Notifications for Norway (7 notifications)

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority has proposed a new regulation concerning the production and marketing of fertilizing products. It provides rules for safe fertilizer production and is adapted to changes that have taken place in the marked regarding increased interest in the use of waste and by-products in the production of fertilizers.The proposal introduces the following amendments:The requirements for hygienization and stabilization are clarified, and the indicator organism thermotolerant coliform bacteria is changed to E. coliA limit value has been added for arsenic;The table of raw materials and raw material categories that can be used in fertilizer production has been updated (appendix 1) and a new system with applications for the use of other types of raw materials that are not listed in the table is being introduced;The registration obligation changes from a requirement for product registration to a requirement for business registration;Labelling requirements that earlier were included in a standard are now in the regulation;Both organic and inorganic biostimulants are covered by the new regulation, and they are more clearly distinguished from pesticides;There is a new paragraph concerning products traded under the agreement of mutual recognition in the EEA.

Temporary movements to Norway of consignments of honeybees is forbidden without prior authorisation by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. This measure aims to prevent the introduction and spread of Erwinia amylovora (Burrill) Winslow et.al.

The regulation introduces the following requirements for hay and straw imported into Norway: - Hay and straw must be accompanied by a declaration from the producer that the hay/straw was stored for at least two months before export; - Hay and straw from USA and Canada must be accompanied by attestation from an official veterinarian certifying that the product was harvested in a state or province where Chronic Wasting Disease has not been detected. >The regulation also includes requirements (that have been in place since 2001) for hay and straw from another Norwegian regulation in order to ensure that the additional requirements for hay and straw are in one regulation. These requirements are: - Hay and straw must be accompanied by a declaration from the producer that the product was harvested from farms where manure has not been used as fertilizer for the past two years; - Hay and straw must also be accompanied by an attestation from an official veterinarian certifying that the product was harvested from a farm where there are no restrictions because of contagious animal disease.

The draft amendments to the annexes 3 and 4A to Regulations relating to plants and measures against pests are intended to:- Related to plants intended for planting of Malus and Pyrus: Extended access to import of rootstocks of other species of Malus than Malus domestica Borkh (edible fruit) and other species of Pyrus than Pyrus communis L. (edible fruit) from countries where fireblight (Erwinia amylovora) occurs, when specified requirements in Annex 4A No. 38 are fulfilled. - Related to wood of Fraxinus: Wood originating or processed in Canada may be imported based on an option consisting of set of combined requirements, set out in Annex 4A No 39 Alternative 4

The proposal amends the Regulations relating to alien organisms, which were notified on 28 July 2014 in G/SPS/N/NOR/33. The amendments entail that the current prohibition against imports of live American lobsters (Homarus Americanus) is replaced by the general requirement in the Regulations for a permit on strict conditions. The prohibitions in the Regulations against the placing on the market and release of live American lobsters will remain in place. The proposal also includes an amendment to the exemption provision in Section 31, which largely entails that only one of the two preconditions for exemption must be fulfilled in order for an exemption to be granted, rather than both, as is the case at present.

The proposed regulations amend the Regulations on fertilisers etc. of organic origin and the Regulations relating to the payment of fees for specific services provided by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority ("sewage sludge-based fertiliser" etc.). The proposed regulations introduce amendments to the national regulations concerning organic fertilisers containing, amongst other components, also sewage sludge.The proposal introduces the following amendments:- Products with the product designation "sewage sludge-based fertiliser" is to be subject to less stringent use-restriction compared to other sewage-sludge; - The use of the product designation is to be subject to an authorisation from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority. Authorisation may only be given if the product has been treated using methods where the temperature during the hygienisation period is at least 55 degrees Celsius. Furthermore, the product must have a balanced nutrient content adapted to the annual needs of the plants and be suitable for use with at maximum addition of 100kg dry matter per decare per year of the sewage sludge component;- All operators in the delivery-chain are required to keep a record with information necessary for tracing the products. The users of "sewage sludge-based fertiliser" are also required to keep a record stating which enterprise the sludge product was received from, the product's trade name, the quantity received and the date on which it was received. The record shall also contain outline maps showing the areas where the sludge has been used. It must be stated what quantity of sludge has been used per decare and the date on which it was spread;- The records must be stored for at least ten years. The operator is to pay a fee of 3,675 NOK for the authorisation.

The draft regulation introduces amendments to "Forskrift 1. desember 2000 nr. 1333 om planter og tiltak mot planteskadegjørere" (Regulations of 1 December 2000 no. 1333 relating to plants and measures against pests). Agrilus anxius (Gory), Agrilus planipennis (Fairmaire), Anoplophora chinensis (Forster) and Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) are added to Annex 1 (Pests which are prohibited to introduce and spread in Norway) and specific requirements to the import of host plants, wood and bark originating in countries were these pests are present (Amendments to Annex 3, 4A and 5A).