More than 80 organisations submitted comments to the consultation on the EU’s proposed changed to Listeria monocytogenes regulations (microbiological criteria of foodstuffs Reg 2073/2005). These included the CFA-led Industry Listeria Group which submitted an extensive response which can be found on the CFA website https://bit.ly/4dqDPvU.
The EU’s SCOPAFF confirmed by a vote of 25 to 2 Member States, the draft regulation amendments on 3 July (ahead of the deadline of 16 July the EC had previously given to the WTO to comment) and the legislation will go ahead, changing criterion 1.2b to apply throughout shelf life. With legislation being implemented across the EU and Northern Ireland, concerns remain that there could be implications and issues in GB, including continued ability to trade and the level of evidence required to demonstrate that shelf life has been substantiated. CFA is meeting with FSA on the implications of the regulatory change, which comes into force 20 days after the expected publication in December 2024 in the Official Journal of the EU, and applies from 1 July 2026. Considerations include potential for future GB/UK adoption/enforcement of the regulations, which notably do not require challenge testing to set shelf life. The Association is seeking retention of the CFA BRC FSA 2010 Listeria shelf-life guidelines which can be found free to download on the CFA Shopify site https://bit.ly/3Xcnype. Other relevant guidance documents: https://bit.ly/46T8dx6
September 2024