Imports - OVS Note 08/11
Emergency measures for fishery products imported from Albania and intended for human consumption
This letter is addressed to BIPs in England only for action and to Chief Port Health Officers for information.
I refer to my letter of 8 October 2007, reference OVS/2007/84, about emergency measures introduced by the Commission for imports of certain fishery products belonging to certain families of fish from Albania that might be contaminated with histamines.
These measures are set out in Commission Decision 2007/642/EC, published on 5 October 2007 on the Commission’s website. I attach here a link to the relevant page on Eurlex. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2007/l_260/l_26020071005en00210022.pdf Please note that this is a PDF file and that you will need Adobe Acrobat to access it.
The emergency measures in the Decision apply only to fishery products of fish belonging to certain families imported from Albania and intended for human consumption. These families are:-
- Scombridae (e.g. mackerels, tuna, bonitos),
- Clupeidae (e.g. herrings, shads, sardines, mentadens, pilchards, sprats)
- Coryfenidae or Coryphaenidae * (e.g. dolphinfish, dorados)
- Pomatomidae (e.g. bluefish)
- Scombresosidae (e.g. queenfish)
*we believe these to be the same species, differently spelt.
The Decision only allows the import to the UK of these families of fish if they are accompanied by the results of an analytical test for histamine carried out in Albania or by a foreign accredited laboratory, before being shipped to England, that shows histamine levels below the limits set out in Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005.
Any consignments that arrive at English ports without results of analytical tests, must undergo tests to verify that the histamine levels are below the limits set by Regulation (EC) 2073/2005.
I advised BIPs in my letter of 8 October that the Commission had asked to be kept informed of all testing carried out for histamine, and I asked you to keep records and advise me of those on a quarterly basis for the periods ending 31 December 2007, 31 March 2008, 30 June 2008 and 30 September 2008.
To date I have not received any results for the 3 month period ending 31 December 2007. Please therefore check your records and send these to me by 18 February 2008 via our dedicated imports Email address imported.food@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk. These reports should only record the date the consignment is received, the families of fish, whether negative or positive for histamine and the levels of histamine if found. Please quote “Albanian histamine results” in the title of these Emails.
The Decision will be reviewed in the light of the guarantees offered by Albania and on the basis of the results of the tests carried out by Member States.
For further information on Regulation 2073/2005, please contact David Alexander on 020-7276 8949 or by Email at david.alexander@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk. For further information on histamine risks to human health, please write to our Chemical Risk Assessment Unit at toxicology@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk
If you require any information on the fishery aspects of this letter, please contact my colleague Rob Griffin in the Agency’s Imported Food Division. His telephone number is 020-7276 8443 and his Email address is rob.griffin@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk.
The advice contained in this Email should not be taken as an authoritative statement of the law or its interpretation. Only the courts can decide whether in particular circumstances an offence has been committed.
You should also be aware that we have an imports section on the Food Standards Agency’s website. This may be found at www.food.gov.uk/imports.
I hope this is helpful.
Yours sincerely
Mary Heaton
Imported Food and Food Standards Enforcement Division
This OVS Note was issued by the Food Standards Agency (FSA). Therefore Defra cannot advise on its content. Please contact the FSA for further information. Tel: 020 7276 8018, email: imported.food@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk.
Page published:
14 February, 2008