Commission Decision of 29 November 2007 laying down the animal and public health conditions and model certificates for imports of certain meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines for human consumption from third countries and repealing Decision 2005/432/EC (notified under document number C(2007) 5777) (Text with EEA relevance) (2007/777/EC)

Article 1 Subject matter and scope

1. This Decision lays down animal and public health rules for imports into the Community and the transit and storage in the Community, of consignments of:

(a) meat products, as defined in point 7.1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004; and

(b) treated stomachs, bladders and intestines, as defined in point 7.9 of that Annex, which have undergone one of the treatments laid down in Annex II part 4 to this Decision.

Those rules shall include the lists of third countries and parts thereof from which such imports shall be authorised and the model public and animal health certificates and rules on the origin and treatments required for those imports.

2. This Decision shall apply without prejudice to Decision 2004/432/EC and Decision 2003/779/EC.

Article 2 Conditions concerning species and animals

Member States shall ensure that only consignments of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines, derived from meat or meat products from the following species or animals, are imported into the Community:

(a)

poultry including fowl, turkeys, guinea fowl, ducks, geese, quails, pigeons, pheasants and partridges reared or kept in captivity for breeding, the production of meat or eggs for consumption or for restocking supplies of game;

(b)

domestic animals of the following species: bovine animals, including Bubalus bubalis and Bison bison, swine, sheep, goats and solipeds;

(c)

rabbits and hares, and farmed game, as defined in point 1.6 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004;

(d)

wild game, as defined in point 1.5 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004.

Article 3 Animal health requirements concerning the origin and treatment of the meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines

Member States shall authorise imports into the Community of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines that:

(a)

comply with the conditions concerning origin and treatment set out in Annex I(1) and (2); and

(b)

originate in the following third countries and parts thereof:

(i)

in the case of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines not subject to a specific treatment as referred to in point 1(b) of Annex I, the third countries listed in Part 2 of Annex II and the parts thereof listed in Part 1 of that Annex;

(ii)

in the case of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines subject to a specific treatment as referred to in point 2(a)(ii) of Annex I, the third countries listed in Parts 2 and 3 of Annex II and the parts thereof listed in Part 1 of that Annex.

Article 4 Public health requirements concerning the fresh meat used in the production of the meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines to be imported into the Community and animal and public health certificates

Member States shall ensure that:

(a)

only consignments of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines that are obtained from fresh meat, as defined in point 1.10 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 that complies with the Community public health requirements, are imported into the Community;

(b)

only consignments of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines complying with the requirements of the model public and animal health certificate set out in Annex III are imported into the Community;

(c)

that certificate accompanies such consignments and is duly completed and signed by the official veterinarian of the third country of dispatch.

Article 5 Consignments of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines in transit or storage in the Community

Member States shall ensure that consignments of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines, introduced into the Community and which are destined for a third country either by transit immediately or following storage, in accordance with Article 12(4) or Article 13 of Directive 97/78/EC, and not intended for importation into the Community, shall comply with the following requirements:

(a)

they come from the territory of a third country or a part thereof listed in Annex II and have undergone the minimum treatment for the import of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines of the species provided for therein;

(b)

they comply with the specific animal health conditions for the species concerned set out in the model animal and public health certificate in Annex III;

(c)

they are accompanied by an animal health certificate drawn up in accordance with the model set out in Annex IV, duly signed by an official veterinarian of the third country concerned;

(d)

they are certified as acceptable for transit or storage, as appropriate, on the common veterinary entry document by the official veterinarian of the border inspection post of introduction into the Community.

Article 6 Derogation for certain destinations in Russia

1. By way of derogation from Article 5, Member States shall authorise the transit by road or by rail through the Community, between designated Community border inspection posts listed in the Annex to Decision 2001/881/EC, of consignments of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines coming from and destined to Russia directly or via another third country provided that they comply with the following requirements:

(a) the consignment shall be sealed with a serially numbered seal by the official veterinarian of the competent authority of the border inspection post of introduction to the Community;

(b) the documents accompanying the consignment and referred to in Article 7 of Directive 97/78/EC shall be stamped ‘ONLY FOR TRANSIT TO RUSSIA VIA THE EC’ on each page by the official veterinarian of the competent authority of the border inspection post of introduction to the Community;

(c) the procedural requirements provided for in Article 11 of Directive 97/78/EC shall be complied with;

(d) the consignment shall be certified as acceptable for transit on the common veterinary entry document by the official veterinarian of the competent authority of the border inspection post of introduction to the Community.

2. Member States shall not authorise the unloading or storage, as defined in Article 12(4) or Article 13 of Directive 97/78/EC, in the Community of such consignments.

3. Member States shall ensure that the competent authority makes regular audits to ensure that the number of consignments and the quantities of meat products and treated stomachs, bladders and intestines, coming from or destined to Russia, leaving the Community matches the number and quantities entering the Community.

Article 7 Transitional provision

Consignments for which veterinary certificates were issued before 1 May 2008 in accordance with the models established by Decision 2005/432/EC shall be accepted for import into the Community until 1 June 2008.

Article 8 Repeal

Decision 2005/432/EC is repealed.

Article 9 Date of application

This Decision shall apply from 1 December 2007.

Article 10 Addresses

This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 29 November 2007.

For the Commission

Markos Kyprianou

Member of the Commission