12.4.2011

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 97/20

(1)

Article 53 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 provides for the possibility to adopt appropriate Union emergency measures for food and feed imported from a third country in order to protect public health, animal health or the environment, where the risk cannot be contained satisfactorily by means of measures taken by the Member States individually.

(2)

Following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station on 11 March 2011, the Commission was informed that radionuclide levels in certain food products originating in Japan such as milk and spinach exceeded the action levels in food applicable in Japan. Such contamination may constitute a threat to public and animal health within the Union and therefore Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 297/2011 imposing special conditions governing the import of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station (2) was adopted on 25 March 2011.

(3)

Regulation (EU) No 297/2011 provides for the requirement for pre-export control by the competent authorities of Japan. Action levels for iodine, caesium and plutonium in food have been established by the competent authorities of Japan. The Commission was informed on 17 March 2011 of these action levels applicable in Japan but it was indicated that these action levels were adopted for the time being as provisional regulation values. The authorities from Japan also informed the Commission that products that are not allowed to be placed on the Japanese market, are also not allowed to be exported. It becomes now evident that these action levels will be applied in Japan for a longer term. It is therefore appropriate in order to provide consistency between the pre-export controls performed by the Japanese authorities and the controls on the level of radionuclides performed on feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan at the entry into the EU, to apply on a provisional basis the same maximum levels in the EU for radionuclides in feed and food from Japan as the action levels applicable in Japan as long as these are lower than the EU values.

(4)

This Regulation is without prejudice to the scientifically established levels laid down in Council Regulation (Euratom) No 3954/87 and Commission Regulations (Euratom) No 944/89 and (Euratom) No 770/90 for application in case of a future nuclear accident or any other case of radiological emergency affecting the EU territory. This Regulation applies for isotopes of strontium the values established in Regulation (Euratom) No 3954/87, since there are no such values laid down in Japan.

(5)

Given that for the time being, there is evidence that feed and food from certain regions from Japan is contaminated by the radionuclides iodine-131, caesium-134 and caesium 137 and that there is no indication that feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan is contaminated with other radionuclides, it is appropriate to restrict the obligatory controls to iodine-131, caesium-134 and caesium-137. Member States may also perform analysis on a voluntary basis for the presence of other radionuclides in view of gathering information on the possible presence of these other radionuclides. It is therefore appropriate to mention the existing maximum levels in EU legislation or action levels applied in Japan for the radionuclides strontium, plutonium and trans-plutonium elements in Annex II to this Regulation.

(6)

It is therefore appropriate to amend Regulation (EU) 297/2011 accordingly.

(7)

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

(1)

Article 2 is amended as follows:

(2)

Article 7 is replaced by the following:

‘楢rticle 7

Non-compliant products

Feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan which do not comply with the maximum levels referred to in Annex II, shall not be placed on the market. Such non-compliant feed and food shall be safely disposed of or returned to the country of origin.‘�/p>

(3)

The Annex is replaced by the text in Annex I to this Regulation.

(4)

A new Annex II, the text of which is set out in Annex II to this Regulation, is added.