REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL

ON FOOD AND FOOD INGREDIENTS TREATED WITH IONISING RADIATION FOR THE YEAR 2011

1.           Legal basis and background

Article 7(3) of Directive 1999/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 February 1999 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning foods and food ingredients treated with ionising radiation[1], requires Member States to forward to the Commission every year:

– the results of checks carried out in irradiation facilities, in particular regarding the categories and quantities of food and food ingredients treated and the doses administered

and

– the results of checks carried out at the product marketing stage and the methods used to detect treatment with ionising radiation.

Article 7(4) of the Directive requires the Commission to publish in the Official Journal of the European Union

– the details of the approved irradiation facilities in the Member States as well as any changes in their status;

– a report on the information provided by the national supervisory authorities.

The current report covers the period from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011. It contains a compilation of the information forwarded to the Commission by 25 Member States. Bulgaria and Malta did not submit any data.

Information on general aspects of food irradiation is available on the website of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Consumer[2].

1.1.    Irradiation facilities

According to Article 3(2) of Directive 1999/2/EC, food and food ingredients may be irradiated only in approved irradiation facilities. For facilities in the EU, approval is given by the competent authorities of the Member States. Article 7(3) requires Member States to inform the Commission on their approved irradiation facilities.

Irradiation of food and food ingredients may only be carried out by means of the following sources:

– Gamma rays from radionuclides 60Co or 137Cs;

– X-rays generated from machine sources operated at or below a nominal energy (maximum quantum energy) level of 5 MeV;

– Electrons generated from machine sources operated at or below a nominal energy (maximum quantum energy) level of 10 MeV.

The list of approved irradiation facilities in the Member States has been published by the Commission[3].

1.2.    Irradiated food and food ingredients

The irradiation of dried aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings is authorised at EU level by Directive 1999/3/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 February 1999 on the establishment of a Community list of food and food ingredients treated with ionising radiation[4]. In addition, 7 Member States have notified that they maintain national authorisations for certain food and food ingredients in accordance with Article 4(4) of Directive 1999/2/EC. The list of national authorisations has been published by the Commission[5].

Any irradiated foodstuff containing one or more irradiated food ingredient must be labelled with the words “irradiated” or “treated with ionising radiation”. If an irradiated product is used as an ingredient in a compound food, the same words shall accompany its designation in the list of ingredients. In the case of products sold in bulk, these words shall appear together with the name of the product on a display or notice above or beside the container in which the products are placed.

To enforce correct labelling or to detect non-authorised products, several analytical methods have been standardised by the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN), following a mandate given by the European Commission.

2.           Results of checks carried out in irradiation facilities

This section of the report deals with the results of the checks carried out in irradiation facilities, in particular regarding the categories and quantities of products treated and the doses administered. According to the information submitted by the Member States, the controls carried out by the competent authorities confirmed the compliance of the approved irradiation facilities with the requirements of Directive 1999/2/EC.

The following tables show the categories and quantities of products irradiated in approved facilities in the EU Member States in 2011.

2.1.    Belgium

There is one facility approved.

Category of products || Treated quantity (t) || Average absorbed dose (kGy)

Dried aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings || 238,129 || 6 - 9

Frozen frog legs || 3050,944 || 5

Poultry || 1378,752 || 5

Fish, shellfish & molluscs || 153,122 || 3 – 5

Dehydrated blood, plasma and coagulates || 84,1 || 6 – 9

Vegetables || 4,86 || 3 – 5

Rice meal || 44,25 || 3

Egg white || 32,805 || 3

Gum arabic || 2,1 || 3

Colostrum (for veterinary research only) || 41,887 || 0 - 10

Total || 5030,949 ||

2.2.    Bulgaria

There are two facilities approved. No data was submitted for 2011.

2.3.    Czech Republic

There is one facility approved.

