L 34/12 Official Journal of the European Union 7.2.2012 COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION of 3 February 2012 amending Decisions 2007/305/EC, 2007/306/EC and 2007/307/EC as regards the tolerance period for traces of MslxRfl (ACS-BNO@4-7xACS-BNO©D1-4) hybrid oilseed rape, Ms1xRf2 (ACS- BNO©@4-7xACS-BNO©@2-5) hybrid oilseed rape and Topas 19/2 (ACS-BNO@7-1) oilseed rape, as well as of their derived products (notified under document C(2012) 518) (Only the German text is authentic) (2012/69/EU) THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 on genetically modified food and feed ('), and in particular Articles 8(6) and 20(6) thereof, Whereas: (1) Commission Decisions 2007/305/EC (3), 2007/306EC (%) and 2007/307/EC (*) set out the rules for the withdrawal from the market of the following genetically modified material (the GM material): Ms1xRf1 (ACS-BN@@4- 7xACS-BN@D1-4) hybrid oilseed rape, Ms1xRf2 (ACS- BNO@4-7xACS-BNO@2-5) hybrid oilseed rape and Topas 19/2 (ACS-BN@@7-1) oilseed rape, as well as their derived products. Those Decisions have been adopted after the notifier of the GM material had indicated to the Commission that it had no intention to submit an application for renewal of the authorisation of that material in accordance with the first subparagraph of Article 8(4), Article 11, Article 20(4) and Article 23 of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003. All three Decisions provide for a transitional period of time of 5 years, during which food and feed containing the GM material are allowed to be placed on the market, in accordance with Article 4(2) or Article 16(2) of the Regulation, subject to a number of conditions. The Decisions require in particular that the presence of the GM material in food and feed does not exceed a threshold of 0,9 % and that the presence of this GM material be adventitious or technically unavoidable. The purpose of the transitional period is to take into consideration the fact that minute traces of the GM material can be present in the food and feed chain some time after the notifier has decided to stop selling seeds derived from the GMO, even if the notifier has taken all measures to avoid that presence. 268, 18.10.2003, p. 1. 117, 5.5.2007, p. 17. () O] L () O] L () OJ L 117, 5.5.2007, p. 20. () O L 117, 5.5.2007, p. 23. G) Decisions 2007/305/EC and 2007/306/EC also set out a series of measures that the notifier has to take to ensure the effective withdrawal from the market of MslxRfl (ACS-BNO@D4-7xACS-BN@@1-4) hybrid oilseed rape, Ms1xRf2 (ACS-BN@@4-7xACS-BN@ @D 2-5) hybrid oilseed rape and their derived products. Similar measures were not considered necessary in Decision 2007/307[EC since the notifier had stopped selling seeds of oilseed rape ACS-BNO@7-1 after the 2003 planting season and in light of the fact that stocks of products derived from ACS-BNO@7-1 oilseed rape had been used up before 18 April 2007. However, given that minute traces of ACS-BN@@7-1 oilseed rape might remain present in food or feed products for a certain period of time it was necessary to adopt Decision 2007/307[EC. In the absence of experience or concrete data on the time needed to ensure a complete withdrawal from the market of the GM material, the tolerated level of presence of that material and the time needed to ensure total withdrawal from the food and feed chains provided for in Decisions 2007/305/EC, 2007/306/EC and 2007/307/EC were set on the basis of data available at this time and results of testing by stakeholders. In accordance with the requirements of Decisions 2007/305/EC and 2007/306/EC, the authorisation holder submitted detailed reports in October 2007 and November 2011 on the implementation of discon- tinuation measures for the above GM oilseed rape events. These reports outline past and current measures which have been implemented by the authorisation holder in accordance with the abovementioned decisions to ensure the removal of this GM material from the market. These include, among others, steps taken to inform commercial operators in the EU of the discontinued status of this GM material, the implemen- tation of a series of measures to ensure the recall and destruction of remaining commercial seed stock, the conclusion of agreements with all third parties involved in the commercialisation of this GM material to ensure that the seed from this GM material is either sent back to the authorisation holder or is effectively destroyed, the actions undertaken to ensure the deregistration of registered varieties of the event concerned from the national seed catalogue and the implementation of an in-house program based on a quality assurance process to avoid the presence of these GM events in breeding and seed production.