Report on discussions at the Commission Working Group meeting on 4 July 2005
Friday 15 July 2005
This meeting considered the Commission Guidance documents on EC Regulation 852/2004 and EC Regulation 853/2004 and the single guidance document, which replaces the two previous HACCP guidance documents.
Copies of the documents discussed at the 4 July meeting can be found at the foot of the page
This page also provides an up-date on the likely agenda for the 19-20 July meeting of the Standing Committee on Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH).
Guidance to EC Regulation 852/2004 (SANCO/1513/2005)
Discussions concerned whether the application or processing at point-of-sale, contained within the definition of 'retail', could be extended further to embrace the on-farm manufacture of cheese that is then sold at a local market, as desired by some Member States.
A significant number of Member States do not feel that the definition should be extended in this way and the Commission undertook to revisit the point with its legal services.
Guidance to EC Regulation 853/2004 (SANCO/1514/2005)
As previously, discussions surrounded the interpretation of the term 'composite products'. The Commission was again reluctant to accept that the manufacture of foods mixing any products of animal origin and products of plant origin is not a composite product and therefore not subject to the requirements for approval and identification marking. The Commission undertook to review this point again with its legal services.
The Commission has subsequently concluded that this guidance material needs further Working Group consideration and another meeting is planned early in September 2005.
HACCP Guidance (SANCO/1955/2005)
Prior to the meeting, the Commission had brought the two HACCP guidance documents together in one single document, which was discussed. Some Member States were concerned that an explicit requirement for hazard analysis does not feature.
However, discussions revealed a growing consensus among Member States that food businesses will have to make judgements about the hazards in their operation and how to control them, even if this were not to constitute a formal hazard analysis. The Commission undertook to consider various points further and indicated that the document will be considered at a future SCoFCAH meeting (probably in September 2005).
19-20 July meeting of the SCoFCAH
Two items connected with the hygiene package, the additional salmonella guarantees for Sweden and Finland and the implementing and transitional measures will be discussed.
