Commission Regulation (EC) No 1292/2005 of 5 August 2005 amending Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards animal nutrition (Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (1), and in particular the first paragraph of Article 23 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 lays down rules on the feeding of proteins derived from animals in order to prevent the dissemination of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) to animals.

(2) That Regulation prohibited the use of certain animal proteins in the feeding of farmed animals either because such proteins may potentially contain TSE infectivity or because they could jeopardise the detection of small amounts of potentially TSE infected proteins in feedingstuffs. It also established zero-tolerance of prohibited animal constituents in feedingstuffs.

(3) Commission Directive 2003/126/EC of 23 December 2003 on the analytical method for the determination of constituents of animal origin for the official control of feedingstuffs (2) provides that official analysis of feedingstuffs with a view to officially control the presence, identification or estimation of the amount of constituents of animal origin in feedingstuffs are to be carried out in accordance with that Directive. Proficiency testing of laboratories, carried out in accordance with that Directive by the Commission’s Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM-JRC), has demonstrated that the performance of laboratories for detecting small amounts of mammalian proteins in feedingstuffs has improved considerably.

(4) That improvement in laboratory performance has resulted in the detection of the adventitious presence of bone spicules, particularly in tuber and root crops. Scientific evidence has demonstrated that contamination of such crops by bone spicules present in the soil cannot be avoided. Consignments of contaminated tuber and root crops are to be disposed of in accordance with Council Directive 95/53/EC of 25 October 1995 fixing the principles governing the organisation of official inspections in the field of animal nutrition (3), and often have to be destroyed as a result. In order to prevent a disproportionate application of that Directive, Member States should be allowed to make a risk assessment on the presence of animal constituents in tuber and root crops before considering a breach of the feed ban.

(5) On 25 and 26 May 2000, the Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) updated its report and opinion on the safety of hydrolysed proteins produced from ruminant hides, adopted during its meeting of 22 and 23 October 1998. The conditions under which hydrolysed proteins may be considered safe according to that opinion are laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 October 2002 laying down health rules concerning animal by-products not intended for human consumption (4). Since 1 May 2004, those conditions have also applied to hydrolysed proteins imported from third countries. Therefore the feeding to ruminants of hydrolysed proteins produced from ruminant hides and skins ruminants should no longer be prohibited.

(6) In its opinion of 17 September 1999 on intra-species recycling, and again in its opinion of 27 and 28 November 2000 on the scientific basis for banning animal protein from feed for all farmed animals, the SSC stated that there is no evidence of the natural occurrence of TSE in non-ruminant farmed animals producing food, such as pigs and poultry. Furthermore, given that controls on the ban on animal proteins are based on the detection of bones and muscles fibres in feedingstuffs, blood products and hydrolysed proteins derived from non-ruminants should not jeopardise controls on the presence of potentially TSE infected proteins. Therefore, the restrictions on feeding to farmed animals of blood products and hydrolysed derived from non-ruminants should be relaxed.

(7) The conditions for transport, storage and packaging of bulk feedingstuffs containing processed animal proteins should be clarified.

(8) Continuous evaluation of the competence and training of laboratory staff should be provided for to maintain or improve the quality of the official controls.

(9) Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 should therefore be amended accordingly. For practical reasons and in the interests of clarity, it is appropriate to replace the amended Annex IV in its entirety.

(10) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

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 September 2005.

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

Done at Brussels, 5 August 2005.

For the Commission Markos KYPRIANOU Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 147, 31.5.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 260/2005 (OJ L 46, 17.2.2005, p. 31).

(2) OJ L 339, 24.12.2003, p. 78.

(3) OJ L 265, 8.11.1995, p. 17. Directive as last amended by Directive 2001/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 234, 1.9.2001, p. 55).

(4) OJ L 273, 10.10.2002, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 416/2005 (OJ L 66, 12.3.2005, p. 10).