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# ►B ►C1 Regulation (Ec) No 853/2004 Of The European Parliament And Of The Council Of 29 April 2004

laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin ◄ 
(OJ L 139, 30.4.2004, p. 55) 
Amended by: 

Official Journal 
No 
page 
date 
►M1 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 2074/2005 of 5 December 2005 
L 338 
27 
22.12.2005 
►M2 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 2076/2005 of 5 December 2005 
L 338 
83 
22.12.2005 
►M3 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1662/2006 of 6 November 2006 
L 320 
1 
18.11.2006 
►M4 
Council Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006 of 20 November 2006 
L 363 
1 
20.12.2006 
►M5 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1243/2007 of 24 October 2007 
L 281 
8 
25.10.2007 
►M6 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1020/2008 of 17 October 2008 
L 277 
8 
18.10.2008 
►M7 
Regulation (EC) No 219/2009 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 11 March 2009 
L 87 
109 
31.3.2009 
►M8 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1161/2009 of 30 November 2009 
L 314 
8 
1.12.2009 
►M9 
Commission Regulation (EU) No 558/2010 of 24 June 2010 
L 159 
18 
25.6.2010 
►M10 
Commission Regulation (EU) No 150/2011 of 18 February 2011 
L 46 
14 
19.2.2011 
►M11 
Commission Regulation (EU) No 1276/2011 of 8 December 2011 
L 327 
39 
9.12.2011 
►M12 
Commission Regulation (EU) No 16/2012 of 11 January 2012 
L 8 
29 
12.1.2012 
►M13 
Council Regulation (EU) No 517/2013 of 13 May 2013 
L 158 
1 
10.6.2013 
►M14 
Commission Regulation (EU) No 786/2013 of 16 August 2013 
L 220 
14 
17.8.2013 
►M15 
Commission Regulation (EU) No 218/2014 of 7 March 2014 
L 69 
95 
8.3.2014 
►M16 
Commission Regulation (EU) No 633/2014 of 13 June 2014 
L 175 
6 
14.6.2014 
►M17 
Commission Regulation (EU) No 1137/2014 of 27 October 2014 
L 307 
28 
28.10.2014 
►M18 
Commission Regulation (EU) 2016/355 of 11 March 2016 
L 67 
22 
12.3.2016 

Corrected by: 
►C1 
Corrigendum, OJ L 226, 25.6.2004, p. 22 (853/2004) 

# Regulation (Ec) No 853/2004 Of The European Parliament And Of The Council Of 29 April 2004

laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin THE 
EUROPEAN 
PARLIAMENT 
AND 
THE 
COUNCIL 
OF 
THE 
EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 152(4)(b) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ( 
1 
), Having regard to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee ( 
2 
), Having consulted the Committee of the Regions, Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty ( 
3 
), Whereas: 

(1) 
Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 ( 
4 
), the European 
Parliament and the Council laid down general rules for food business operators on the hygiene of foodstuffs. 
(2) 
Certain foodstuffs may present specific hazards to human health, 
requiring the setting of specific hygiene rules. This is particularly the case for food of animal origin, in which microbiological and chemical hazards have frequently been reported. 
(3) 
In the context of the common agricultural policy, many 
Directives have been adopted to establish specific health rules for the production and placing on the market of the products listed in Annex I to the Treaty. These health rules have reduced trade barriers for the products concerned, contributing to the creation of the internal market while ensuring a high level of protection of public health. 
(4) 
With regard to public health, these rules contain common prin­
ciples, in particular in relation to the manufacturers 'and competent authorities' responsibilities, structural, operational and hygiene requirements for establishments, procedures for the approval of establishments, requirements for storage and transport and health marks. 
(5) 
These principles constitute a common basis for the hygienic 
production of food of animal origin, permitting the simplification of the existing directives. 
(6) 
It is desirable to achieve further simplification by applying the 
same rules wherever appropriate to all products of animal origin. 
( 
1 
(7) 
The requirement in Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 whereby food 
business operators carrying out any stage of production, processing and distribution of food after primary production 
and associated operations must put in place, implement and maintain procedures based on hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) principles also permits simplification. 
(8) 
Taken together, these elements justify a recasting of the specific 
hygiene rules contained in existing directives. 
(9) 
The principal objectives of the recasting are to secure a high level 
of consumer protection with regard to food safety, in particular 
by making food business operators throughout the Community subject to the same rules, and to ensure the proper functioning of the internal market in products of animal origin, thus contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the common agricultural policy. 
(10) 
It is necessary to maintain and, where required to ensure 
consumer protection, to tighten detailed hygiene rules for products of animal origin. 
(11) 
Community rules should not apply either to primary production 
for private domestic use or to the domestic preparation, handling or storage of food for private domestic consumption. Moreover, where small quantities of primary products or of certain types of meat are supplied directly by the food business operator producing them to the final consumer or to a local retail estab­ lishment, it is appropriate to protect public health through national law, in particular because of the close relationship between the producer and the consumer. 
(12) 
The requirements of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 are generally 
sufficient to ensure food safety in establishments carrying out retail activities involving the direct sale or supply of food of animal origin to the final consumer. This Regulation should generally apply to wholesale activities (that is, when a retail establishment carries out operations with a view to supplying food of animal origin to another establishment). Nevertheless, with the exception of the specific temperature requirements laid down in this Regulation, the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 should suffice for wholesale activities consisting only of storage or transport. 

