L 175/70 Official Journal of the European Communities 10.7.1999 COMMISSION DECISION of 9 July 1999 on protective measures with regard to contamination by dioxins of certain products of animal origin intended for human or animal consumption (notified under document number C(1999) 2110) (Text with EEA relevance) (1999/449/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Directive 89/662/EEC of 11 December 1989 concerning veterinary checks in intra- Community trade with a view to the completion of the internal market (1), as last amended by Directive 92/118/EEC (?), and in particular Article 9(4) thereof, Having regard to Council Directive 90/425/EEC of 26 June 1990 concerning veterinary and zootechnical checks applicable in intra-Community trade in certain live animal and products with a view to the completion of the internal market (), as last amended by Directive 92/118/EEC, and in particular Article 10(4) thereof, Whereas: (1)  Commission Decision 1999/363/EC of 3 June 1999 on protective measures with regards to contamination by dioxins of certain animal products intended for human or animal consumption (%), as last amended by Decision 1999/419/EC (®), and Commission Decision 1999/ 389/EC of 11 June 1999 on protective measures with regards to contamination by dioxins of products intended for human consumption derived from bovine animals and pigs and revoking Decision 1999/ 368/EC (°), as last amended by Decision 1999/419/EC, have each been substantially amended. Since further amendments are to be made, they should be recast in a single decision in the interests of clarity and rationalisa- tion. (2)  On 27 May 1999, the Belgian authorities informed the Commission of a case of heavy contamination of compound feedingstuffs with dioxins. Those feeding- stuffs had been distributed to a considerable number of domestic fowl farms in Belgium (some 25 %) from 15 January 1999 onwards. () O] L 395, 30.12.1989, p. 13. () O] L 62, 15.3.1993, p. 49. () O] L 224, 18.8.1990, p. 20. () O] L 141, 4.6.1999, p. 24. () O] L 159, 25.6.1999, p. 60. () O] L 147, 12.6.1999, p. 26. () From 26 May 1999, the Belgian authorities placed restrictions on all the domestic fowl holdings which had received those feedingstuffs. The Belgian authorities prohibited the slaughter of poultry from 1 June 1999. Products intended for human or animal consumption derived from animals reared in those farms before that date may still be on the market. On 2 June 1999, the Belgian authorities informed the Commission that they had placed restrictions on some 500 pig holdings which may have received contami- nated feedingstuffs. On 3 June 1999, they also informed the Commission that contaminated feedingstuffs had been distributed to a number of bovine holdings as well. The Belgian authorities have taken actions on pigs and bovine animals and derived products similar to those applied in the case of poultry and, in particular, they have prohibited the slaughter of bovine animals and pigs from 3 June 1999. It appears that those feedingstuffs, live animals which had been fed therewith and products derived from those animals have been traded to other Member States and third countries. Other animal species may have been fed with those contaminated feedingstuffs. Investigation of the responsibility for this contamination is continuing. The Community inspection in Belgium on 8 to 11 June 1999 concluded that, on the basis of the available results of analyses, a massive contamination occurred over a limited time, rather than a recurring problem. In the light of the foregoing, it is necessary to take measures to protect the health of consumers. The meas- ures should apply to domestic fowl, pigs and bovine animals reared in Belgium from 15 January onwards and to products derived therefrom. The measures should not apply to products derived from animals which have not been reared in holdings placed under restriction by the Belgian authorities or which have been shown by analyses not to be contaminated by dioxins. Provision should be made for those products to be destroyed in a manner that ensures that they cannot enter the human food or animal feed chains. It is not yet appropriate to set an end-date for the application of the measures. In order to prevent deflections of trade, the measures