Regulation 1993/315 - Community procedures for contaminants in food - Main contents

official title

 

Legal instrument	Regulation
Number legal act	Regulation 1993/315
Original proposal	COM(1991)523
CELEX number i	31993R0315

Avis juridique important

|

Council Regulation (EEC) No 315/93 of 8 February 1993 laying down Community procedures for contaminants in food

Official Journal L 037 , 13/02/1993 P. 0001 - 0003

Finnish special edition: Chapter 15 Volume 12 P. 0078

Swedish special edition: Chapter 15 Volume 12 P. 0078

COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 315/93 of 8 February 1993 laying down Community procedures for contaminants in food

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),

In cooperation with the European Parliament (2),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),

Whereas it is important to adopt measures with the aim of progressively establishing the internal market over a period expiring on 31 December 1992; whereas the internal market shall comprise an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured;

Whereas the differences in rules adopted by the Member States may hinder the functioning of the common market and whereas it is necessary to lay down a procedure for the adoption of harmonized Community rules;

Whereas contaminants may enter into food at any stage from production to consumption;

Whereas it is essential, in the interest of public health protection, to keep these contaminants at levels which are toxicologically acceptable;

Whereas further elimination must be carried out whenever it is achievable through good working practices; whereas compliance with such good practices can be efficiently monitored by public authorities, given the vocational traiing and experience of their agents;

Whereas this Regulation must apply without prejudice to the provisions adopted in the context of more specific Community rules;

Whereas it is appropriate in terms of health protection to encourage the search for a comprehensive approach to the question of contaminants in food;

Whereas the Scientific Committee for Food set up by Decision 74/234/EEC (4) must be consulted on all questions which may have an effect on public health,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

• 1. 

  This Regulation concerns contaminants contained in food.

'Contaminant' means any substance not intentionally added to food which is present in such food as a result of the production (including operations carried out in crop husbandry, animal husbandry and veterinary medicine), manufacture, processing, preparation, treatment, packing, packaging, transport or holding of such food, or as a result of environmental contamination. Extraneous matter, such as, for example, insect fragments, animal hair, etc, is not covered by this definition.

• 2. 

  This Regulation shall not apply to contaminants which are the subject of more specific Community rules.

Upon the entry into force of this Regulation, the Commission shall publish in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Communities, for the purposes of information, a list of the rules referred to in the first subparagraph. That list shall be updated, as appropriate, by the Commission.

• 3. 

  Provisions relating to contaminants shall be adopted in accordance with this Regulation, except those laid down by the rules referred to in paragraph 2.

Article 2

• 1. 

  Food containing a contaminant in an amount which is unacceptable from the public health viewpoint and in particular at a toxicological level shall not be placed on the market.

• 2. 

  Furthermore, contaminant levels shall be kept as low as can reasonably be achieved by following good practices at all the stages referred to in Article 1.

• 3. 

  In order to protect public health and pursuant to paragraph 1, where necessary, maximum tolerances for specific contaminants shall be established in accordance with the procedure laid...

This text has been adopted from EUR-Lex.

This page is also available in a full version containing the summary of legislation, de geconsolideerde versie, the legal context, de Europese rechtsgrond, other dossiers related to the dossier at hand and finally the related cases of the European Court of Justice.