Commission Regulation (EC) No 798/2008Show full title

CHAPTER I U.K. SUBJECT MATTER, SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS

Article 1 U.K. Subject matter and scope

1. This Regulation lays down veterinary certification requirements for imports into and transit, including storage during transit, through the Community of the following commodities (the commodities):

(a) poultry, hatching eggs, day-old chicks and specified pathogen-free eggs;

(b) meat, minced meat and mechanically separated meat of poultry, including ratites and wild game-birds, eggs and egg products.

It lays down a list of third countries, territories, zones or compartments from which the commodities may be imported into the Community.

2. This Regulation shall not apply to poultry for exhibitions, shows or contests.

3. This Regulation shall apply without prejudice to specific certification requirements provided for in Community agreements with third countries.

Article 2 U.K. Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

(1)

‘poultry’ means fowl, turkeys, guinea fowl, ducks, geese, quails, pigeons, pheasants, partridges and ratites (ratitae), reared or kept in captivity for breeding, the production of meat or eggs for consumption, or for restocking supplies of game;

(2)

‘hatching eggs’ means eggs for incubation, laid by poultry;

(3)

‘day-old chicks’ means all poultry less than 72 hours old, not yet fed and muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata) or their crosses, less than 72 hours old whether or not fed;

(4)

‘breeding poultry’ means poultry 72 hours old or more, intended for the production of hatching eggs;

(5)

‘productive poultry’ means poultry 72 hours old or more, reared for:

(a)

the production of meat and/or eggs for consumption; or

(b)

the restocking of supplies of game;

(6)

‘specified pathogen-free eggs’ means hatching eggs which are derived from ‘chicken flocks free from specified pathogens’, as described in the European Pharmacopoeia(1), and which are intended solely for diagnostic, research or pharmaceutical use;

(7)

‘meat’ means edible parts of the following animals:

(a)

poultry, which, when relating to meat, means farmed birds, including birds that are farmed as domestic animals without being considered as such, with the exception of ratites;

(b)

wild game-birds that are hunted for human consumption;

(c)

ratites;

(8)

‘mechanically separated meat’ means the product obtained by removing meat from flesh-bearing bones after boning or from poultry carcases, using mechanical means resulting in the loss or modification of the muscle fibre structure;

(9)

‘minced meat’ means de-boned meat that has been minced into fragments and contains less than 1 % salt;

(10)

‘zone’ means a clearly defined part of a third country containing an animal subpopulation with a distinct health status with respect to a specific disease for which the required surveillance, control and biosecurity measures have been applied for the purpose of imports under this Regulation;

(11)

‘compartment’ means one or more poultry establishments in a third country under a common biosecurity management system containing a poultry subpopulation with a distinct health status with respect to a specific disease or diseases for which the required surveillance, control and biosecurity measures have been applied for the purpose of imports under this Regulation;

(12)

‘establishment’ means a facility or part of a facility which occupies a single site and is devoted to one or more of the following activities:

(a)

pedigree breeding establishment: an establishment which produces hatching eggs for the production of breeding poultry;

(b)

breeding establishment: an establishment which produces hatching eggs for the production of productive poultry;

(c)

rearing establishment either:

(i)

a breeding poultry-rearing establishment which rears breeding poultry prior to the reproductive stage; or

(ii)

a productive poultry-rearing establishment which rears egg-laying productive poultry prior to the laying stage;

(d)

keeping of other productive poultry;

(13)

‘hatchery’ means an establishment which incubates and hatches eggs and supplies day-old chicks;

(14)

‘flock’ means all poultry of the same health status kept on the same facilities or in the same enclosure and constituting a single epidemiological unit; as regards housed poultry, this definition includes all birds sharing the same airspace;

(15)

‘avian influenza’ means an infection of poultry caused by any influenza A virus:

(a)

of the subtypes H5 or H7;

(b)

with an intravenous pathogenicity index (IVPI) in six-week old chickens greater than 1,2; or

