L 379/98 Official Journal of the European Union 28.12.2006 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2007/2006 of 22 December 2006 implementing Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the importation and transit of certain intermediate products derived from Category 3 material intended for technical uses in medical devices, in vitro diagnostics and laboratory reagents and amending that Regulation (Text with EEA relevance) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 3 October 2002 laying down health rules concerning animal by-products not intended for human consumption (!), and in particular Article 32(1) and point 4 of Chapter IV(A) of Annex VIII thereof, Whereas: Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 provides that certain animal by-products may be imported into the Community for the production of technical products provided that they comply with that Regulation. Annex VIII to Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 sets out the requirements for the placing on the market of certain technical products including starting materials to be used for or in the production of technical products which may include medical devices, in vitro diagnostics and laboratory reagents. However, certain Member States, trading partners and operators have expressed concerns over the importation of certain products sourced from Category 3 material intended for the production of medical devices, in vitro diagnostics and laboratory reagents (the intermediate products). It is therefore necessary to clarify the im- portation requirements and to lay down specific conditions for those intermediate products. Although the intermediate products concerned may have been subjected to preliminary processing, the way in which they are transported to the Community does not make it possible to differentiate them from other types of animal by-products intended for other technical uses, except by taking into account their intended destination and uses. The monitoring of their intended destination () O) L 273, 10.10.2002, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 208/2006 (O] L 36, 8.2.2006, p. 25-31). and uses under other Community legislation should be sufficient to ensure that they are not diverted into the food and feed chains at a later stage, provided that risk- appropriate channelling, recording and control measures are put in place. The placing on the market of the intermediate products concerned should therefore be channelled in accordance with 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 (3), and subjected to specific identi- fication and control measures, in order to reduce the risk of diversion into the food and feed chains and other unintended uses. Annex VIII to Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 sets out the requirements for the placing on the market of technical products. A comprehensive review and clarifi- cation of that Annex is to be undertaken once the tran- sitional regime provided for in that Regulation has expired. It is therefore, appropriate to lay down in the meantime the rules required for the importation of inter- mediate products intended for technical uses in medical devices, in vitro diagnostics and laboratory reagents in a specific regulation complementing the rules already laid down in that Annex. Until a full review and clarification has been undertaken, it is necessary to clarify the scope of Chapters IV and XI of Annex VIII to Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 to take into account this specific Regulation being laid down. The rules set out in Chapter IV should concern blood used for all technical purposes and blood products other than the serum of equidae used for technical purposes other than medical devices, in vitro diagnostics or laboratory reagents. The rules set out in Chapter V should continue to concern the serum of equidae intended for any technical purposes, including medical devices, in vitro diagnostics or laboratory reagents, and thus such rules do not need to be amended. The rules set out in Chapter XI should concern the importation of other non-processed animal by-products, which are not covered by this Regulation, imported for any purposes, including medical devices, in vitro diagnostics or laboratory reagents. (®» OJ L 24, 30.1.1998, p. 9. Directive as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (O] L 165, 30.4.2004, p. 1).