Article 8U.K.Opinion of the [Food Safety Authority]
1.The [Food Safety Authority] shall give an opinion within six months of receipt of a valid application. This time limit shall be extended whenever the [Food Safety Authority] seeks supplementary information from the applicant under paragraph 2.
2.The [Food Safety Authority] may, where appropriate, request the applicant to supplement the particulars accompanying the application within a time limit specified by the [Food Safety Authority] after consultation with the applicant.
3.In order to prepare its opinion, the [Food Safety Authority]:
(a)shall verify that the particulars and documents submitted by the applicant are in accordance with Article 7 and undertake an assessment in order to determine whether the feed additive complies with the conditions laid down in Article 5;
(b)shall verify the report of the [reference laboratory].
4.In the event of an opinion in favour of authorising the feed additive, the opinion shall also include the following elements:
(a)the name and address of the applicant;
(b)the designation of the feed additive including its categorisation and allocation within functional groups provided for in Article 6, its specification, including, where applicable, purity criteria and method of analysis;
(c)depending on the outcome of the assessment, specific conditions or restrictions in relation to handling, post-market monitoring requirements and use, including animal species and categories of animal species for which the additive is to be used;
(d)specific additional requirements for the labelling of the feed additive necessary as a result of conditions and restrictions imposed under (c);
(e)a proposal for the establishment of Maximum Residues Limits (MRLs) in the relevant foodstuffs of animal origin, unless the opinion of the [Food Safety Authority] concludes that the establishment of MRLs is not necessary for the protection of consumers or MRLs have already been established in [Regulation (EC) No 470/2009].
[5.The Food Safety Authority must without delay forward its opinion to the appropriate authority including a report describing its assessment of the feed additive and stating the reasons for its conclusion.]
6.The [Food Safety Authority] shall make its opinion public, after deletion of any information identified as confidential in accordance with Article 18(2).