(c)

causing at least 75 % mortality in four- to 8-week-old chickens infected intravenously;

(16)

‘highly pathogenic avian influenza’ (HPAI) means an infection of poultry caused by:

(a)

avian influenza viruses of the subtypes H5 or H7 with genome sequences codifying for multiple basic amino acids at the cleavage site of the haemagglutinin molecule similar to that observed for other HPAI viruses, indicating that the haemagglutinin molecule can be cleaved by a host ubiquitous protease;

(b)

avian influenza as defined in point 15(b) and (c);

(17)

‘low pathogenic avian influenza’ (LPAI) means an infection of poultry caused by avian influenza viruses of subtypes H5 or H7 other than HPAI;

(18)

‘Newcastle disease’ means an infection of poultry:

(a)

caused by any avian strain of the paramyxovirus 1 with an intracerebral pathogenicity index (ICPI) in day-old chicks greater than 0,7; or

(b)

multiple basic amino acids have been demonstrated in the virus (either directly or by deduction) at the C-terminus of the F2 protein and phenylalanine at residue 117, which is the N-terminus of the F1 protein; the term ‘multiple basic amino acids’ refers to at least three arginine or lysine residues between residues 113 and 116; failure to demonstrate the characteristic pattern of amino acid residues as described in this point requires characterisation of the isolated virus by an ICPI test; in this definition, amino acid residues are numbered from the N-terminus of the amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the F0 gene, 113-116 corresponds to residues -4 to -1 from the cleavage site;

(19)

‘official veterinarian’ means the veterinarian designated by the competent authority;

(20)

‘differentiating infected from vaccinated animal (DIVA) strategy’ means a vaccination strategy which enables a differentiation to be made between vaccinated/infected and vaccinated/non-infected animals through the application of a diagnostic test designed to detect antibodies against the field virus and the use of non-vaccinated sentinel birds.

CHAPTER II U.K. GENERAL CONDITIONS FOR IMPORTS AND TRANSIT

Article 3 U.K. Lists of third countries, territories, zones or compartments of origin from which commodities may be imported into and transit through the Community

The commodities shall only be imported into and transit through the Community from the third countries, territories, zones or compartments listed in columns 1 and 3 of the table in Part 1 of Annex I.

Article 4 U.K. Veterinary certification

1. Commodities imported into the Community shall be accompanied by a veterinary certificate, as referred to in column 4 of the table in Part 1 of Annex I, for the commodity concerned, completed in accordance with the notes and the model veterinary certificates set out in Part 2 of that Annex (the certificate).

2. A declaration by the master of the ship, as set out in Annex II, shall be attached to veterinary certificates for imports of poultry and day-old chicks, where the transport of those commodities includes transport by ship, even for part of the journey.

3. Poultry, hatching eggs and day-old chicks transiting through the Community shall be accompanied by:

(a) a veterinary certificate as referred to in paragraph 1 which shall bear the words ‘for transit through the EC’, and

(b) a certificate required by the third country of destination.

4. Specified pathogen-free eggs, meat, minced meat and mechanically separated meat of poultry, ratites and wild game-birds, eggs and egg products transiting through the Community shall be accompanied by a certificate drawn up in accordance with the model certificate set out in Annex XI and complying with the conditions set out therein.

5. For the purposes of this Regulation, transit may include storage during transit in accordance with Articles 12 and 13 of Directive 97/78/EC.

6. Electronic certification and other agreed systems harmonised at Community level may be used.

Article 5 U.K. Conditions for imports and transit

1. Commodities imported into and transiting through the Community shall comply with the conditions laid down in Articles 6 and 7 and in Chapter III.

2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to single consignments of fewer than 20 units of poultry other than ratites, hatching eggs or day-old chicks thereof. However, such single consignments may only be imported from third countries, territories, zones or compartments thereof that are approved for such imports and they comply with the following conditions:

(a) third country, territory, zone or compartment is listed in columns 1 and 3 of the table in Part 1 of Annex I and column 4 of that table provides for a model veterinary certificate for the commodity concerned;

(b) they are not covered by an import ban for animal health reasons;

(c) the importation conditions include the requirement for post-import isolation or quarantine.

