Safe food in an EU of 25 Member States: final steps towards enlargement on 1 May

The 10 new Member States due to join the EU on 1 May 2004 are on course to meet the EU's food safety standards, said Commissioner David Byrne, responsible for Health and Consumer Protection. "Major progress has been made as a result of strong collaboration between the European Commission and the competent authorities of the new Member States", he said. Some food establishments (processing plants, dairies and abattoirs) will need some transitional time to finish upgrading their standards. During that time, their products will only be sold on the domestic market of the new Member States concerned. The EU-15 agreed today to the final list of establishments which will benefit from such an upgrading period. By 1 May all new Member States are expected to have brought their national rules fully into line with the EU's food and veterinary regulations. A handful of implementation issues remain and the Commission is in contact with the authorities in the new Member States concerned to resolve these ahead of enlargement. The new Member States' Accession Treaty, signed in April 2003, granted transition periods of up to three years to a number of food processing establishments in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovakia that were seen as unlikely to meet EU standards by 1 May 2004. The proposals approved by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health representing the Member States today allow a further group of establishments in Poland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia to have transition periods of from three months to one year to allow the completion of upgrading work. This new group of establishments all comply with EU hygiene rules but need further time to fully comply with other relevant EU requirements. In all, 1006 food processing establishments in the new Member States have been granted transition periods, roughly representing 8 percent of the total number of 12 000 of food processing establishments in these countries. Those establishments granted transition periods will be allowed to continue selling food in their home Member State. However, it will not be eligible to be sold in other Member States and will be labelled to prevent this.