(1)

Article 48(h) and Article 77(1)(k) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 empower the Commission to adopt delegated acts to establish cases where, and conditions under which, certain low risk goods, including composite products, might be exempted from official controls at border control posts, and to lay down rules for the performance of specific official controls on those goods.

(2)

The risk posed by composite products to public and animal health depends on the types of ingredients and on their storage conditions and packaging. Shelf-stable composite products that do not contain processed meat as an ingredient and do not need to be transported or stored under controlled temperatures pose the lowest risk as regards animal health and microbiological food safety. This is the case for dairy and egg products contained in shelf-stable composite products that have undergone treatment during their manufacture, such as sterilisation or treatment using ultra-high temperatures to eliminate the risk. Risks for animal health and microbiological food safety are mitigated where composite products are securely packaged or sealed.

(3)

However, chemical food safety risks are not reduced by treatments that make composite products shelf-stable. From the perspective of chemical food safety, certain shelf-stable composite products that do not contain processed meat may be exempted from official controls at the border control posts, provided that the processed products of animal origin that are ingredients of the composite products are produced in establishments located in third countries authorised for importing into the Union those processed products of animal origin or in establishments located in Member States.

(4)

Shelf-stable composite products that do not contain processed meat should be produced in a third country listed in Commission Decision 2011/163/EU (2). The third country producing the composite product should either have an approved residue control plan for each of the ingredients of animal origin contained in composite product or it should source the animal ingredients from a Member State or from another third country which is listed in the Decision 2011/163/EU for those commodities.

(5)

Considering their low risk for public health and animal health, it is appropriate to exempt certain shelf-stable composite products not containing processed meat from official controls at border control posts and to list them in the Annex to this Regulation, indicating their codes from the Combined Nomenclature (CN) as laid down in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 (3).

(6)

Certain shelf-stable composite products not containing processed meat, exempted from official controls at border control posts in accordance with this Regulation and entering the Union from third countries should be accompanied by a private attestation provided by the importing food business operator.

(7)

To ensure that certain shelf-stable composite products not containing processed meat and exempted from checks at border control posts in accordance with this Regulation meet public and animal health requirements, the competent authorities should perform official controls regularly, on a risk basis and with appropriate frequency, at the place of destination, at the point of release for free circulation in the Union, or at the warehouses or the premises of the operator responsible for the consignment.

(8)

The rules on composite products exempted from official controls at the border control posts and on official controls to be performed on such composite products are substantively linked and are intended to be applied in tandem. In the interests of simplicity and transparency, as well as to facilitate their application and to avoid a multiplication of rules, they therefore should be laid down in a single act rather than in separate acts with many cross-references and the risk of duplication.

(9)

Exemptions from official controls at border control posts for certain composite products already exist pursuant to Commission Decision 2007/275/EC (4). Since this Regulation lays down exemptions for products currently covered by Decision 2007/275/EC, certain provisions in that Decision should be deleted from the date of application of this Regulation and that Decision should be amended accordingly.

(10)

The public health requirements for the entry into the Union of composite products laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/625 (5) will only apply as of 21 April 2021. Similarly, the animal health requirements for the entry into the Union of composite products laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/692 (6) will only apply as of 21 April 2021. Accordingly, the rules laid down in this Regulation should also apply from that date,