Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point

The EU Regulation No. 2073/2005 of 15 November 2005 regarding microbiological criteria for foodstuff was adopted in Israel in the framework of the Economic Plan Law (Legislative Amendments for the Implementation of Economic Policy for the Budget Years 2021 and 2022), 5782-2021 (notified in G/TBT/N/ISR/1218 too), using an indirect amendment to the Protection of Public Health (Food) Law, 5776-2015, (Amendment No. 3), and appears in Item 3 of Appendix II A to the Law. 

In addition, the EU Regulation 2073/2005 was re-adopted as part of Amendment No. 10 to the Food Law (notified in G/TBT/N/ISR/1332/Rev.1 too), which was published on 4 August 2024. The version that was adopted and published on the Food Service's website was the version in force in the European legislation as of 8 March 2020.

The EU Regulation 2073/2005 has not been fully applied in Israel yet. The exclusions and changes were listed in columns A and C of Item 3 of the Second Appendix A, in addition to the exceptions as stated in section 3a(a1) to (a5) of the Law.

The main change introduced in this proposed Amendment is in Annex I to Regulation 2073/2005, as published by the European Union on 20 November 2024, in (EU) 2024/2895. This change regards the application of a strict food safety criteria, from production to the end of shelf life, in ready-to-eat foods other than those intended for infants and for special medical purposes capable of supporting the development of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria, "Listeria monocytogenes not detected in 25 grams" when the food dealer was unable to prove, to the satisfaction of the competent authority, the level of Listeria monocytogenes bacteria shall not exceed the limit of 100 cfu/g over the shelf life of the said foods. The change will enter into force on 1 July 2026.  

It is clarified that the exclusions and changes appearing in columns A and C of Item 3 of the Second Appendix A will continue to apply concerning the changes that are proposed to be applied in Israel. Therefore, the exclusion in column C of the addendum described above, according to which "in chapter 1 of Appendix I to the Regulation, in details 1.2 and 1.3, in column "Limits", instead of "100 cfu/g" read "not detected in 25 grams" will continue to apply and therefore the change detailed above in Appendix I has no practical significance.