Undesirable substances in animal feed

The Conciliation Committee reached agreement on a joint text for the directive. The main points of the compromise can be summarised as follows: - Parliament's requirement that the re-exportation of undesirable feed must be avoided is covered by cross-references to appropriate articles in Regulation (EC) 2002/178 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety; - the directive must be implemented by the Member States before 1 May 2003 and its provisions shall be applied as of 1 August 2003 when the old directive (1999/29/EC) will also cease to apply. The Member States have given a commitment to implement and apply the directive as soon as possible. �