3. Commodities referred to in paragraph 1 shall comply with the following:

(a) the additional guarantees, as specified in column 5 of the table in Part 1 of Annex I;

(b) the specific conditions set out in column 6, and where appropriate, the closing dates set out in column 6A and the opening dates set out in column 6B, of the table in Part 1 of Annex I;

(c) the animal health additional guarantees, where required by the Member State of destination and referred to in the certificate;

(d) the restrictions in relation to the approval of a Salmonella control programme, shall only apply when indicated in the appropriate column of the table in Part 1 of Annex I.

Article 6 U.K. Examination, sampling and testing procedures

Where examination, sampling and testing for avian influenza, Mycoplasma, Newcastle disease, Salmonella, and other pathogens of animal or public health significance is required for imports of commodities into the Community in accordance with the certificates, such commodities shall only be imported into the Community where those examinations, sampling and testing have been carried out by the competent authority of the third country concerned or where appropriate by the competent authority of the Member State of destination in accordance with Annex III.

Article 7 U.K. Disease reporting requirements

Commodities shall only be imported into the Community from third countries, territories, zones or compartments, where the third country concerned:

(a)

[F1 informs the Commission of the disease situation within 24 hours of confirmation of any initial outbreaks of LPAI, HPAI or Newcastle disease;

(b)

submits virus isolates from initial outbreaks of HPAI and Newcastle disease, without undue delay to the Community reference laboratory for avian influenza and Newcastle disease (2) ; such virus isolates shall not be required for imports of eggs, egg products and specified pathogen-free eggs from third countries, territories, zones or compartments from which the import of such commodities into the Community is authorised;]

(c)

submits to the Commission regular updates on the disease situation.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2258 of 4 December 2015 amending Regulation (EC) No 798/2008 as regards imports and transit of single consignments of less than 20 units of poultry other than ratites, hatching eggs and day-old chicks thereof (Text with EEA relevance).

CHAPTER III U.K. ANIMAL HEALTH STATUS OF THIRD COUNTRIES, TERRITORIES, ZONES OR COMPARTMENTS OF ORIGIN WITH REGARD TO AVIAN INFLUENZA AND NEWCASTLE DISEASE

Article 8 U.K. Avian influenza free third countries, territories, zones or compartments

1. For the purposes of this Regulation, a third country, territory, zone or compartment from which commodities are imported into the Community shall be considered as free from avian influenza where:

(a) avian influenza has not been present in the third country, territory, zone or compartment for a period of at least 12 months preceding the certification by the official veterinarian;

(b) an avian influenza surveillance programme, in accordance with Article 10 has been carried out during a period of at least six months preceding the certification referred to in point (a) of this paragraph where required in the certificate.

2. Where an outbreak of avian influenza occurs in a third country, territory, zone or compartment previously free of that disease, as referred to in paragraph 1, that third country, territory, zone or compartment shall again be considered as free from avian influenza provided the following conditions have been met:

(a) in the case of HPAI, a stamping out policy has been implemented to control the disease;

(b) in the case of LPAI, either a stamping out policy has been implemented or the poultry have been slaughtered to control the disease;

(c) adequate cleansing and disinfection has been carried out on all previously infected establishments;

(d) avian influenza surveillance has been carried out in accordance with Part II of Annex IV during a three-month period following completion of the cleansing and disinfection referred to in point (c) of this paragraph with negative results.

Article 9 U.K. HPAI free third countries, territories, zones and compartments

1. For the purposes of this Regulation, a third country, territory, zone or compartment from which commodities are imported into the Community shall be considered as free from HPAI where that disease has not been present in the third country, territory, zone or compartment for a period of at least 12 months preceding the certification by the official veterinarian.