Category of products || Treated quantity (t) || Average absorbed dose (kGy)

Dried aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings || 24,2 || 4-10

Total || 24,2 ||

2.4.    Germany

There are four facilities approved. No food was irradiated in two of these facilities.

Category of products || Treated quantity (t) || Average absorbed dose (kGy)

Dried aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings || 152 || <10

Total || 152 ||

2.5.   Spain

There are two facilities approved. No food was irradiated in one of these facilities.

Category of products || Treated quantity (t) || Average absorbed dose (kGy)

Dried aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings || 307,546 || <10

Total || 307,546 ||

2.6.    Estonia

There is one facility approved.

Category of products || Treated quantity (t) || Average absorbed dose (kGy)

Dried aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings || 19,2 || 10

Total || 19,2 ||

2.7.    France

There are five facilities approved.

Category of products || Treated quantity (t) || Average absorbed dose (kGy)

Poultry || 114,418 || 5

Gum Arabic || 69,198 || 3

Dried aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings || 0,66 || 10

Frozen frog legs || 510,625 || 5

Total || 694,901 ||

2.8.    Hungary

There is one facility approved.

Category of products || Treated quantity (t) || Average absorbed dose (kGy)

Dried aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings || 142 || 3-8

Total || 142 ||

2.9.    Italy

There is one facility approved. No food was irradiated in 2011.

2.10. The Netherlands

There are two facilities approved.

Category of products || Treated quantity (t) || Average absorbed dose (kGy)

Dried aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings || 199,585 || 6.4-7.3

Frog parts || 352,611 || 4

Poultry meat || 111,955 || 5

Dehydrated vegetables || 446,802 || 2-4

Egg white || 421,982 || 1.3

Shrimps (frozen) || 38,478 || 3

Total || 1572,878 ||

2.11. Poland

There are two approved facilities.

Category of products || Treated quantity (t) || Average absorbed dose (kGy)

Dried aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings || 105,8 || 5-10

Total || 105,8 ||

2.12.  Romania

There is one approved facility.

Category of products || Treated quantity (t) || Average absorbed dose (kGy)

Dried aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings || 20 || 8

Total || 20 ||

2.13.  The United Kingdom

There is one approved facility. No food was irradiated in 2011.

2.14. Other Member States

There are no approved facilities in the other Member States (Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Portugal, Sweden, Slovenia, Slovakia).

2.15.  Summary for the EU

The following table summarises the quantities of foodstuffs (in tonnes) treated by ionising radiation in approved irradiation facilities within the European Union in 2011:

Category of products || BE || CZ || DE || EE || ES || FR || HU || NL || PL || RO || Total || %

Dehydrated blood || 84,1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 84,1 || 1,04

Egg white || 32,8 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 422 || 0 || 0 || 454,8 || 5,64

Fish, Shellfish, Shrimps || 153,1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 38,5 || 0 || 0 || 191,6 || 2,37

Frog legs || 3050,9 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 510,6 || 0 || 352,6 || 0 || 0 || 3914,1 || 48,52

Gum arabic || 2,1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 69,2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 71,3 || 0,88

Herbs and spices || 238,1 || 24,2 || 152 || 19,2 || 307,5 || 0,6 || 142 || 199,6 || 105,8 || 20 || 1208,9 || 14,98

Poultry || 1378,7 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 114,4 || 0 || 111,9 || 0 || 0 || 1605,0 || 19,89

Rice meal || 44,2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 44,2 || 0,55

Vegetables || 4,8 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 4,8 || 0,06

Dehydrated products || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 446,8 || 0 || 0 || 446,8 || 5,54

Other || 41,9 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 41,9 || 0,52

Total || 5030,7 || 24,2 || 152 || 19,2 || 307,5 || 694,8 || 142 || 1571,4 || 105,8 || 20 || 8067,5 || 100

% of total || 62,36 || 0,30 || 1,88 || 0,24 || 3,81 || 8,61 || 1,76 || 19,48 || 1,31 || 0,25 || 100 ||

3.           Results of checks carried out at the product marketing stage and the methods used to detect irradiated foods

The following tables show the results of the checks carried out at the product marketing stage and the methods used to detect treatment with ionising radiation.

