14.1.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 9/4

(1)

Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 lays down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in animals. It applies to the production and placing on the market of live animals and products of animal origin and in certain specific cases to exports thereof.

(2)

According to Article 6(4) of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 and Chapter B of Annex III to that Regulation, Member States submit to the Commission, each year, information on the monitoring of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies on their territories, and the Commission presents a summary of this information to the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed.

(3)

Following an agreement between the European Commission and the European Food Safety Authority, the preparation and publication of the Union annual summary report on the monitoring and testing of ruminants for the presence of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies will be transferred from the Commission to the European Food Safety Authority. Chapter B of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 should therefore be amended so as to reflect these new modalities.

(4)

Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 prohibits the feeding to certain farmed animals of processed animal proteins, in particular those derived from non-ruminants.

(5)

In addition, according to point (b)(ii) of Chapter II of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001, fishmeal and compound feed containing fishmeal may be used for feeding non-ruminant farmed animals, including aquaculture animals.

(6)

Point 3 of Section A of Chapter III of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 provides that bulk processed animal protein derived from non-ruminants, and bulk compound feed containing such protein, shall be transported in vehicles and containers which are not used for the transport of feed intended for non-ruminant farmed animals other than aquaculture animals. Since fishmeal and compound feed containing fishmeal are authorised to be used in feed for all non-ruminant farmed animals, this provision should not apply to fishmeal or to compound feed containing fishmeal. Point 3 of Section A of Chapter III of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 should therefore be amended in order to exclude fishmeal.

(7)

Section E of Chapter V of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 provides that the export of processed animal protein derived from non-ruminants, and of products containing such protein, is to be authorised only if they are destined for uses not prohibited by that Regulation and if a written agreement is concluded, prior to the export, between the competent authority of the exporting Member State, or the Commission, and the competent authority of the importing third country, which contains an undertaking from the importing third country to respect the intended use and not to re-export the processed animal protein, or the products containing such protein, for uses prohibited by Regulation (EC) No 999/2001.

(8)

This requirement was originally intended to control the spread of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) at a time when BSE was epidemic in the Union and when the European continent was the main part of the world affected by the epidemic. However, the BSE situation in the Union has since then significantly improved. In 2013, 7 cases of BSE were reported in the Union and in 2014, there were 11 reported cases, compared to 2 166 reported cases in 2001 and 2 124 reported cases in 2002. This improvement of the BSE situation in the Union is reflected in the fact that 20 Union Member States are now recognised as having a negligible BSE risk status in accordance with Commission Decision 2007/453/EC (2) as amended.

(9)

The requirement laid down in Section E of Chapter V of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 providing the obligation to conclude a written agreement with the third country of destination as a prerequisite for exporting non-ruminant processed animal protein, and products containing such protein, and the prohibition that these products are used in third countries to feed farmed animals, except for aquaculture animals, should therefore be deleted.

(10)

Section D of Chapter IV of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 lays down conditions for the production and use of non-ruminant processed animal-protein destined to be used for feeding aquaculture animals and compound feed containing such protein, which require a complete separation between ruminant and non-ruminant materials at each stage of the production chain, and require regular sampling and analysis to verify the absence of cross-contamination. Those conditions should also be required for non-ruminant processed animal protein, and compound feed containing such protein, intended for export, so as to ensure that exported processed animal protein and compound feed containing such protein provide the same level of safety as those used on the Union territory.

(11)

As petfood and fishmeal are produced in processing plants dedicated exclusively to the production of products derived from aquatic animals, except sea mammals, respectively to the production of petfood, the requirement providing that exports are permitted only from establishments, in which the requirements of Section D of Chapter IV of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 are met, should not apply to petfood or to fishmeal.

(12)

Section E of Chapter V of Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 should therefore be amended accordingly.

(13)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,