Commission Regulation (EC) No 745/2004 of 16 April 2004 laying down measures with regard to imports of products of animal origin for personal consumption (Text with EEA relevance)

• Coming into Force: 01 May 2004
• End of Effective Date: 30 April 2009
• Celex Number: 32004R0745(01)
• ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2004/745(1)/oj
• Published date: 26 April 2004
• Date: 16 April 2004
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Union, L 122, 26 April 2004

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32004R0745(01)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 745/2004 of 16 April 2004 laying down measures with regard to imports of products of animal origin for personal consumption (Text with EEA relevance)

Official Journal L 122 , 26/04/2004 P. 0001 - 0009

Commission Regulation (EC) No 745/2004

of 16 April 2004

laying down measures with regard to imports of products of animal origin for personal consumption

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Directive 2002/99/EC of 16 December 2002 laying down animal health rules governing the production, processing, distribution and introduction of products of animal origin for human consumption(1), and in particular the third indent of Article 8(5) thereof,

Having regard to Council Directive 97/78/EC of 18 December 1997, laying down the principles governing the organisation of veterinary checks on products entering the Community from third countries(2), and in particular Articles 3(5), 16(3) and 17(7) thereof,

Having regard to Council Decision 90/424/EEC of 26 June 1990 on expenditure in the veterinary field(3), and in particular Article 6(3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Article 3(1) and (2) of Directive 97/78/EC require, respectively, that Member States shall ensure that no consignment from a third country is introduced into the Community without having been subjected to the appropriate veterinary checks, and that consignments are introduced into the Community via a border inspection post. However, in accordance with Article 16, these requirements do not apply to products carried by travellers or sent to private persons for their own consumption, under certain conditions. It follows that Member States must organise controls at other points of entry to ensure that products that do not meet such conditions are not introduced other than via border inspection posts.

(2) The number of entry points at Community frontiers where passengers and parcels arrive from third countries exceed those approved as border inspection posts. However, it is the responsibility of the competent authorities of each Member State to ensure that travellers, passengers or the persons responsible for the consignments, are aware of and comply with the relevant Community rules as applied to non-commercial consignments of products of animal origin.

(3) Commission Regulation (EC) No 136/2004(4) lays down the procedures for veterinary checks at Community border inspection posts on products from third countries. Article 8 establishes a weight limit of 1 kg for the exemption from systematic veterinary checks for products destined for human consumption from approved countries or parts thereof. It also provides for certain derogations for small packages of products of animal origin introduced into Denmark, inter alia, from Greenland and the Faeroe Islands, and with regard to certain fish introduced into Finland and Sweden from Russia.

(4) Commission Decision 2002/349/EC(5) lays down the list of products of animal origin to be examined at border inspection posts. However, in accordance with Article 2, the provisions of the Decision apply without prejudice to the exemptions referred to in Article 16 of Directive 97/78/EC.

(5) Outbreaks of exotic animal diseases within the European Community have been caused by virus strains previously not isolated in the Community, including outbreaks of classical swine fever in 1996 and 2000, and a major epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in 2001. The outbreaks of FMD were caused by virus type O1-PanAsia, a strain not circulating in any third country from where products derived from animals of susceptible species are imported in accordance with Community legislation.

(6) In view of the risks of virus introduction, several fora have focused on the need to raise awareness and...