3.1.   Austria

Food analysed || Number of samples: 126 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Herbs and spices || 44 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788, EN 13751

Herbal teas || 39 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788, EN 13751

Poultry meat || 43 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786

Total || 126 || 0 || 0 ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 100 % || 0% || 0% ||

3.2.    Belgium

Food analysed || Number of samples: 123 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Fruit || 8 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788

Food supplements || 19 || 0 || 2*

Noodles || 26 || 0 || 0

Vegetables || 12 || 0 || 0

Herbs || 13 || 0 || 0

Crustaceans || 21 || 0 || 0

Molluscs || 22 || ||

Total || 121 || 0 || 2

Total in % of analysed samples || 98,4 % || 0 % || 1,6 % ||

* irradiation not allowed

3.3.   Bulgaria

No data was submitted for 2011.

3.4.   Cyprus

Food analysed || Number of samples: 6 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant ||

Dried vegetables, herbs and spices || 6 || 0 || 0 || ΕΝ 13751

Total || 6 || 0 || 0 ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 100 % || 0 % || 0 % ||

3.5.    Czech Republic

Food analysed || Number of samples: 40 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Fish and shellfish || 1 || 1 || 0 || EN 1785

Herbal tea products || 11 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788

Spices || 8 || 4 || 0 || EN 1788

Dietary supplements || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788

Instant noodle soups || 3 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788

Poultry || 3 || 0 || 0 || EN 1785

Fresh fruit || 3 || 2 || 0 || EN 1788, EN 1785

Dried mushrooms || 3 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788

Total || 33 || 7 || 0 ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 82,5 % || 17,5 % || 0% ||

3.6.   Germany

Food analysed || Number of samples: 2.912 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Cheese, cheese preparations with herbs and spices || 37 || 0 || 0 || EN 1787, EN 1788, ASU§64 LFGB, L00.00-39

Cheese, cheese preparations without herbs and spices || 33 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788, EN 1784, ASU§64 LFGB, L00.00-39

Seasoned butter || 5 || 0 || 0 || EN 1787

Eggs and egg products || 4 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784

Meat (excl. poultry and game) || 4 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786

Poultry || 92 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784, EN 1786

Meat products (excl. Saussage products) || 46 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786, EN 1784, EN 1788

Sausage products || 47 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786, EN 1784

Fish and fish products || 44 || 0 || 4* || EN 1786, EN 1788, EN 1789

Crustaceans, shellfish, mussels and other aquatic animals including their products || 148 || 0 || 2* 2** || EN 1788, EN 1786, EN 1787, EN 1384, EN 13751, ASU§64 LFGB,L12.01-1,

Soups, sauces, including instant soups and meals || 239 || 5 || 2* 5** || EN 1787, EN 1788, EN 13751

Cereals and ceral products || 44 || 0 || 3** || EN 1787, EN 1788, EN 13751

Pulses, oil seeds, nuts || 44 || 0 || 0 || EN 1787, EN 1788, EN 13751

Potatoes, parts of starch-rich plants || 26 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788, EN 13751

Fresh vegetables || 17 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788, EN 1787, EN 13751

Dried vegetables || 40 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788, EN 1787, EN 13751

Fresh mushrooms || 11 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788

Dried mushrooms or mushrooms products || 142 || 0 || 6* || EN 1788, EN 13751, EN 1787

Fresh fruit || 65 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784, EN 1788, EN 1787, EN 13751, EN 1385

Dried fruit and fruit products || 49 || 0 || 0 || EN 1787, EN 1788, EN 13708

Coffee || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788, EN 13751

Tea, tea-like products || 211 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788, EN 13751, EN 1787