2. Where an outbreak of HPAI occurs in a third country, territory, zone or compartment previously free of that disease as referred to in paragraph 1, that third country, territory, zone or compartment shall again be considered as free of HPAI, provided the following conditions are met:

(a) a stamping out policy has been implemented to control the disease, including adequate cleansing and disinfection carried out on all previously infected establishments;

(b) avian influenza surveillance has been carried out in accordance with Part II of Annex IV during a three-month period following completion of the stamping out policy and cleansing and disinfection referred to in point (a).

Article 10 U.K. Avian influenza surveillance programmes

Where an avian influenza surveillance programme is required in the certificate, commodities shall only be imported into Community from third countries, territories, zones or compartments where:

(a)

the third country, territory, zone or compartment has had in place for a period of at least six months an avian influenza surveillance programme, which is indicated in column 7 of the table in Part 1 of Annex I, and that programme meets the requirements:

(i)

set out in Part I of Annex IV; or

(ii)

of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code of the OIE(3);

(b)

the third country informs the Commission of any changes to its avian influenza surveillance programme.

Article 11 U.K. Vaccination against avian influenza

Where vaccination against avian influenza is carried out in third countries, territories, zones or compartments, poultry or other commodities derived from vaccinated poultry shall only be imported into the Community, where:

(a)

the third country carries out vaccination against avian influenza in accordance with a vaccination plan indicated in column 8 of the table in Part 1 of Annex I, and that plan meets the requirements set out in Annex V;

(b)

the third country informs the Commission of any changes to its avian influenza vaccination plan.

Article 12 U.K. Newcastle disease free third countries, territories, zones and compartments

1. For the purposes of this Regulation, a third country, territory, zone or compartment from which commodities are imported into the Community shall be considered as free from Newcastle disease where the following conditions are met:

(a) no outbreaks of Newcastle disease have occurred in poultry in the third country, territory, zone or compartment for a period of at least 12 months preceding the certification by the official veterinarian;

(b) no vaccination against Newcastle disease using vaccines that do not comply with the criteria for recognised Newcastle disease vaccines set out in Annex VI has been carried out for at least the period referred to in point (a) of this paragraph.

2. Where an outbreak of Newcastle disease occurs in a third country, territory, zone or compartment previously free from that disease, as referred to in paragraph 1, that third country, territory, zone or compartment shall again be considered as free from that disease provided the following conditions are met:

(a) a stamping out policy has been implemented to control the disease;

(b) adequate cleansing and disinfection has been carried out on all previously infected establishments;

(c) during a period of at least three months following the completion of the stamping out policy and cleansing and disinfection referred to in points (a) and (b):

(i)

the competent authority of a the third country can demonstrate the absence of that disease in the third country, territory, zone or compartment by intensified investigations including laboratory testing in relation to the outbreak;

(ii)

no vaccination against Newcastle disease using vaccines that do not comply with the criteria for recognised Newcastle disease vaccines set out in Annex VI has been carried out.

Article 13 U.K. Derogations concerning the use of vaccines against Newcastle disease

1. For commodities referred to in Article 1(1)(a), and by way of derogation from Article 12(1)(b) and Article 12(2)(c)(ii), a third country, territory, zone or compartment shall be considered as free from Newcastle disease where the following conditions are met:

(a) the third country, territory, zone or compartment allows the use of vaccines which comply with the general criteria set out in Part I of Annex VI, but not with the specific criteria set out in Part II of that Annex;

(b) the additional health requirements set out in Part I of Annex VII are complied with.

2. For commodities referred to in Article 1(1)(b), and by way of derogation from Article 12(1)(b) and Article 12(2)(c)(ii), a third country, territory, zone or compartment from which imports of poultrymeat into the Community are authorised, shall be considered as free from Newcastle disease where the additional health requirements laid down in Part II of Annex VII are complied with.

