L 80/40 Official Journal of the European Communities 23.3.2002 (Acts whose publication is not obligatory) COMMISSION COMMISSION DECISION of 21 March 2002 amending Decision 94/360/EC on the reduced frequency of physical checks of consignments of certain products to be imported from third countries, under Council Directive 90/675/EEC (notified under document number C(2002) 1121) (Text with EEA relevance) (2002/237[EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Directive 97/78/EC of 18 December 1997 laying down the principles governing the organisation of veterinary checks on products entering the Community from third countries ('), and in particular Article 10 thereof, Whereas: 1) 1 2! 4 Directive 97/78/EC repealed and replaced Directive 90/ 675/EEC (3, under which Commission Decision 94/360/ EC () was drawn up. Following the discovery earlier of traces of growth- promoting xenobiotic hormones in meat imported from the United States of America, Commission Decision 1999/302/EC (*) amended Decision 94/360/EC to put in place an enhanced system of controls on all imports of fresh bovine meat and offal, excluding bison meat and offal, imported from that country. After the discovery of these residue findings, the authori- ties in the United States of America reinforced their hormone-free cattle programme in June 1999. In the face of further difficulties with this programme, identi- fied in the course of a mission to the United States of 24, 30.1.1998, p. 9. 373, 31.12.1990, p. 1. () o)L () oL () O] L 158, 25.6.1994, p. 41. () oL 117, 5.5.1999, p. 58. 0) ) 0] 0] America by the Commission's Food and Veterinary Office, the programme was suspended in July 1999 and relaunched in September 1999, in an enhanced form as the non-hormone-treated cattle programme. Commission Decision 1999/518/EC (°) further amended the inspection measures at Community border inspec- tion posts to include specific testing for stilbenes following the detection by the competent authorities of Switzerland of diethylstilboestrol (DES) in beef meat imported from the United States. In the light of the favourable results under the testing programme, in September 2000 Commission Decision 2000/583/EC (%) reduced the frequency of checks on fresh meat imported from the United States of America from checks on all consignments to checks on 20 % of consignments, and removed the obligation on Member States to only allow the entry into their territory of consignments for which the results of examination and analyses were favourable. This Decision was a first step towards phasing out completely the obligation to test for hormones each consignment selected for physical checks, and the Decision was subject to review in the light of future test results in accordance with Article 2 of Decision 1999/ 302[EC. L 197, 29.7.1999, p. 50. L 246, 30.9.2000, p. 67.