Ready meals and dishes || 9 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788, EN 1786, EN 13751

Food supplements || 121 || 0 || 12* || EN 1788, EN 1787, EN 13751, Thermoluminescence

Seasonings and condiments || 183 || 1 || 3** || EN 1788, EN 13751, EN 1787, Thermoluminescence

Dried herbs and spices || 1084 || 10 || 7** || EN 1788, EN 1787, EN 13751, Thermoluminescence

Others || 98 || 1 || 0 || EN 1788, EN 13751, EN 13708

Enzymes || 4 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788, EN 13751

Total || 2.849 || 17 || 46 ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 97,83% || 0,58% || 1,58% ||

* irradiation not allowed; ** not correctly labelled

3.7.   Denmark

Food analysed || Number of samples: 98 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Dietary supplements || 23 || 0 || 3* || EN 13751, EN 1788

Herbs and spices || 42 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751, EN 1788

Herbal tea || 3 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751, EN 1788

Dried instant noodles || 16 || 0 || 3* || EN 13751, EN 1788

Soups and sauces || 8 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751, EN 1788

Total || 92 || 0 || 6 ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 94 % || 0 % || 6 % ||

* irradiation not allowed

3.8.    Estonia

In 2011 no checks were carried out at the product marketing stage. There is no laboratory in Estonia carrying out analyses for ionising radiation. Due to the limited financial resources, samples were not sent abroad for analysis.

3.9.    Greece

Food analysed || Number of samples: 20 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Spices || 9 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751

Tea || 9 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751

Herbs || 2 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751

Total || 20 || 0 || 0 ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 100% || 0% || 0% ||

3.10.  Spain

Food analysed || Number of samples: 208 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Herbs and spices || 156 || 5 || 1** || EN 1787, EN 13751

Infusions || 18 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751

Dried fruits || 13 || 0 || 0 || EN 13708, EN 1787

Molluscs || 8 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786

Meat || 7 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786

Total || 202 || 5 || 1 ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 97,12 % || 2,4 % || 0,48 % ||

** not correctly labelled

3.11.  Finland

Food analysed || Number of samples: 193 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Dried spices and herbs || 95 || 0 || 2 || EN 13751, EN 1788

Food supplements, foods for special dietary use || 35 || 0 || 3 || EN 13751, EN 1788

Fruit, berries, vegetables || 11 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751, EN 1788

Tea and herbal preparations || 20 || 0 || 1 || EN 13751, EN 1788

Other preparations || 24 || 0 || 2 ||

Total || 185 || 0 || 8** ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 95,8 % || 0 % || 4,2 % ||

** not correctly labelled or from facilities without EU approval

3.12.  France

Food analysed || Number of samples: 112 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Herbs and spices || 18 || 1 || 0 || EN 1784, EN 1788

Frozen crustaceans or molluscs || 13 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784, EN 1788

Dehydrated soups and sauces || 9 || 0 || 3** || EN 1784, EN 1788

Food supplements || 10 || 4 || 2* || EN 1784, EN 1788

Frogg legs || 4 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784, EN 1788

Lamb || 3 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784, EN 1788

Poultry || 11 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784, EN 1788

Pre-cooked noodles || 1 || 1 || 0 || EN 1784, EN 1788

Tea || 13 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784, EN 1788

Dehydrated fruit, vegetables, mushrooms || 18 || 1 || 0 || EN 1784, EN 1788

Total || 100 || 7 || 5 ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 89,3% || 6,2% || 4,5% ||

* irradiation not allowed; ** not correctly labelled

3.13.  Hungary

Food analysed || Number of samples: 78 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Spices || 60 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788

Tea || 18 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788

Total || 78 || 0 || 0 ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 100% || 0 % || 0 % ||

3.14.  Ireland

Food analysed || Number of samples: 110 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Spices || 13 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751 (screening), EN 1788 (confirmation)

