Introductory text

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety^f1, and in particular Article 53(1)(b)(ii) thereof,

Whereas:

Article 53 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 provides for the possibility to adopt appropriate Union emergency measures for food and feed imported from a third country in order to protect public health, animal health or the environment, where the risk cannot be contained satisfactorily by means of measures taken by the Member States individually.

Following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station on 11 March 2011, the Commission was informed that radionuclide levels in certain food products originating in Japan exceeded the action levels in food applicable in Japan. Such contamination may constitute a threat to public and animal health in the Union and therefore Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 297/2011 of 25 March 2011 imposing special conditions governing the import of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan following the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station^f2 was adopted. That Regulation was later replaced by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 961/2011^f3, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 284/2012^f4 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 996/2012^f5.

Article 17 of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 996/2012 provides for a review of the provisions when the results of sampling and analysis on the presence of radioactivity of feed and food of the third growing season after the accident will be available, i.e. by 31 March 2014. However, in accordance with that Article, the provisions concerning the products for which the harvest is mainly in the second part of the second growing season and therefore all the data of the second growing season are not yet available, should be reviewed by 31 March 2013.

The measures have been reviewed taking into account the occurrence data on radioactivity in feed and food provided by the Japanese authorities for the period between September 2012 and January 2013.

As regards the prefectures of Gunma, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Miyagi, Saitama, Tokyo, Iwate, Chiba and Kanagawa, Implementing Regulation (EU) No 996/2012 requires to sample and analyse, before export to the Union, mushrooms, tea, fishery products, certain edible wild plants, certain vegetables, certain fruits, rice and soybeans and the processed and derived products thereof. Following the detailed assessment of the data provided, pears, taro, yacon, pome fruit, pawpaw and scallops should be removed from the list of products for which sampling and analysis are required before export while buckwheat, lotus root and threeleaf arrowroot should be included in that list. Given that the import of fresh bovine meat from Japan has been recently allowed by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 196/2013 of 7 March 2013 amending Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 206/2010 as regards the new entry for Japan in the list of third countries or parts thereof from which imports into the European Union of certain fresh meat are authorised^f6, it is necessary to add fresh bovine meat to the list of products for which sampling and analysis are required before export.

Following findings of non-compliance, it is appropriate to add the requirement for sampling and analysis before export for mushrooms from the prefectures Nagano, Niigata and Aomori.

Therefore Implementing Regulation (EU) No 996/2012 should be amended accordingly.

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: