April 6 - The European Commission has announced plans to enhance import controls on a number of food items in a bid to counter “known or emerging risks” of contamination.
The EC made the announcement after its proposal requiring member states to step up their inspections of some foodstuffs on non-animal origin received the backing from the prominent Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH) recently.
The draft regulation, expected to come into force early next year, lists for the first time which products are to come under extra scrutiny and will be updated regularly, said the EC. The list also identifies countries of origin that will trigger the enhanced inspections and outlines the potential hazard from them.
“The imported products being listed are products which merit an increased level of attention and control at borders on the basis of information from various sources (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) notifications, reports from the Food and Veterinary Office (FVO), from Member States and from third countries,” said an EC statement.
It added: “Most of the risks thus identified relate to known risks, which in the past often resulted in the adoption of safeguard measures.”
The initial list includes:
* Basmati rice for direct human consumption from both India and Pakistan;
* Peanuts from a host of nations including Argentina, Brazil, Ghana and India;
* Bananas from the Dominican Republic;
* Chilli, chilli products curcama and palm oil for human consumption from “all third countries”;
* A number of spices shipped from India – capsicum, nutmeg, ginger and tumeric;
* Vegetables – fresh, chilled or frozen (peppers, courgettes and tomatoes) from Thailand.
Under the proposal, the products would only be allowed to enter the EU through designated points of entry, which must comply with the minimum stipulated requirements related to logistics, staff, access to an appropriate laboratory and capacity. An EC official said that these have not yet been identified, with responsibility for this task falling to individual member states.
The enhanced control mechanism means there will three types of checks for the designated products - document, identity and physical inspections.
The new regulation would see 100% checks in terms of documents for the listed products. But both identity and physical checks would be done at a much lower frequency, depending on a risk assessment and all other information available at the time from such sources as the European Food Safety Authority and the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), said the EC official.
At present, the listed products have been earmarked for physical and identity checks at a frequency of between 10-50%.
The EC also stated that the regulation does not require consignments to be detained at the ports, even if they are subject to a certain level of identity and physical checks. The competent authority may authorise onward transportation pending the result of the physical checks. However, the consignment should remain under the continuous official control of the national authority and it must ensure the consignment cannot be tampered with in any manner.
The list of products is likely to be updated on at least a quarterly basis. The draft regulation is expected to come into force in early 2010, subject to the usual scrutiny and adoption procedures.
A full list is as follows:
Draft
COMMISSION REGULATION
of
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
ANNEX I
(A) Feed and food of non-animal origin subject to an increased level of official controls at the designated point of entry
|
Feed and food
(intended use) |
CN code |
Country of origin |
Hazard |
Frequency of physical and identity checks(1) (%) |
|
Groundnuts (peanuts) and derived products (feed and food) |
1202 10 90; 1202 20 00;
2008 11; |
Argentina |
Aflatoxins |
10 |
|
Groundnuts (peanuts) and derived products (feed and food) |
1202 10 90; 1202 20 00;
2008 11; |
Brazil |
Aflatoxins |
50 |
|
Trace elements (feed and food)(2)(3) |
2817 00 00; 2820; 2821;
2825 50 00; 2833 25 00; 2833 29 20; 2833 29 80; 2836 99; |
China |
Cadmium and lead |
50 |
|
Groundnuts (peanuts) and derived products (feed and food), in particular peanut butter (food) |
1202 10; 1202 20 00;
2008 11; |
Ghana |
Aflatoxins |
50 |
|
Spices (food):
· Capsicum spp (dried fruits thereof, whole or ground, including chillies, chilli powder, cayenne and paprika)
