EU Commission Modifies Certain Criteria for Foodstuffs

The Commission of the European Union (EU) has issued a new regulation that modifies some of its criteria applicable to food hygiene.

Published in the Official Journal of the European Union in early February, Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/229 makes the following changes to Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005:

• Broadens the methodologies permitted for assessing microbiological criteria to include alternative analytical methods that have been validated against the protocols established in EN ISO 16140-2, Microbiology of the food chain – Method validation – Part 2: Protocol for the validation of alternative (proprietary) methods against a reference method; 
• Adds sprouted seeds to the list of ready-to-eat foods able to support the growth of Listeria monocytogenes that are subject to the food safety criterion found in 2073/2005; and
• Allows the use of alternative pasteurisation processes that achieve a similar bactericidal effect with unpasteurised fruit and vegetable juices. 

Regulation (EU) 2019/229 also updates the terminologies used in 2073/2005 to reference certain microorganisms and Salmonella serotypes.

The text of Regulation (EU) 2019/229 as published in the Official Journal is available here.