{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2005-2073/annex-I/chapter-3/division-3.3/division-A/division-2",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2005-2073/annex-I/chapter-3/division-3.3/division-A/division-2.json",
  "legislation": "eur/2005/2073",
  "legislation_title": "Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 of 15 November 2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs (Text with EEA relevance)",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2005-2073",
  "path": "annex/I/chapter/3/division/3.3/division/A/division/2",
  "kind": "division",
  "number": "2",
  "heading": "Sampling and testing of the sprouts and the spent irrigation water",
  "text": "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.\nSamples of sprouts shall be analysed according to the requirements in rows 1.18 and 1.29 of Chapter 1.\nHowever, 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.\nIn 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.\nWhen 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.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Substituted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1441/2007 of 5 December 2007 amending Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs (Text with EEA relevance)."
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Substituted by Commission Regulation (EU) No 1086/2011 of 27 October 2011 amending Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Annex I to Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 as regards salmonella in fresh poultry meat (Text with EEA relevance)."
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "Inserted by 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)."
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2005/2073/annex/I/chapter/3/division/3.3/division/A/division/2",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T14:54:04.164955+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}