice to Article 6 of Decision 2008/855/EC, the prohibition set out in paragraph 2 shall not apply to fresh meat obtained from cutting plants situated in the areas listed in Annex I under the following conditions:

(a) only fresh meat as described in paragraph 4(b) is processed in that cutting plant, on the same day.

Cleansing and disinfection shall be carried out after processing of any meat not meeting this requirement;

(b) all meat bears the health mark in accordance with Chapter III of Section I of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 854/2004;

(c) the cutting plant is operated under strict veterinary control;

(d) the fresh meat is clearly identified, and transported and stored separately from meat which is not eligible for dispatch outside the areas listed in Annex I.

Compliance with the conditions set out in the first subparagraph shall be checked by the competent veterinary authority under the supervision of the central veterinary authorities.

The central veterinary authority of Bulgaria shall communicate to the other Member States and the Commission the list of the establishments which they have approved for the purpose of application of this paragraph.

8. Meat dispatched from Bulgaria to other Member States shall be accompanied by an official certificate, which shall bear the following words:

‘Meat conforming to Commission Decision 2011/44/EU of 19 January 2011 concerning certain protection measures against foot-and-mouth disease in Bulgaria(1).’

9. Without prejudice to Articles 6 and 8b of Decision 2008/855/EC, the prohibition set out in paragraph 2 of this Article shall not apply to fresh meat obtained from pigs reared in the areas listed in Annex I and transported in accordance with Article 1(9) to a slaughterhouse situated in the areas listed in Annex II for immediate slaughter, provided that such fresh meat complies with the following conditions:

(a) the fresh meat is marked in accordance with the second subparagraph of Article 4(1) of Directive 2002/99/EC or in accordance with Annex IV to this Decision and is placed on the market only in the areas listed in Annex I and Annex II;

(b) the slaughterhouse:

(i)

is operated under veterinary control;

(ii)

suspends any further preparation of meat for dispatch outside the areas listed in Annex I in the case of slaughter in the same slaughterhouse of animals susceptible to foot-and-mouth disease coming from other holdings situated in areas listed in Annex I until the slaughter of all such animals and the cleansing and disinfection of the slaughterhouse have been completed under the control of an official veterinarian;

(c) the fresh meat is clearly identified and is transported and stored separately from meat which is eligible for dispatch outside Bulgaria.

Compliance with the conditions set out in paragraph 1 shall be checked by the competent veterinary authority under the supervision of the central veterinary authorities.

The central veterinary authority of Bulgaria shall communicate to the other Member States and to the Commission the list of the establishments which they have approved for the purpose of application of this paragraph.

(1)

OJ L 19, 22.1.2011, p. 20.’