(13) 
Member States should have some discretion to extend or to limit 
the application of the requirements of this Regulation to retail under national law. However, they may limit their application only if they consider that the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 are sufficient to achieve food hygiene objectives and when the supply of food of animal origin from a retail establishment to another establishment is a marginal, localised and restricted activity. Such supply should therefore be only a small part of the establishment's business; the establishments supplied should be situated in its immediate vicinity; and the supply should concern only certain types of products or establish­ ments. 

(14) 
In accordance with Article 10 of the Treaty, Member States are to 
take all appropriate measures to ensure that food business operators comply with the obligations laid down in this Regu­
lation. 
(15) 
The traceability of food is an essential element in ensuring food 
safety. In addition to complying with the general rules of Regu­ lation (EC) No 178/2002 ( 
1 
), food business operators responsible 
for establishments that are subject to approval in accordance with this Regulation should ensure that all products of animal origin that they place on the market bear either a health mark or an identification mark. 
(16) 
Food imported into the Community is to comply with the general 
requirements laid down in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 or to satisfy rules that are equivalent to Community rules. This Regu­ lation defines specific hygiene requirements for food of animal origin imported into the Community. 
(17) 
The adoption of this Regulation should not reduce the level of 
protection provided by the additional guarantees agreed for Finland and Sweden on their accession to the Community and confirmed by Commission Decisions 94/968/EC ( 
2 
), 95/50/EC ( 
3 
), 
95/160/EC ( 
4 
), 95/161/E ( 
5 
) and 95/168/EC ( 
6 
), and Council 
Decisions 95/409/EC ( 
7 
), 95/410/EC ( 
8 
) and 95/411/EC ( 
9 
). It 
should establish a procedure for the granting, for a transitional period, of guarantees to any Member State that has an approved 
national control programme which, for the food of animal origin 
concerned, is equivalent to those approved for Finland and Sweden. Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 November 2003 on the control of salmonella and other specified food-borne zoonotic agents ( 
10 
) provides for a similar procedure in respect of live 
animals and hatching eggs. 
(18) 
It is appropriate for the structural and hygiene requirements laid 
down in this Regulation to apply to all types of establishments, including small businesses and mobile slaughterhouses. 
( 
1 
) Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council 
(19) 
Flexibility is appropriate to enable the continued use of traditional 
methods at any of the stages of production, processing or distribution of food and in relation to structural requirements 
for establishments. Flexibility is particularly important for regions that are subject to special geographical constraints, including the outermost regions referred to in Article 299(2) of the Treaty. However, flexibility should not compromise food hygiene objectives. Moreover, since all food produced in accordance with the hygiene rules will normally be in free circu­ lation throughout the Community, the procedure allowing Member States to exercise flexibility should be fully transparent. It should provide, where necessary to resolve disagreements, for discussion within the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health established by Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 and for the Commission to coordinate the process and take appro­ priate measures. 
(20) 
The definition of mechanically separated meat (MSM) should be 
a generic one covering all methods of mechanical separation. Rapid technological developments in this area mean that a flexible definition is appropriate. The technical requirements for MSM should differ, however, depending on a risk assessment of the product resulting from different methods. 
(21) 
There are interactions between food business operators, including 
the animal feed sector, and connections between animal health, animal welfare and public health considerations at all stages of production, processing and distribution. This requires adequate communication between the different stakeholders along the food chain from primary production to retail. 
(22) 
In order to ensure proper inspection of hunted wild game placed 
on the Community market, bodies of hunted animals and their viscera should be presented for official post-mortem inspection at a game-handling establishment. However, to preserve certain hunting traditions without prejudicing food safety, it is appro­ priate to provide for training for hunters who place wild game on the market for human consumption. This should enable hunters to undertake an initial examination of wild game on the spot. In these circumstances, it is not necessary to require trained hunters to deliver all viscera to the game-handling establishment for post-mortem examination, if they carry out this initial exam­ ination and identify no anomalies or hazards. However, Member States should be allowed to establish stricter rules within their territories to take account of specific risks. 
 

