7.9.2006 Official Journal of the European Union L 24427 COMMISSION DECISION of 5 September 2006 on emergency measures regarding the non-authorised genetically modified organism ‘LL RICE 601’ in rice products (notified under document number C(2006) 3932) (Text with EEA relevance) (2006/601/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety (1), and in particular Article 53(2), second subparagraph, thereof, Whereas: (1) Article 4(2) and Article 16(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 on genetically modified food and feed provide that no genetically modified food or feed (?) is to be placed on the Community market unless it is covered by an authorisation granted in accordance with that Regulation. Article 4(3) and Article 16(3) of the same Regulation lay down that no genetically modified food and feed may be authorised unless it has been adequately and sufficiently demon- strated that it does not have adverse effects on human health, animal health or the environment, that it does not mislead the consumer or the user, and that it does not differ from the food or feed it is intended to replace to such an extent that its normal consumption would be nutritionally disadvantageous for humans or animals. On 18 August 2006, the authorities of the United States of America informed the Commission that rice products contaminated with the genetically modified rice ‘LL RICE 601" (‘the contaminated products’), which have not been authorised for placing on the market in the Community, had been found in rice samples taken on the US market from commercial long-grain rice from the 2005 crop. The contamination of products was reported to the US authorities on 31 July 2006 by Bayer Crop Science, which is the company that developed the genetically modified rice ‘LL RICE 601’. The US authorities later informed the Commission that it is still not known to what extent the supply chain has been contaminated and (") OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 575/2006 (O] L 100, 8.4.2006, p. 3). () O] L 268, 18.10.2003, p. 1. that information on possible contamination of exports to the Community cannot be given at present. In addition, they informed the Commission that those products had not been authorised for placing on the market in the United States either. Without prejudice to the control obligations of the Member States, the measures to be adopted further to the likely imports of contaminated products should form a comprehensive and common approach allowing rapid and effective action to be taken and avoiding disparities between the treatment of the situation by the various Member States. Article 53 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 provides for the possibility to adopt appropriate Community emergency measures for food and feed imported from a third country in order to protect human health, animal health or the environment, where the risk cannot be contained satisfactorily by means of measures taken by the Member States concerned. Since genetically modified rice LL RICE 601" is not authorised under Community legislation and in view of the presumption of risk on products not authorised according to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003, which takes into account the precautionary principle laid down in Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, it is appropriate to take emergency measures to prevent the placing on the market in the Community of the contaminated products. According to the general requirements laid down in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, food and feed business operators have primary legal responsibility for ensuring that foods or feeds within the businesses under their control satisfy the requirements of food law and for verifying that such requirements are met. It is, therefore, the operators responsible for first placing food and feed on the market who should be under the duty to prove that they do not contain the contaminated products. To this end, the measures provided for in this Decision should require that consignments of specific products originating from the United States may be placed on the market only if an analytical report demon- strating that the products are not contaminated with ‘LL RICE 601" is provided. The analytical report should be issued by an accredited laboratory conforming to inter- nationally recognised standards.