Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 884/2014
of 13 August 2014
imposing special conditions governing the import of certain feed and food from certain third countries due to contamination risk by aflatoxins and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1152/2009
(Text with EEA relevance) (repealed)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety(1), and in particular Article 53(1)(b)(ii) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1152/2009(2) has to be amended substantially and the scope has to be extended to feed.
(2) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006(3) lays down permitted maximum levels of aflatoxins in food for the protection of public health. It can be observed that these maximum levels of aflatoxins are frequently exceeded in certain foods from certain countries. Such contamination constitutes a serious threat to public health within the Union and it is therefore appropriate to adopt special conditions at the Union level.
(3) Directive 2002/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(4) lays down maximum permitted levels of aflatoxin B1 in feed for the protection of animal and public health. It can be observed that the maximum levels of aflatoxin B1 are frequently exceeded in certain feed from certain countries. Such contamination constitutes a serious threat to animal and public health within the Union and it is therefore appropriate to adopt special conditions at the Union level.
(4) For the protection of animal and public health it is important that compound feed and food containing to a significant amount the feed and food covered by this Regulation are also within the scope of this Regulation. To ensure harmonised enforcement of controls across the EU of processed and compound feed and food, it is appropriate to establish a threshold level. It is furthermore appropriate to exclude non-commercial consignments from the application of the provisions of this Regulation. The sampling and the analysis of consignments should be performed in accordance with the relevant Union legislation.
(5) The provisions on sampling and analysis for the control of aflatoxins in feed are established by Commission Regulation (EC) No 152/2009(5) and in food by Commission Regulation (EC) No 401/2006(6).
(6) Given that for the application of special conditions governing the import of feed from certain third countries due to contamination risk by aflatoxins the similar provisions are of application as those for the application of the special conditions governing the import of food from certain third countries due to contamination risk by aflatoxins, it is appropriate to include feed and food, for which special conditions are imposed because of the risk of aflatoxin contamination into one Regulation. It is therefore appropriate to include into this Regulation the provisions as regards groundnuts from India and Ghana and the watermelon seeds from Nigeria provided for in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 91/2013(7). Implementing Regulation (EU) No 91/2013 should be replaced simultaneously by a new Regulation laying down the provisions as regards okra and curry leaves from India.
(7) Based on the control results and the outcome of Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) audits, following changes to products to be subject to specific conditions and/or control frequencies are appropriate:
deletion of special conditions for import of almonds from the US because of favourable control results and favourable outcome of FVO inspection audit,
reduction of sampling frequency on hazelnuts from Turkey given the favourable control results and favourable outcome of FVO inspection audit,
reduction of sampling frequency for Brazil nuts in shell from Brazil given the absence of non-compliance also related to the very low quantities imported into the EU.
(8) The control system provided for the feed and food covered by this Regulation has been applied since many years and has continuously been improved based on the gained experiences. A full harmonisation of the controls on the import of food of non-animal origin is not possible because it is impossible to perform all required physical controls on aflatoxins at the designated point of entry. The control on the presence of aflatoxins in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 401/2006 is time consuming and requires an unloading of the consignment. Furthermore, many commodities covered by this Regulation are transported in vacuum packing and destruction of the vacuum packing through the sampling might result in quality loss in case the consignment needs to be transported over a long distance after the physical control. However in order to reduce administrative burden, it is appropriate to harmonise as much as possible the administrative documents related to the controls on feed and food of non-animal origin. Therefore, while the conditions for import for the feed and food covered by this Regulation are not identical for the feed and food covered by Commission Regulation (EC) No 669/2009(8), it is appropriate to use the same Common Entry Document (CED) in view of administrative simplification for the feed and food business operators. However, it is necessary for the application of that CED for this Regulation, to provide additional explanatory notes in the notes for guidance to address the differences in the control systems.
(9) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1152/2009 of 27 November 2009 imposing special conditions governing the import of certain foodstuffs from certain third countries due to contamination risk by aflatoxins and repealing Decision 2006/504/EC (OJ L 313, 28.11.2009, p. 40).
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 of 19 December 2006 setting maximum levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs (OJ L 364, 20.12.2006, p. 5).
Directive 2002/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 May 2002 on undesirable substances in animal feed (OJ L 140, 30.5.2002, p. 10).
Commission Regulation (EC) No 152/2009 of 27 January 2009 laying down the methods of sampling and analysis for the official control of feed (OJ L 54, 26.2.2009, p. 1).
Commission Regulation (EC) No 401/2006 of 23 February 2006 laying down the methods of sampling and analysis for the official control of the levels of mycotoxins in foodstuffs (OJ L 70, 9.3.2006, p. 12).
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 91/2013 of 31 January 2013 laying down specific conditions applicable to the import of groundnuts from Ghana and India, okra and curry leaves from India and watermelon seeds from Nigeria and amending Regulations (EC) No 669/2009 and (EC) No 1152/2009 (OJ L 33, 2.2.2013, p. 2).
Commission Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 of 24 July 2009 implementing Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the increased level of official controls on imports of certain feed and food of non-animal origin and amending Decision 2006/504/EC (OJ L 194, 25.7.2009, p. 11).