(23) 
This Regulation should establish criteria for raw milk pending the 
adoption of new requirements for its placing on the market. These criteria should be trigger values, implying that, in the event of any overshooting, food business operators are to take corrective action and to notify the competent authority. The criteria should not be maximum figures beyond which raw milk cannot be placed on the market. This implies that, in certain circumstances, raw milk not fully meeting the criteria can safely be used for 
human consumption, if appropriate measures are taken. As regards raw milk and raw cream intended for direct human consumption, it is appropriate to enable each Member State to maintain or establish appropriate health measures to ensure the achievement of the objectives of this Regulation on its territory. 

(24) 
It is appropriate for the criterion for raw milk used to manu­
facture dairy products to be three times as high as the criterion for raw milk collected from the farm. The criterion for milk used to manufacture processed dairy products is an absolute value, whereas for raw milk collected from the farm it is an average. Compliance with the temperature requirements laid down in this Regulation will not halt all bacterial growth during transport and 
storage. 
(25) 
The present recasting means that the existing hygiene rules can 
be repealed. Directive 2004/41/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 repealing certain directives on food hygiene and health conditions for the production and placing on the market of certain products of animal origin intended for human consumption ( 
1 
) achieves this. 
(26) 
In addition, the rules of this Regulation on eggs replace those of 
Council Decision 94/371/EC of 20 June 1994 laying down specific public health conditions for the putting on the market of certain types of eggs ( 
2 
), which the repeal of Annex II to 
Council Directive 92/118/EEC ( 
3 
) renders void. 
(27) 
Scientific advice should underpin Community legislation on food 
hygiene. To this end, the European Food Safety Authority should be consulted whenever necessary. 
(28) 
To take account of technical and scientific progress, close and 
effective cooperation should be ensured between the Commission and the Member States within the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health. 
(29) 
The requirements of this Regulation should not apply until all 
parts of the new legislation on food hygiene have entered into force. It is also appropriate to provide for at least 18 months to elapse between entry into force and the application of the new rules, to allow the industries affected time to adapt. 
(30) 
The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regulation 
should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the procedures for 
the exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commis­ sion ( 
1 
), 
HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: 

## Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 Scope

1. 

This Regulation lays down specific rules on the hygiene of food of animal origin for food business operators. These rules supplement those laid down by Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. They shall apply to unpro­
cessed and processed products of animal origin. 

2. 

Unless expressly indicated to the contrary, this Regulation shall not apply to food containing both products of plant origin and processed products of animal origin. However, processed products of animal origin used to prepare such food shall be obtained and handled in accordance with the requirements of this Regulation. 

3. 
This Regulation shall not apply in relation to: 
(a) primary production for private domestic use; 
(b) the domestic preparation, handling or storage of food for private 
domestic consumption; 
(c) the direct supply, by the producer, of small quantities of primary 
products to the final consumer or to local retail establishments 
directly supplying the final consumer; 
(d) the direct supply, by the producer, of small quantities of meat from 
poultry and lagomorphs slaughtered on the farm to the final consumer or to local retail establishments directly supplying such 
meat to the final consumer as fresh meat; 
(e) hunters who supply small quantities of wild game or wild game 
meat directly to the final consumer or to local retail establishments 
directly supplying the final consumer. 
4. 

Member States shall establish, according to national law, rules governing the activities and persons referred to in paragraph 3(c), (d) and (e). Such national rules shall ensure the achievement of the objectives of this Regulation. 

5. 
(a) Unless expressly indicated to the contrary, this Regulation 
shall not apply to retail. 
(b) However, this Regulation shall apply to retail when operations 
are carried out with a view to the supply of food of animal 
origin to another establishment, unless: 
(i) the operations consist only of storage or transport, in 
which case the specific temperature requirements laid 
down in Annex III shall nevertheless apply; 
or 

(ii) the supply of food of animal origin from the retail estab­
lishment is to other retail establishments only and, in accordance with national law, is a marginal, localised 
and restricted activity. 
(c) Member States may adopt national measures to apply the 
requirements of this Regulation to retail establishments situated on their territory to which it would not apply 
pursuant to subparagraphs (a) or (b). 
6. 
This Regulation shall apply without prejudice to: 
(a) relevant animal and public health rules, including more stringent 
rules laid down for the prevention, control and eradication of 
certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies; 
(b) animal welfare requirements; 
and 

(c) requirements concerning the identification of animals and the tracea­
bility of products of animal origin. 