CHAPTER IV U.K. SPECIFIC CONDITIONS FOR IMPORTS

Article 14 U.K. Specific conditions for imports of poultry, hatching eggs and day-old chicks

1. In addition to the conditions laid down in Chapters II and III, the following specific conditions shall apply to imports of:

(a) breeding and productive poultry other than ratites, hatching eggs and day-old chicks other than of ratites, the requirements set out in Annex VIII;

(b) ratites for breeding and production, hatching eggs and day-old chicks thereof, the requirements set out in Annex IX.

2. The conditions provided for in paragraph 1 shall not apply to single consignments of less than 20 units of poultry other than, ratites, hatching eggs or day-old chicks thereof.

Article 15 U.K. Specific conditions for imports of specified pathogen-free eggs

In addition to the requirements provided for in Articles 3 to 6, specified pathogen-free eggs imported into the Community shall comply with the following requirements:

(a)

they shall be marked with a stamp bearing the ISO code of the third country of origin and the approval number of the establishment of origin;

(b)

each package of specified pathogen-free eggs must only contain eggs from the same third country of origin, establishment and consignor, and must bear at least the following particulars:

(i)

the information shown on the eggs as provided for in point (a);

(ii)

a clearly visible and legible indication that the consignment contains specified pathogen-free eggs;

(iii)

the consignor’s name or business name and address.

(c)

specified pathogen-free eggs imported into the Community must be transported directly to their final destination after import controls have been completed satisfactorily.

Article 16 U.K. Specific conditions for transport of poultry and day-old chicks

Poultry and day-old chicks imported into the Community shall not be:

(a)

loaded onto a means of transport carrying other poultry and day-old chicks of a lower health status;

(b)

in the course of transport to the Community, shall not be moved through nor unloaded in a third country, territory, zone or compartment from which imports of such poultry and day-old chicks into the Community are not authorised.

Article 17 U.K. Specific conditions for imports of meat of ratites

Only meat derived from ratites which have undergone the protective measures in relation to Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever, laid down in Part II of Annex X, may be imported into the Community.

CHAPTER V U.K. SPECIFIC CONDITIONS FOR TRANSIT

Article 18 U.K. Derogation for transit through Latvia, Lithuania and Poland

1. By way of derogation from Article 4(4), transit by road or by rail shall be authorised between the border inspection posts in Latvia, Lithuania and Poland listed in the Annex to Commission Decision 2001/881/EC(4), of consignments of meat, minced meat and mechanically separated meat of poultry including ratites and wild game-birds, eggs and egg products and specified pathogen-free eggs coming from and bound for Russia, directly or via another third country, where the following conditions are met:

(a) the consignment is sealed with a serially numbered seal by the official veterinarian at the border inspection post of entry;

(b) the documents accompanying the consignment, as provided for in Article 7 of Directive 97/78/EC, are stamped with the words ‘Only for transit to Russia via the EC’ on each page by the official veterinarian at the border inspection post of entry;

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

(d) the consignment is certified as acceptable for transit on the common veterinary entry document issued by the official veterinarian at the border inspection post of entry.

2. The consignments, as referred to in paragraph 1, may not be unloaded or put into storage, as referred to in Article 12(4) or in Article 13 of Directive 97/78/EC, within the Community.

3. Regular audits shall be conducted by the competent authority to ensure that the number of consignments, as referred to in paragraph 1, and the corresponding quantities of products leaving the Community correspond with the number and quantities entering the Community.

CHAPTER VI U.K. TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 19 U.K. Repeals

Decisions 93/342/EEC, 94/438/EC and 2006/696/EC are repealed.

References to the repealed Decisions shall be construed as references to this Regulation and shall be read in accordance with the correlation table in Annex XII.

Article 20 U.K. Transitional provisions

Commodities in respect of which the relevant veterinary certificates have been issued in accordance with Decisions 93/342/EEC, 94/438/EC and 2006/696/EC may be imported into or transit through the Community until 15 February 2009.

Article 21 U.K. Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2009.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.