LeX-Ray

Regulations HFR ( 4 ) , (EC) No 853/2004, (EC) No 854/2004 and (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council provide for significant changes to the rules and procedures to be followed by food business operators and the competent authorities of the Member States. Those Regulations apply from 1 January 2006. However, the application of a number of these measures with immediate effect from that date would have presented practical difficulties in certain cases.

Accordingly, Commission Regulation 2005/2076 of 5 December 2005 laying down transitional arrangements for the implementation of Regulations Regulation 2004/853, Regulation 2004/854 and Regulation 2004/882 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 5 ) provides for certain transitional arrangements for a transitional period ending on 31 December 2009, in order to permit a smooth transition to the full implementation of the new rules and procedures. The duration of the transitional period was fixed taking into account the review of this regulatory framework on hygiene.

Regulations HFR, Regulation 2004/853 and Regulation 2004/854 provide that the Commission is to submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council reviewing the experience gained from the implementation of the new regulatory framework on hygiene before 20 May 2009.

The report was transmitted in July 2009. However, the report does not suggest any detailed solutions to the difficulties reported and is, therefore, not accompanied by proposals. On the basis of the difficulties identified, the Commission will consider the need for any proposals to improve the food hygiene Regulations.

Meanwhile, based on the information received from the Food and Veterinary Office, the competent authorities in the Member States and relevant European food business sectors, certain transitional arrangements provided for in Regulation 2005/2076 should be maintained pending the completion of the review process.

Provision should therefore be made for a further transitional period during which certain transitional arrangements provided for in Regulation 2005/2076 should continue to apply. With a view to a harmonised approach, that transitional period should in principle last four years but could, where justified, be shorter.

Regulation 2004/853 excludes from its scope the direct supply by the producer of small quantities of meat from poultry and lagomorphs slaughtered on the farm to the final consumer or to local retail establishments supplying directly the final consumer as fresh meat. However, limiting this provision to fresh meat before the end of the review exercise would be an additional burden for small producers. Accordingly, Regulation 2005/2076 provides for a derogation from the general requirements of Regulation 2004/853 for the direct supply of such commodities under certain conditions, without limiting it to fresh meat. That possibility should be maintained during the additional transitional period provided for in this Regulation.

Regulations Regulation 2004/853 and Regulation 2004/854 lay down certain rules for imports into the Community of products of animal origin and food containing both products of plant origin and processed products of animal origin. Regulation 2005/2076 provides for transitional arrangements derogating from certain of those rules for certain imports for which the public health conditions for their importation into the Community have not yet been harmonised at Community level. Those conditions will not be completely harmonised before 31 December 2009. Accordingly, pending future harmonisation of Community legislation, it is necessary to provide for derogations during the additional transitional period laid down in this Regulation.

Regulation 2004/853 lays down certain requirements concerning the raw material used to prepare minced meat and labelling. However, Regulation 2005/2076 provides for transitional arrangements derogating from certain of those requirements for a transitional period during which the composition criteria of minced meat regarding, in particular, the content of fat and the connective tissue-meat protein ratio were to be assessed. Based on the assessment, these criteria were included in the Commission proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of food information to consumers ( 6 ) . This proposal was adopted on 30 January 2008 by the Commission and transmitted to the European Parliament and to the Council. Pending the outcome of the proposal, it is appropriate to maintain such derogations from certain requirements concerning minced meat during the additional transitional period provided for in this Regulation.

Regulation 2004/882 requires laboratories carrying out analysis of samples taken during official controls to be accredited. Regulation 2005/2076 provides for a transitional arrangement derogating from that requirement for certain laboratories which were not required under previous Community legislation to be accredited. Experience has shown that laboratories carrying out official testing for Trichinella and located in slaughterhouses or game handling establishments require additional time to obtain full accreditation, since accreditation is a complex and laborious process. Accordingly, this Regulation should provide for further transitional measures for those laboratories subject to certain conditions.

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