Herbs and spices || 26 || 0 || 0

Seasonings || 6 || 0 || 0

Seeds || 8 || 0 || 0

Pasta || 2 || 0 || 0

Noodles || 7 || 0 || 0

Teas || 48 || 0 || 0

Total || 110 || 0 || 0 ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 100% || 0 % || 0 % ||

3.15.  Italy

Food analysed || Number of samples: 423 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Fish, molluscs, crostaceans || 144 || 0 || 10 || EN 13784, EN 1786, EN 1788, EN 13751

Herbs and spices || 90 || 0 || 1 || EN 13783, EN13751, EN 1787, EN 1788

Meat || 67 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786, EN 13784, EN 13751

Garlic and onions || 27 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788, EN 13751, EN 1787, EN 13783

Potatoes || 19 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788, EN 13751, EN 1787, EN 13783

Dried mushrooms || 11 || 0 || 0 || EN 13708, EN13751

Vegetable seasonings || 9 || 0 || 0 || EN 1787, EN 13783

Nuts || 8 || 0 || 0 || EN 1787, EN 13708

Dried fruit || 8 || 0 || 0 || EN 1787, EN 13708

Frog legs || 7 || 0 || 5 || EN 1786, EN 1785

Fresh fruit || 6 || 0 || 0 || EN 1787, EN 1788, EN 13708

Vegetable extracts || 4 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751

Food supplements || 3 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751

Wheat || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1787

Vegetables || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788

Green tea || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751

Bakery products || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1787

Total || 407 || 0 || 16** ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 98,95 % || 0 % || 1,05 % ||

** not correctly labelled

3.16.  Latvia

Food analysed || Number of samples: 42 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Mushrooms (salted, frozen) || 13 || 0 || 0 || MI 2143-91 VNIIMS SDP 5.4.4R.01:2010 SSI- Rapport 93-11(Sr 90)

Food supplements || 2 || 0 || 5* || EN 1788

Dried herbs and spices || 4 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788

Fish and crustaceans || 10 || 0 || 0 || MI 2143-91 VNIIMS SDP 5.4.4R.01:2010

Garlic || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788

Soy sauce || 2 || 0 || 0 || MI 2143-91 VNIIMS

Pomello || 1 || 0 || 0 || MI 2143-91 VNIIMS

Mineral water || 3 || 0 || 0 || MI 2143-91 VNIIMS SSI- Rapport 93-11(Sr 90)

Total || 37 || 0 || 5 ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 88 % || 0 % || 12 % ||

* irradiation not allowed

3.17.  Lithuania

Food analysed || Number of samples: 90 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Food supplements || 23 || 0 || 0 || EN 13783

Herbs and spices || 16 || 0 || 0 || EN 13783

Tea || 34 || 0 || 0 || EN 1378

Dried vegetables || 17 || 0 || 0 || EN 1378

Total || 90 || 0 || 0 ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 100% || 0 % || 0 % ||

3.18.  Luxembourg

Food analysed || Number of samples: 20 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Food supplements || 5 || 0 || 5* || EN 1788

Noodles || 10 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788

Total || 15 || 0 || 5 ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 75% || 0% || 25% ||

* irradiation not allowed

3.19.  Malta

No data was submitted for 2011.

3.20.  The Netherlands

Food analysed || Number of samples: 303 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Cereal products || 26 || 2 || 0 || EN 13751

Dried vegetables and vegetable products || 28 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751

Dried fruit and fruit products || 40 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751

Nuts and seeds || 40 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751

Fish and fish products || 26 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751

Salads, pasta and soup || 31 || 3 || 0 || EN 13751

Spices/flavours || 98 || 9 || 0 || EN 13751

Total || 289 || 14 || 0 ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 95,4% || 4,6 % || 0% ||

3.21.  Poland

Food analysed || Number of samples: 229 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Dried herbs and spices || 75 || 0 || 1 || EN 13751, EN 1788

Nuts || 21 || 0 || 0 || EN 1787

Vegetables (including pulses) || 14 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788

