restrictions on importation of rice products from USA and
China
New regulations implementing updated
European Commission emergency measures on imports of rice from the
USA came into force on 7 March 2008. These deal with the
import of long grain rice from the USA which contains the
unauthorised genetically modified LLRICE601.
Previous measures first introduced in 2006
required the sampling and testing of all consignments of rice
imported from the USA. The new amendment introduces updated
certification requirements and removes the requirement for repeat
testing at the point of import into the EU. These amendments were
made following the implementation of a control programme in the US
that aimed to avoid the presence of contaminated rice in the 2007
harvest. US testing methods have also been amended to match the
sensitivity of those used in the EU.
The new legislation, the Rice Products from
the United States of America (Restriction on First Placing on the
Market) (England) Regulations 2008, prohibit the first placing on
the market of any "rice product", except where:
- it is accompanied by a statement from the
food business operator responsible for the consignment that the
product only contains rice from the 2007 or a subsequent harvest
that was subject to the plan of the USA Rice Federation aiming to
remove "LL Rice 601" from the US export channels; and
- it is accompanied by an original analytical
report satisfying specified requirements and confirming that the
product does not contain the genetically modified rice "LL RICE
601"; and
- specified requirements for split consignments
are complied with.
These regulations can be found at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/uksi_20080622_en_1.
In addition, UK regulations placing
restrictions on the import of rice and rice products (including
composite products) from China will come into force from 15 April
2008. These will implement EC emergency measures to ensure that
such products do not contain an unauthorised genetically modified
rice.
The measures will require that rice products
originating in or consigned from China are:
- accompanied by an analytical report to
certify that the product is free from the unauthorised GM organism
'Bt63'; or
- that satisfactory results of analysis are
received by the food authority at the point of entry to the
community, following sampling carried out by or under the
supervision of that authority
Food businesses are reminded that:
- products contaminated with unauthorised GM
material may not be placed on the market
- they have primary legal responsibility for
ensuring that foods or feeds under their control satisfy the
requirements of food or feed law and for verifying that such
requirements are met; and
- they have responsibilities relating to
product traceability.
The draft Rice Products from China
(Restriction on First Placing on the Market) (England) Regulations
2008 can be found at
http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/consultation
/bt63consulteng0803.pdf.
