Report of Commission Working Group on Hygiene Legislation (CWGHL): 21 September 2009

• The requirement that an Approved Veterinarian or Official Veterinarian certify slaughter and bleeding of farmed game is subject to a transitional period that ends in December 2009. The UK’s proposal to extend the current arrangements so that the food business operator continues to certify slaughter and bleeding was well received. During a tour de table, only one Member State expressed direct opposition to the proposal, and given this support the Commission agreed to take the proposal forward as a priority.
• The proposed legislation for new methods of detecting lipophilic biotoxins in shellfish continued to develop at pace. During a short exchange of opinions, most Member States remained strongly in support of moving to the Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) method in summer 2010, with a transitional period of two or three years. There will possibly be a vote by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health in November.
• Draft legislation SANCO 4456/2009 rev.3 subject to another brief discussion. There were no substantive comments from Member States.
• Proposed Commission amendments to Draft legislation SANCO 4449/2009 rev.4 to require:
  • live bivalve molluscs sold directly to retail to be closed and remain closed after leaving the dispatch centre
  • fish frozen on vessels for preservation purposes to be still subject to the requirements of fresh fishery products
• During discussions, Member States raised points of clarification, but there were no objections to these proposals.
• There was a long discussion on the proposals in the Commission’s Reflections Paper. As there had been changes in personnel both at the Commission and among Member State representatives, the Commission considered it worthwhile going over each proposal in some detail.
• The Commission repeated its request that any Member States with information on traceability administrative burdens provide them in writing for consideration.
• Commission confirmed that the Mechanically Separated Meat report will be issued towards the end of 2009 or early 2010.
• Next meeting planned for 10 November (although Commission still waiting for internal confirmations).

SANCO 4456/2009 Rev. 3
The Commission talked through the document in detail. The document had been discussed in previous Working Groups on several occasions, and there were no further substantive comments from Member States.

SANCO 4449/2009 Rev.4
Again, the Commission talked through the document in detail, indicating that the intention was to take the legislation to a vote this year and adopt next year. There was a discussion about 2(b), which requires that packages for live bivalve molluscs destined for retail are closed after leaving the dispatch centre until presented to sale for the final consumer. The text in Council Directive 91/492/EEC referred to 'individual consumer sized parcels', and the Commission confirmed that its intention was to go back to this concept while ensuring that packages of any size were subject to the requirement. Most Member States were in agreement with the principle, but there was some concern that the current wording was wider than the Commission’s intentions, as all live bivalve molluscs are, ultimately, 'destined for retail'. A revised wording was proposed so that the requirement would cover live bivalve molluscs 'dispatched directly to retail'. The Commission will consider this revised wording.

The Commission indicated a concern that an ambiguity in 3(a) meant that frozen fish to which food additives are added may not have to meet the requirements for fresh fish (on account that they had been 'processed'). A proposal from one Member State looked to clarify that 'thawed unprocessed fishery products' to which additives are added would have to meet the requirements imposed on fresh fishery products. There was a discussion about whether it was necessary to specify that the additives were for preservation of the fishery product. Some Member States felt that the requirement should apply in all cases where additives were involved; however, others felt that the requirement should only apply where the additives were specifically for preservation. The Commission pointed out that in some cases additives might have more than one effect, and the dividing line may not be clear.

One Member State sought clarification about whether the requirements for fish frozen in brine at 3(c)(b) should apply to 'whole fishery products' rather than 'whole fish'. The Commission responded that the intention was that the requirement covered fish that had not been gutted etc.

UK proposal on farmed game
The Commission introduced the item and gave an account of a previous meeting with UK delegates in summer 2009. Transitional measures in Commission Directive (EC) No 2076/2005, which come to an end in December 2009, allow the food business operator (FBO) to certify slaughter and bleeding of farmed game. The Official Veterinarian or Approved Veterinarian (OV/AV) are only present for ante-mortem inspections. When the transitional period ends, the FBO will need to pay an OV/AV to certify slaughter and bleeding of the farmed game. The cost of having this veterinary presence to certify slaughter and bleeding would be considerable and excessive in comparison to wild game and the domestic slaughter of cattle, sheep, goats and pigs. During discussions, the UK gave some further background on the commercial viability of farmed game as opposed to wild game. There was support from other Member States for this proposal. Given that quick action might be required on this issue, the Commission initiated a tour de table during which there was a clear majority support for the UK proposal, with only one Member State indicating that they would not support it. The Commission indicated that they would look at how the legislation might be amended in line with the UK’s proposal as a priority.

Biotoxins in shellfish
The Commission circulated revised draft legislation SANCO/6831/2009 by hard copy only. Commission gave a background to the issue and indicated a clear determination to have the legislation in place by summer 2010, given the Member State consensus to date. A number of Member States are undertaking to support a move towards using LC-MS, and so it was suggested that an expert mini group of Member States with national laboratories to review the work to date, was set up to assess the proposal in light of this. However, other Member States considered the issue urgent in light of the findings of the European Food Safety Authority report adopted on 13 August 2009.

The Commission had been informed that certified standard materials were being developed at a laboratory in Galicia and would be available by the end of the year in addition to those available from Canada. The Commission indicated that an Impact Assessment would be developed for the proposal. The next steps would be for Member States to vote on the draft legislation (possibly November), following which it would be put to the European Parliament as part of the new comitology arrangements and notified to third Countries (non-EU Countries), with the aim of having it in place for summer 2010.

Reflections Paper
The Commission talked the Working Group through the proposals in the Reflections Paper in detail. Many of the proposals had been discussed at previous working group meetings, but given changes in the Commission and among Member States, it was felt helpful to give the document a thorough airing. The following key points were made during the discussion.

Amendments were suggested to Regulation (EU) 853/2004 in relation to small scale fishing in Nordic conditions, which were deemed to be more suitable for national measures.

Amendments to Regulation (EU) 854/2004 were suggested in relation to harvesting pectinidae outside of classified production areas. This was seen to be an issue as pectinidae, unlike live bivalve molluscs, were mobile and, therefore could move between different classification areas. The current requirements allowed for harvesting pectinidae outside classified areas, and concern was expressed that this may allow harvesting in areas of faecal contamination that had not been classified. Further clarification of these proposals is expected for the next meeting.

The Commission confirmed that the biotoxin limits in processed live bivalve molluscs (page 14) would be considered in the more general context of toxin level discussions at CODEX level. It would remain also in the Reflections Paper to keep it in the group’s sight.

There is no obligation on a competent authority to carry out an indepth analysis of why microbiological limits had been exceeded in live bivalve molluscs. The Commission indicated that they were considering a proposal to make such analysis compulsory, and that this issue will be returned to at a future meeting.

The Commission for an update on progress on traceability. The Commission confirmed that the issue was still being considered amongst the Commission hierarchy. Either it would be put to a vote at a future SCOFCAH meeting, or the Commission would look to find more data on possible administrative costs. Member States were encouraged to provide details of any such costs where available for the Commission’s consideration.

The Commission was also asked for an update on progress on the Mechanically Separated Meat report. The Commission confirmed that the report was on track to be issued later this year, although there was a possibility it would be issued in early 2010.