Fruits || 20 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784, EN 1787

Fish and sea food || 22 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786, EN 1788

Teas || 9 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751

Ripened cheeses, cottage cheeses, other cheeses containing spices/herbs || 10 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788

Pre-prepared meals || 15 || 0 || 1 || EN 1788

Meat, offal, meat products || 16 || 0 || 0 || EN 1786, EN 1784

Food supplements || 12 || 0 || 2 || EN 13751, EN 1788

Food for particular nutritional uses || 6 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788

Total || 225 || 0 || 4** ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 98,25 % || 0 % || 1,75 % ||

** not correctly labelled

3.22. Portugal

Food analysed || Number of samples: 12 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Herbs, spices and vegetable extracts || 12 || 0 || 0 || PSL technique (Photostimulated Luminescence)

Total || 12 || 0 || 0 ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 100% || 0 % || 0 % ||

3.23. Romania

Food analysed || Number of samples: 79 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Dried aromatic herbs, spices and vegatable seasonings || 78 || 0 || 1*** || EN 1787, EN 13751

Total || 78 || 0 || 1 ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 98,7 % || 0 % || 1,3% ||

*** irradiated in a facility without EU approval

3.24. Sweden

Food analysed || Number of samples: 5 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Poultry meat (from different birds) || 5 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784

Total || 5 || 0 || 0 ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 100% || 0 % || 0 % ||

3.25. Slovak Republic

Food analysed || Number of samples: 18 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Nuts || 10 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784

Oil seeds || 3 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784

Tuna in oil, crushed || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784

Biscuits and cereal bars || 3 || 0 || 0 || EN 1788

Meat product || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN 1784

Total || 18 || 0 || 0 ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 100% || 0 % || 0 % ||

3.26. Slovenia

Food analysed || Number of samples: 20 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Spices || 8 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751, EN 1788

Food supplements || 4 || 1 || 0 || EN 13751, EN 1788

Garlic || 4 || 0 || 0 || EN 13751, EN 1788

Rice || 1 || 2 || 0 || EN 13751, EN 1788

Total || 17 || 3 || 0 ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 85 % || 15 % || 0 % ||

3.27.  United Kingdom

Food analysed || Number of samples: 130 || CEN method used

Compliant || Inconclusive || Non-compliant

Dried herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings || 51 || 2 || 2 || EN13751, EN 1788

Fresh and preserved (other than dried) herbs and spices || 14 || 0 || 0 || EN13751, EN 1788

Miscellaneous || 5 || 0 || 0 || EN13751, EN 1788

Noodles and dehydrated Asian meals || 10 || 2 || 2 || EN13751, EN 1788

Vegetables || 1 || 0 || 0 || EN13751, EN 1788

Soups and sauces || 11 || 1 || 1 || EN13751, EN 1788

Food supplements || 17 || 2 || 1 || EN13751, EN 1788

Dried fish and seafood || 8 || 0 || 0 || EN13751, EN 1788

Total || 117 || 7 || 6** ||

Total in % of analysed samples || 90,00 % || 5,4 % || 4,6 % ||

** not correctly labelled and no evidence provided as to irradiation carried out in an approved facility

3.28.  Summary for the EU

The following table summarises the samples analysed and the results obtained for the European Union as a whole:

Member State || Compliant Samples || Inconclusive || Non compliant samples || total samples || % versus EU Total samples