· Myristica fragrans (nutmeg)
· Zingiber officinale (ginger)
· Curcuma longa (turmeric) |
0904 20; 0908 10 00;
0908 20 00; 0910 10 00;
0910 30 00; |
India |
Aflatoxins |
50 |
|
Groundnuts (peanuts) and derived products (feed and food) |
1202 10 90; 1202 20 00; 2008 11 |
India |
Aflatoxins |
10 |
|
Melon (egusi) seeds and derived products(4) (food) |
ex 1207 99 |
Nigeria |
Aflatoxins |
50 |
|
Dried vine fruit (food) |
0806 20 |
Uzbekistan |
Ochratoxin A |
50 |
|
Chilli, chilli products, curcuma and palm oil (food) |
0904 20 90; 0910 99 60; 0910 30 00; 1511 10 90 |
All third countries |
Sudan dyes |
20 |
|
Groundnuts (peanuts) and derived products (feed and food) |
1202 10 90; 1202 20 00; 2008 11 |
Vietnam |
Aflatoxins |
10 |
|
Basmati rice for direct human consumption (food) |
ex 1006 30 |
Pakistan |
Aflatoxins |
50 |
|
Basmati rice for direct human consumption (food) |
ex 1006 30 |
India |
Aflatoxins |
10 |
|
Mangos, yard long beans (Vigna sesquipedalis), melon bitter (Momordica charantia), Lauki, (Lagenaria siceraria), peppers and aubergines (food) |
ex 0804 50 00;
0708 20 00; 0807 11 00; 0707 00; 0709 60;
0709 30 00 |
Dominican Republic |
Pesticide residues analysed with Multiresidue methods based on CG-MS and LC-MS (*) |
50 |
|
|
Bananas |
0803 00 11 |
Dominican Republic |
Pesticide residues analysed with Multiresidue methods based on CG-MS and LC-MS(*) |
10 |
|
|
Vegetables, fresh, chilled or frozen (peppers, courgettes and tomatoes) |
0709 60; 0709 90 70; 0702 00 00 |
Turkey |
Pesticides: methomyl and oxamyl |
10 |
|
|
Pears |
08082010 |
Turkey |
Pesticide: amitraz |
10 |
|
|
Vegetables, fresh, chilled or frozen (food)
· yard long beans (Vigna sesquipedalis)
· aubergines
· Brassica vegetables |
0708 20 00; 0709 30 00; 0704; |
Thailand |
Organo-phosphorus pesticide residues |
50 |
|
(*) in particular residues of: Amitraz, Acephate, Aldicarb, Benomyl, Carbendazim, Chlorfenapyr, Chlorpyrifos, CS2 (Dithiocarbamates), Diafenthiuron, Diazinon, Dichlorvos, Dicofol, Dimethoate, Endosulfan, Fenamidone, Imidacloprid, Malathion, Methamidophos, Methiocarb, Methomyl, Monocrotophos, Omethoate, oxamyl, Profenofos, Propiconazole, thiabendazol, Thiacloprid.
(1) Where only certain products under any code are required to be examined and no specific subdivision under this code exists in the goods nomenclature, the code is marked "Ex" (for example Ex 2007 99 97: only products containing hazelnuts should be included).
(2) The trace elements referred to in this entry are the trace elements belonging to the functional group of compounds of trace elements referred to in Annex I, 3 b) of Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 268, 18.10.2003, p. 29).
(3) The maximum levels established for lead and cadmium in additives belonging to the functional group of compounds of trace elements in Annex I of Directive 2002/32/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 140, 30.5.2002, p. 10) shall be the reference points for action. If the trace elements are labelled as food supplements as defined in Article 2 of Directive 2002/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 June 2002 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to food supplements (OJ L 183, 12.7.2002, p. 51), the maximum levels set in Regulation (EC) No. 1881/2006 shall apply.
(4) The maximum levels established for aflatoxins in groundnuts and derived products in the Annex to Regulation (EC) 1881/2006 (OJ L 364, 20.12.2006, p. 5) shall be the reference points for action.
(B) Definitions
For the purposes of this Annex, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) ‘chilli’ means fruits of the genus Capsicum dried and crushed or ground falling within CN Code 0904 20 90, in whatever form, intended for human consumption;
(b) ‘chilli products’ means curry powder falling within CN Code 0910 99 60 , in whatever form, intended for human consumption;
(c) ‘curcuma’, means curcuma dried and crushed or ground falling within CN Code 0910 30 00, in whatever form, intended for human consumption;
(d) ‘palm oil’, means palm oil falling within CN Code 1511 10 90, intended for direct human consumption.
(e) "Sudan dyes" refers to the following chemical substances:
(i) Sudan I (CAS Number 842-07-9);
(ii) Sudan II (CAS Number 3118-97-6);
(iii) Sudan III (CAS Number 85-86-9);
(iv) Scarlet Red; or Sudan IV (CAS Number 85-83-6).