A. CLASSIFICATION OF PRODUCTION AND RELAYING AREAS

The competent authority must fix the location and boundaries of production and relaying areas that it classifies. It may, where appropriate, do so in cooperation with the food business operator. The competent authority must classify production areas from which it authorises the harvesting of live bivalve molluscs as being of one of three categories according to the level of faecal contamination. It may, where appropriate, do so in cooperation with the food business operator. The competent authority may classify as being of Class A areas from which live bivalve molluscs may be collected for direct human consumption. Live bivalve molluscs taken from these areas must meet the health standards for live bivalve molluscs laid down in Annex III, Section VII, Chapter V, of Regulation (EC) No .../2004 Note for Official Journal: Insert No of Regulation laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin (see recital 1, 2nd Regulation). . The competent authority may classify as being of Class B areas from which live bivalve molluscs may be collected, but placed on the market for human consumption only after treatment in a purification centre or after relaying so as to meet the health standards referred to in paragraph 3. Live bivalve molluscs from these areas must not exceed the limits of a five-tube, three dilution Most Probable Number (MPN) test of 4600 E.coli per 100 g of flesh and intravalvular liquid. The competent authority may classify as being of Class C areas from which live bivalve molluscs may be collected but placed on the market only after relaying over a long period so as to meet the health standards referred to in paragraph 3. Live bivalve molluscs from these areas must not exceed the limits of a five-tube, three dilution MPN test of 46000 E.coli per 100 g of flesh and intravalvular liquid. If the competent authority decides in principle to classify a production or relaying area, it must: make an inventory of the sources of pollution of human or animal origin likely to be a source of contamination for the production area; examine the quantities of organic pollutants which are released during the different periods of the year, according to the seasonal variations of both human and animal populations in the catchment area, rainfall readings, waste water treatment, etc.; determine the characteristics of the circulation of pollutants by virtue of current patterns, bathymetry and the tidal cycle in the production area; and establish a sampling programme of bivalve molluscs in the production area which is based on the examination of established data, and with a number of samples, a geographical distribution of the sampling points and a sampling frequency which must ensure that the results of the analysis are as representative as possible for the area considered.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-04 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.