Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/270 of 16 February 2017 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011 as regards the conditions of approval of the active substance sulfuryl fluoride (Text with EEA relevance. )

Amendment to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011

Article 1

The Annex to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Transitional measures

Article 2

Member States shall in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, where necessary amend or withdraw existing authorisations for plant protection products containing sulfuryl fluoride as active substance by 9 September 2017.

Grace period

Article 3

Any grace period granted by Member States in accordance with Article 46 of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 shall be as short as possible and shall expire 12 months after restriction or withdrawal of the respective authorisation at the latest.

Entry into force

Article 4

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

ANNEXSupplementary provisions

ANNEX The column ‘Specific provisions’ of row 307, sulfuryl fluoride, in Part A of the Annex to Implementing Regulation (EU) No 540/2011 is replaced by the following: ‘PART A Only uses as insecticide/nematicide (fumigant) applied by professional users in sealable structures may be authorised insofar: (a) these structures are empty; or (b) where food or feed commodities are present in a fumigated facility, the users and the food business operators ensure that only the food or feed commodities compliant with the existing maximum residue levels for sulfuryl fluoride and fluoride ion set by Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council  ( *1 ) may enter the food and feed chain; to this purpose, the users and the food business operators shall fully implement measures equivalent to the HACCP principles as laid down in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council  ( *2 ) ; in particular, the users shall identify the critical control point at which control is essential to prevent maximum residue levels to be exceeded, and establish and implement effective monitoring procedures at that critical control point. PART B For the implementation of the uniform principles, as referred to in Article 29(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009, the conclusions of the review report on sulfuryl fluoride, and in particular Appendices I and II thereof, as finalised in the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed on 7 December 2016 shall be taken into account. In this overall assessment, Member States must pay particular attention to: — the risk posed by inorganic fluoride through contaminated products, such as flour and bran that remained in the mill machinery during fumigation, or grain stored in silos in the mill. Measures are required to ensure that only products complying with the existing MRLs enter the food and feed chain; — the risk to operators and the risk to workers, such as when re-entering a fumigated structure after aeration. Measures are required to ensure that they wear self-containing breathing apparatus or other appropriate personal protective equipment; — the risk to bystanders by applying an appropriate exclusion zone around the fumigated structure. Conditions of authorisation shall include risk mitigation measures, where appropriate. The notifier shall submit to the Commission, Member States and the Authority monitoring data on tropospheric concentrations of sulfuryl fluoride every fifth year, starting from 30 June 2017. The limit of detection for the analysis shall be at least 0,5 ppt (equivalent to 2,1 ng sulfuryl fluoride/m 3 of tropospheric air). ( *1 )   Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 February 2005 on maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and feed of plant and animal origin and amending Council Directive 91/414/EEC ( OJ L 70, 16.3.2005, p. 1 ). ( *2 )   Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs ( OJ L 139, 30.4.2004, p. 1 ).’ ’