Skip navigation

Food Standards Agency

Safer food better business banner

AZ-Directory What's New

Report on Commission Working Group Meeting, Brussels, 30-31 May 2005

Thursday 9 June 2005

The meeting discussed draft regulations on implementing measures and transitional arrangements, implementing measures as regards salmonella additional guarantees for Sweden and Finland and draft EU Commission guidance.

The Commission intends to hold a meeting with European stakeholder organisations on 13 and 14 June 2005 at which all of this material will be discussed. Links to all of the documents mentioned here can be found at the foot of the page.

On the proposed regulation on implementing measures and transitional arrangements (SANCO/55/2005 Rev.4), there was no substantive discussion on the provision on water retaining agents in poultry meat. The UK also pointed out problems with the provisions in relation to labelling the fat content of minced meat, and a number of Member States supported the view that these provisions should be deleted.

The Commission introduced its proposal on the additional guarantees in respect of salmonella for Sweden and Finland (SANCO/3307/2004). This proposed regulation will be processed to the same timeframe as the other proposal on implementing measures.

The Commission intends to put the proposed implementing measures and transitional arrangements for discussion to the EU Standing Committee on Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH) on 21 and 22 June 2005 and to technical vote in the same committee on 19 and 20 July 2005. Allowing for the 60 day period to consult under WTO arrangements, this will mean that the earliest the proposal could be adopted formally is at the SCoFCAH meeting on 20 and 21 September 2005. The regulations would enter into force 20 days after their publication in the Official Journal.

The Working Group considered the draft Commission guidance on Regulations 852/2004, 853/2004 and in respect of imports (SANCO/1513/2005, SANCO/1514/2005 and SANCO/1446/2005). This guidance is still being developed, therefore the documents are subject to change and cannot be regarded as final.

There was little discussion on the guidance on imports (SANCO 1446/2005), which has been subject to consideration by a group of imports experts. Consideration of the other guidance indicates that there are still issues on which there is not agreement, notably in respect of the interpretation of the requirements for composite products.

The Commission will reflect further before discussing this draft guidance with stakeholders at the meeting in June. It intends to take the guidance material to SCoFCAH in July.

No discussion on the guidance material on HACCP (SANCO/1515/2005 and SANCO 2655/2004 Rev 6), which is expected to be discussed at a Working Group meeting on 4 July 2005.

Back to top

Contacts

Catherine Bowles
Tel: 020 7276 8952
catherine.bowles@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

David Gray
Tel: 020 7276 8940
david.gray@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

Back to top

Related links

Sanco 1446 2005

Download pdf  (pdf 73KB) Sanco 1513 2005

Download pdf  (pdf 56KB) Sanco 1514 2005

Download pdf  (pdf 68KB) Sanco 1515 2005

Download pdf  (pdf 55KB) Sanco 2655 2004 Rev6

Download pdf  (pdf 127KB) Sanco 3307 2004

Download pdf  (pdf 50KB) Sanco 55 2005 Rev4

Download pdf  (pdf 346KB) (External) Get Adobe Acrobat reader You may need the free Acrobat Reader to view a pdf

Tell a Friend

Printer friendly

Contact us

Get alerts

FSA online

Find out about our different types of content

Change Text Only Settings

Graphic version of this page