. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/EEC/143
20 November 2001
(01-5865)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
NOTIFICATION
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
If applicable, name of local government involved:           
2. Agency responsible:  European Commission, Directorate General for Health and Consumer
Protection.
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where
applicable).  Fish, crustaceans, bivalve molluscs and fishery products circulating under
TARIC position 03.  Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or
practicable: EC member States and third countries trading with the European
Communities.
4. Title and number of pages of the notified document:  Draft Commission Regulation
amending Commission Regulation (EC) N°  466/2001 of 8 March 2001 setting maximum
levels for certain contaminants in foodstuffs (5 pages).
5. Description of content:  The draft Commission Regulation notified hereby establishes
revised maximum limits for lead, cadmium and mercury in certain fishery products. It
incorporates comments received to Regulation (EC) No 466/2001, notified as
G/SPS/N/EEC/100 and due to come in force on 5 April 2002.  These new standards respond
to an evaluation of new scientific data made available which indicated that some of the
provisions in Regulation (EC) No 466/2001 would not be reasonably achievable.  The
revised provisions, grant greater flexibility to the maximum levels for these heavy metals in
certain fish species, crustaceans and bivalve molluscs and are summarized as follows :
• Tuna, Bonito and Sardinops are added to the listed fish species for the upper maximum
levels of 0.4 mg/kg for lead and 0.1 mg/kg for cadmium;
• The maximum level for lead in bivalve molluscs is raised to 1.5 mg/kg;
• An exclusion from the maximum level for cadmium in crustaceans is inserted for head
and thorax meat of lobster and similar large crustaceans.
• The grenadier and emperor/ orange roughy are added to the listed fish species for the
upper maximum level of 1 mg/kg for mercury.
6. Objective and rationale: [  X ] food safety,  [     ] animal health,  [     ] plant protection,
[    ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [     ] protect territory from
other damage from pests   To facilitate trade
7. An international standard, guideline or recommendation does not exist [  X ].
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate
reference and briefly identify deviations:           G/SPS/N/EEC/143
Page 2
8. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available: European
Commission Document SANCO/3435 /01 rev2 (Available in all official EC languages).
9. Proposed date of adoption:  February 2002
10. Proposed date of entry into force:  5 April 2002
11. Final date for comments:  As indicated in paragraphs 5 and 6 this proposal incorporates
comments received to Regulation (EC) No 466/2001, [notified as G/SPS/N/EEC/100] that isdue to come in force on 5 April 2002 and to meet this objective it should be adopted at the
soonest.  Therefore the comment period would be of 14 days after the date of notification.
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [     ] National notification
authority, [  X ] EC enquiry point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if
available) of other body:           
12. Texts available from: [     ] National notification authority, [  X ] EC enquiry point or
address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:           