AT || 126 || 0 || 0 || 126 || 2,3%

BE || 121 || 0 || 2 || 123 || 2,2%

BG || NDS || NDS || NDS || NDS ||

CY || 6 || 0 || 0 || 6 || 0,1%

CZ || 33 || 7 || 0 || 40 || 0,7%

DE || 2849 || 17 || 46 || 2912 || 54,0%

DK || 92 || 0 || 6 || 98 || 1,8%

EE || NAC || NAC || NAC || NAC ||

EL || 20 || 0 || 0 || 20 || 0,4%

ES || 202 || 5 || 1 || 208 || 3,8%

FI || 185 || 0 || 8 || 193 || 3,5%

FR || 100 || 7 || 5 || 112 || 2,0%

HU || 78 || 0 || 0 || 78 || 1,4%

IE || 110 || 0 || 0 || 110 || 2,0%

IT || 407 || 0 || 16 || 423 || 7,8%

LV || 37 || 0 || 5 || 42 || 0,8%

LT || 90 || 0 || 0 || 90 || 1,7%

LU || 15 || 0 || 5 || 20 || 0,4%

MT || NDS || NDS || NDS || NDS ||

NL || 289 || 14 || 0 || 303 || 5,6%

PL || 225 || 0 || 4 || 229 || 4,2%

PT || 12 || 0 || 0 || 12 || 0,2%

RO || 78 || 0 || 1 || 79 || 1,5%

SE || 5 || 0 || 0 || 5 || 0,1%

SK || 18 || 0 || 0 || 18 || 0,3%

SI || 17 || 3 || 0 || 20 || 0,4%

UK || 117 || 7 || 6 || 130 || 2,4%

Total EU || 5232 || 60 || 105 || 5397 || 100%

|| 97% || 1% || 2% || 100% ||

||

NDS: No data submitted NAC: No analysis carried out ||

4.           Summary

The current report covers the period from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011. It contains a compilation of the information forwarded to the Commission by 25 Member States. Bulgaria and Malta did not submit any data.

In 2011, 24 approved irradiation facilities were operational in 13 Member States in accordance with Article 7(2) of Directive 1999/2/EC. No new irradiation facilities have been approved. No approved irradiation facilities have been closed. Five irradiation facilities did not irradiate any food during 2011 (no data was submitted for the two facilities in Bulgaria).

A total quantity of 8.067,5 tonnes of products were treated with ionising irradiation in the Member States, 90,45 % of which were irradiated in three Member States: Belgium (62,36%), the Netherlands (19,48%) and France (8,61%). The three biggest fractions within the irradiated categories are frog legs (48,52%), poultry (19,89%) and dried aromatic herbs and spices (14,98%).

There has been a slight decrease in the total quantity of products irradiated in the EU compared to 2010 (9.263,4 tonnes). In France, there was a significant reduction in the quantity of dried aromatic herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings as well as in the quantity of poultry meat treated with ionising radiation: 65% and 75% respectively. In the Netherlands, there was a 2,85% increase in the total quantity of products treated with ionising radiation, mainly due to a sharp increase of the quantity of egg whites irradiated in 2011.

25 Member States submitted information regarding the checks carried out at the product marketing stage. One Member State did not perform any analytical checks in official control and inspection due to the fact that it does not have laboratories to carry out the analysis and that sending samples to be analysed abroad would be too expensive.

A total of 5.397 samples have been analysed by 24 Member States, three Member States accounted for 67,4% of the samples (Germany 54%, Italy 7,8%, and the Netherlands 5,6%). 5.232 samples (97%) were compliant with the provisions of the Directives, 105 samples (2%) were non-compliant, 60 samples (1%) gave inconclusive results. Reasons for inconclusive results are most often related to non-confirmation after positive results from screening tests and/or to the difficulty to determine which of the ingredients were irradiated, even if they are labelled, in composed foodstuffs. The two main reasons for non-compliance of tested samples are incorrect labelling and forbidden irradiation; non-compliance is also due to irradiation in facilities not approved by the EU. Reasons for non-compliance are given in each table reporting the tests carried out in each Member State.

[1]               OJ L 66, 13.3.1999, p. 16.

[2]               http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biosafety/irradiation/index_en.htm

[3]               OJ C 265, 1.9.2012, p. 3.

[4]               OJ L 66, 13.3.1999, p. 24.

[5]               OJ C 283, 24.11.2009, p. 5.