Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on official controls performed to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules^f1, and in particular Article 32(5) thereof,

Whereas:

Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 lays down the general tasks, duties and requirements for Community reference laboratories for food and feed and for animal health. The Community reference laboratories are listed in Annex VII to that Regulation. That list contains all Community reference laboratories for feed and food that were previously designated in other acts.

The designation of Community reference laboratories should contribute to a high quality and uniformity of analytical results.

The activities of Community reference laboratories should cover all the areas of feed and food law and animal health, in particular those areas where there is a need for precise analytical and diagnostic results.

In a number of sectors where Community legislation on food, feed and animal health applies, there is a need to designate additional Community reference laboratories in areas where they do not yet exist and, in particular, with regard to foot-and-mouth disease, Brucellosis, Listeria monocytogenes, Coagulase positive Staphylococci, Escherichia coli, including Verotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC), Campylobacter, parasites (in particular Trichinella, Echinococcus, Anisakis), antimicrobial resistance, animal proteins in feedingstuffs, pesticides residues, Mycotoxins in food and feed, heavy metals in food and feed, dioxins and PCBs in food and feed and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH).

In July 2005 the Commission launched a call for the selection and designation of new Community reference laboratories. The evaluation of the applications was completed in December 2005 and the results were notified to the competent authorities of the Member States concerned. Following that evaluation the Commission considers it appropriate to designate as new Community reference laboratories the successful candidates within each field.

It is necessary to update certain specific information regarding the existing Community reference laboratories in Annex VII to Regulation (EC) 882/2004.

Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 should therefore be amended accordingly.

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: