Commission Regulation (EU) No 209/2013 of 11 March 2013 amending Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 as regards microbiological criteria for sprouts and the sampling rules for poultry carcases and fresh poultry meat Text with EEA relevance

• CELEX: Regulation (EU) No 209/2013
• Articles: 3

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 is amended as follows:

(1)

In Article 2, the following point (m) is added:

‘(m)

the definition of “sprouts” in Article 2(a) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 208/2013 of 11 March 2013 on traceability requirements for sprouts and seeds intended for the production of sprouts  ( *1 ) ;

( *1 )   See page 16 of this Official Journal.’;"

(2)

Annex I is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .

It shall apply from 1 July 2013.

Schedules & Appendices

ANNEX

ANNEX

Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 is amended as follows:

(1)

Chapter 1 is amended as follows:

(a)

footnote 12 is deleted;

(b)

in row 1.18 the reference to footnote 12 is replaced by the reference to footnote 23;

(c)

the following row 1.29 and the corresponding footnotes 22 and 23 are added:

‘1.29

Sprouts  ( 1 )

Shiga toxin producing E. coli (STEC) O157, O26, O111, O103, O145 and O104:H4

5

0

Absence in 25 grams

CEN/ISO TS 13136  ( 22 )

Products placed on the market during their shelf-life

(2)

Chapter 3 is amended as follows:

(a)

in Section 3.2, the part concerning ‘Sampling rules for poultry carcases and fresh poultry meat’ is amended as follows:

(i)

the first paragraph is replaced by the following:

‘Slaughterhouses shall sample whole poultry carcases with neck skin for Salmonella analyses. Cutting and processing establishments other than those adjacent to a slaughterhouse cutting and processing meat received only from this slaughterhouse, shall also take samples for Salmonella analysis. When doing so, they shall give priority to whole poultry carcases with neck skin, if available, but ensuring that also poultry portions with skin and/or poultry portions without skin or with only a small amount of skin are covered, and that choice shall be risk-based.’;

(ii)

the fourth paragraph is replaced by the following:

‘For the Salmonella analyses for fresh poultry meat other than poultry carcases, five samples of at least 25 g of the same batch shall be collected. The sample taken from poultry portions with skin shall contain skin and a thin surface muscle slice in case the amount of skin is not sufficient to form a sample unit. The sample taken from poultry portions without skin or with only a small amount of skin shall contain a thin surface muscle slice or slices added to any skin present to make a sufficient sample unit. The slices of meat shall be taken in a way that includes as much as possible of the surface of the meat.’;

(b)

the following Section 3.3 is added:

‘3.3.    Sampling rules for sprouts

For the purposes of this Section, the definition of batch in Article 2(b) of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 208/2013 will apply.

A.    General rules for sampling and testing

1.   Preliminary testing of the batch of seeds

Food business operators producing sprouts shall carry out a preliminary testing of a representative sample of all batches of seeds. A representative sample shall include at least 0,5 % of the weight of the batch of seeds in sub samples of 50 g or be selected based on a structured statistically equivalent sampling strategy verified by the competent authority.

For the purposes of performing the preliminary testing, the food business operator must sprout the seeds in the representative sample under the same conditions as the rest of the batch of seeds to be sprouted.

2.   Sampling and testing of the sprouts and the spent irrigation water

Food business operators producing sprouts shall take samples for microbiological testing at the stage where the probability of finding Shiga toxin producing E. coli (STEC) and Salmonella spp. is the highest, in any case not before 48 hours after the start of the sprouting process.

Samples of sprouts shall be analysed according to the requirements in rows 1.18 and 1.29 of Chapter 1.

However, if a food business operator producing sprouts has a sampling plan, including sampling procedures and sampling points of the spent irrigation water, they may replace the sampling requirement under the sampling plans set out in rows 1.18 and 1.29 of Chapter 1 with the analysis of 5 samples of 200 ml of the water that was used for the irrigation of the sprouts.

In that case requirements set out in rows 1.18 and 1.29 of Chapter 1 shall apply to the analysis of the water that was used for the irrigation of the sprouts, with the limit of absence in 200 ml.

When testing a batch of seeds for the first time, food business operators may only place sprouts on the market if the results of the microbiological analysis comply with rows 1.18 and 1.29 of Chapter 1, or the limit of absence in 200 ml if they analyse spent irrigation water.

3.   Sampling frequency

Food business operators producing sprouts shall take samples for microbiological analysis at least once a month at the stage where the probability of finding Shiga toxin producing E. coli (STEC) and Salmonella spp. is the highest, in any case not before 48 hours after the start of the sprouting process.

B.    Derogation from the preliminary testing of all batches of seeds set out in point A.1 of this Section

When justified on the basis of the following conditions and authorised by the competent authority, food business operators producing sprouts may be exempted from the sampling set out in point A.1 of this Section:

(a)

the competent authority is satisfied that the food business operator implements a food safety management system in that establishment, which may include steps in the production process, which reduces the microbiological risk; and,

(b)

historical data confirms that during at least 6 consecutive months prior to granting the authorisation, all batches of the different types of sprouts produced in the establishment comply with the food safety criteria set out in rows 1.18 and 1.29 of Chapter 1.’

( 22 )   Taking into account the most recent adaptation by the European Union reference laboratory for Escherichia coli , including Verotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC), for the detection of STEC O104:H4.

( 1 )   Excluding sprouts that have received a treatment effective to eliminate Salmonella spp. and STEC.’;