(fra kommisjonsforordningen)

(1) Regulation (EU) 2017/625 lays down, inter alia, specific rules on official controls and for action to be taken by the competent authorities in relation to the production of products of animal origin intended for human consumption.
(2) Trichinella is a parasite that may be present in the meat of susceptible species, such as domestic swine and causes food-borne illness in humans when infected meat is consumed. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1375 lays down specific rules on official controls for Trichinella in meat, including rules on laboratory examination of samples of carcasses of domestic swine.
(3) Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1375 sets out the detection methods for Trichinella, and Chapter I of that Annex provides that the reference method of detection for the examination of samples for Trichinella is ISO 18743:2015.
(4) ISO 18743:2015 reference method does not specify the weight of the sample to be taken in the case of whole carcasses and cuts of meat of domestic swine. To ensure the sensitivity of the method and a harmonised approach, these weights should be laid down. In addition, ISO 18743:2015 was updated in 2023 to ISO 18743:2015/Amd1:2023. It should be ensured that reference is made to this most recent version of the ISO method. Chapter I of Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1375 should be amended accordingly.
(5) Furthermore, Chapter II of Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1375 lists equivalent methods that are authorised for the detection in examining samples for Trichinella.
(6) For reasons of consistency, in Chapter II of Annex I, references to the ISO method should also refer to its most recent version and reference to Chapter I of that Annex should be made to ensure that the introduced weight of the samples also applies in case of testing using an equivalent method.
(7) On 3 September 2024, the European Reference Laboratory for Parasites forwarded a report to the Commission on the validation of lumiVAST Trichinella for the examination of samples of meat of domestic swine for Trichinella. The report concludes that: ‘according to the results of the validation rounds, the lumiVAST Trichinella is suitable to detect Trichinella spp. larvae in muscle samples of pigs. The use of this method is restricted to pork meat inspection only, as the kit has been not validated for other animal species’.
(8) The lumiVAST Trichinella should therefore be authorised as an equivalent method for the examination of samples from carcasses of domestic swine for Trichinella. Calibration of the apparatus is essential to ensure optimal performance of the test. It should also be laid down how to carry out further investigations in the case of the examination of a collective sample that produces a positive or uncertain result. Chapter II of Annex I to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/1375 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(9) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,