Food Law News - EU - 2010
FSA Letter (OCR 084), 23 June 2010
OFFICIAL CONTROLS - EU Regulation No 669/2009 (Amended by Regulation (EU) No 212/2010) Implementing Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 as Regards the Increased Level of Official Controls on Imports of Certain Feed and Food of Non-Animal Origin (Non-POAO)
A copy of the FSA letter, which inlcudes a copy of the draft Commission Regulation, is available on this site. See FSA Official Controls Letter
Regulation (EC) 669/2009, which came into force on 25 January 2010, provides for an increased level of official controls on imports of certain feed and food of non-animal origin from certain non-EU countries, which are considered to be “high risk”. Annex I to the Regulation lists the “high risk” products that are to be subject to the increased level of controls. It is a requirement of the Regulation that the list in Annex I is reviewed on a regular basis, at least quarterly. The review should take into account those sources of information listed in Article 2 of the Regulation.
A draft Commission Regulation amending Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 669/2009 is due to be presented for vote at the meeting of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH) on 1st July. The draft Regulation is attached at Appendix 1 and your views on this are welcome.
The main changes to the list of products at Annex I, to which increased import controls will apply are outlined below:
New Products:
- Noodles (dried) from China to be sampled and tested for aluminium contamination at a frequency of 10% of all consignments
- Fresh curry leaves from India to be sampled and tested for pesticide residues at a frequency of 10% of all consignments
- Fresh Coriander and basil from Thailand to be sampled and tested for pesticide residues at a frequency of 20% of all consignments
- Fresh herbs and spices (coriander, basil and mint) from Thailand to be sampled and tested for Salmonella contamination at a frequency of 10% of all consignments
- Oranges, peaches, strawberries, pomegranates and fresh green beans from Egypt to be sampled and tested for pesticide residues at a frequency of 10% of all consignments
- Capsicum (paprika, sweet pepper, chilli) (dried) from Peru to be sampled and tested for Aflatoxins and Ochratoxin A contamination at a frequency of 10% of all consignments
To note that the frequency of physical checks for Basmati rice from Pakistan has been reduced to 20%; and that bananas from the Dominican Republic have been removed from the list.
Please bear in mind that the text is still subject to comments of the Commission's Legal Service but the Commission has indicated that no major changes are expected.