LegalizeCommission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2783 of 14 December 2023 laying down the methods of sampling and analysis for the control of the levels of plant toxins in food and repealing Regulation (EU) 2015/705
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products, amending Regulations (EC) No 999/2001, (EC) No 396/2005, (EC) No 1069/2009, (EC) No 1107/2009, (EU) No 1151/2012, (EU) No 652/2014, (EU) 2016/429 and (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Regulations (EC) No 1/2005 and (EC) No 1099/2009 and Council Directives 98/58/EC, 1999/74/EC, 2007/43/EC, 2008/119/EC and 2008/120/EC, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 854/2004 and (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Directives 89/608/EEC, 89/662/EEC, 90/425/EEC, 91/496/EEC, 96/23/EC, 96/93/EC and 97/78/EC and Council Decision 92/438/EEC (Official Controls Regulation) (1), and in particular Article 34(6) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 (2) sets maximum levels for certain plant toxins in food.
(2) Sampling plays a crucial part in the precision of the determination of the levels of plant toxins in a certain lot since plant toxins within a lot maybe be heterogeneously distributed. It is therefore appropriate to establish sampling methods for the official control of the levels of plant toxins in food.
(3) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 2023/2782 (3) lays down the methods of sampling to be used for the official control of the levels of mycotoxins in food. Given that both plant toxins and mycotoxins are heterogeneously distributed within lots, it is appropriate to apply those methods of sampling also as regards plant toxins.
(4) Official controls can be performed on foods for which no specific maximum level has been established for plant toxins and for which no specific sampling procedure has been established. It is therefore appropriate to provide criteria to determine which sampling procedure should be applied in such cases.
(5) It is also necessary to set out general performance criteria which the method of analysis should comply with to ensure that control laboratories use methods of analysis with comparable levels of performance. Since the European Union Reference Laboratory on mycotoxins and plant toxins have determined the analytical performance criteria for the analysis of plant toxins in food on the basis of the best available scientific information, it is appropriate to lay down those criteria in this Regulation.
(6) Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/705 (4) lays down methods of sampling and performance criteria for the methods of analysis for the official control of the levels of erucic acid in foodstuffs. Since the methods of sampling and the analytical performance criteria laid down in this Regulation are also adequate for the control of the plant toxin erucic acid in food, it is appropriate, in the interest of simplication to repeal Regulation (EU) 2015/705.
(7) It is necessary to provide the control laboratories with a sufficient time to meet the new requirements introduced by this Regulation. Therefore, it is appropriate to provide for a reasonable time until this Regulation applies.
(8) In order to ensure continuity in the performance of official controls and other regulatory activities on maximum levels of plant toxins and in order to allow enough time for methods of analysis to be re-validated, it is appropriate to provide that methods of analysis which have been validated before the date of application of this Regulation can remain in use for a defined period.
(9) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions set out in Article 1 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2782 shall apply.
Article 2
(1) Sampling for the control of the levels of plant toxins in food shall be carried out in accordance with the methods set out in Annex I.
(2) In case of a food that cannot be classified in a food category for which a sampling procedure has been established in Annex I, the sampling procedure shall be determined having regard to the particle size of that food or the similarity of that food with a product that can be classified in one of the food categories in Annex I.
(3) In case of a food that cannot be classified in any food category listed in Annex I and provided that there is evidence that the plant toxin is homogeneously distributed in such a food, the food shall be sampled using the sampling method laid down in Part B of the Annex to Commission Regulation (EC) No 333/2007 (5).
Article 3
Sample preparation and methods of analysis used for the control of the levels of plant toxins in foodstuffs shall comply with the criteria set out in Annex II.
Article 4
Regulation (EU) 2015/705 is hereby repealed. References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed as references to this Implementing Regulation.
Article 5
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 1 April 2024. However, methods of analysis which have been validated before the entry into application of this Regulation may remain in use until 1 July 2028, even if they do not comply with all specific requirements provided for in point 4.2 in Annex II to this Regulation.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 14 December 2023.
For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN
(2) Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 of 25 April 2023 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006 (OJ L 119, 5.5.2023, p. 103).
(3) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/2782 of 14 December 2023 laying down the methods of sampling and analysis for the control of the levels of mycotoxins in food and repealing Regulation (EC) No 401/2006 (OJ L, 2023/2782, 15.12.2023, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2023/2782/oj).
(4) Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/705 of 30 April 2015 laying down methods of sampling and performance criteria for the methods of analysis for the official control of the levels of erucic acid in foodstuffs and repealing Commission Directive 80/891/EEC (OJ L 113, 1.5.2015, p. 29).
(5) Commission Regulation (EC) No 333/2007 of 28 March 2007 laying down the methods of sampling and analysis for the control of the levels of trace elements and processing contaminants in foodstuffs (OJ L 88, 29.3.2007, p. 29).