On the 24th September 2020, the Aquaculture Advisory Council (AAC) has received an official reply from the European Commission’s Directorate for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE)’s Director General, Mrs. Charlina Vitcheva, to its Recommendation on the revaluation of the risk assessment of parasites in farmed fish products.
Indeed, based on the recent results of the Horizon 2020-funded Parafish Control research project, the AAC requested to the European Commission to mandate the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) for a revaluation of the risk-assessment to confirm whether the risk of transmission of parasites to humans by EU farmed fish is considered significant or negligible.
In its reply letter, the European Commission informs that the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) “has the intention to ask the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for a re-evaluation of its Scientific Opinion on risk assessment of parasites in fishery products of April 20101, based on the conclusions of the [Parafish Control] project”.
The AAC recommends that if the EFSA considers the risk to be negligible, the current EU legislation should subsequently evolve to extend the exemption from the freezing treatment of products intended to be consumed raw or undercooked to all EU farmed fish products, according to the conditions fixed by the Commission Regulation (CE) N. 1276/2011.
Links:
- AAC Recommendation on the revaluation of the risk assessment of parasites in farmed fish products: https://www.aac-europe.org/en/recommendations/position-papers/280-revaluation-of-the-risk-assessment-of-parasites-in-farmed-fish-products
- European Commission’s reply to the AAC Recommendation: https://www.aac-europe.org/en/recommendations/eu-documents/287-european-commission-reply-to-the-aac-recommendation-on-the-revaluation-of-the-risk-assessment-of-parasites-in-farmed-fish-products
- Parafish Control project results: https://www.parafishcontrol.eu/images/PARAFISHCONTROL/MediaCentre/Brochure/PFC-KER-Brochure-vFINAL.pdf