## Article 2 Definitions

The following definitions shall apply for the purposes of this Regu­
lation: 

1. the definitions laid down in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002; 
2. the definitions laid down in Regulation (EC) No 852/2004; 3. the definitions laid down in Annex I; 
and 
4. any technical definitions contained in Annexes II and III. 

## Chapter Ii Food Business Operators' Obligations Article 3 General Obligations

 
of Annexes II and III. 

2. 

►M7 Food business operators shall not use any substance other than potable water - or, when Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 or this Regulation permits its use, clean water - to remove surface contami­
nation from products of animal origin, unless use of the substance has been approved by the Commission. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 12(3). ◄ Food business operators shall also comply with any conditions for use that may be adopted under the same procedure. The use of an approved substance shall not affect the food business operator's duty to comply with the requirements of this Regulation. 

## Article 4 Registration And Approval Of Establishments

1. 

Food business operators shall place products of animal origin manufactured in the Community on the market only if they have been prepared and handled exclusively in establishments: 

(a) that 
meet 
the 
relevant 
requirements 
of 
Regulation 
(EC) 
No 852/2004, those of Annexes II and III of this Regulation and 
other relevant requirements of food law; 
and 

(b) that the competent authority has registered or, where required in 
accordance with paragraph 2, approved. 
2. 

Without prejudice to Article 
6(3) 
of Regulation 
(EC) 
No 852/2004, establishments handling those products of animal origin for which Annex III to this Regulation lays down requirements shall not operate unless the competent authority has approved them in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article, with the exception of establishments carrying out only: 

(a) primary production; 
(b) transport operations; 
(c) the storage of products not requiring temperature-controlled storage 
conditions; 
or 

(d) retail operations other than those to which this Regulation applies 
pursuant to Article 1(5)(b). 
3. 

An establishment subject to approval in accordance with paragraph 
2 shall not operate unless the competent authority has, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific rules for the organi­ sation of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption ( 
1 
): 

(a) granted the establishment approval to operate following an on-site 
visit; 
or 
(b) provided the establishment with conditional approval. 
4. 

Food business operators shall cooperate with the competent auth­
orities in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 854/2004. In particular, food business operators shall ensure that an establishment ceases to operate if the competent authority withdraws its approval or, in the case of conditional approval, fails to prolong it or to grant full approval. 

5. 

This Article shall not prevent an establishment from placing food on the market between the date of application of this Regulation and the first subsequent inspection by the competent authority, if the estab­
lishment: 

(a) is subject to approval in accordance with paragraph 2 and placed 
products of animal origin on the market in accordance with Community legislation immediately prior to the application of this 
Regulation; 
or 

(b) is of a type in respect of which there was no requirement for 
approval before the application of this Regulation. 

## Article 5 Health And Identification Marking

1. 

Food business operators shall not place on the market a product of animal origin handled in an establishment subject to approval in accordance with Article 4(2) unless it has either: 

(a) a health mark applied in accordance with Regulation (EC) 
No 854/2004; 
or 

(b) when that Regulation does not provide for the application of a 
health mark, an identification mark applied in accordance with 
Annex II, Section I, of this Regulation. 
2. 

Food business operators may apply an identification mark to a product of animal origin only if the product has been manufactured in accordance with this Regulation in establishments meeting the requirements of Article 4. 

3. 

Food business operators may not remove a health mark applied in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 from meat unless they cut or process it or work upon it in another manner. 

## Article 6 Products Of Animal Origin From Outside The Community

1. 

Food business operators importing products of animal origin from third countries shall ensure that importation takes place only if: 
 

(a) the third country of dispatch appears on a list, drawn up in 
accordance with Article 11 of Regulation (EC) No 854/2004, of third countries from which imports of that product are permitted; 
(b) (i) the establishment from which that product was dispatched, and 
in which it was obtained or prepared, appears on a list, drawn up in accordance with Article 12 of Regulation (EC) 
No 854/2004, of establishments from which imports of that 
product are permitted, when applicable, 
(ii) in the case of fresh meat, minced meat, meat preparations, meat 
products and MSM, the product was manufactured from meat obtained in slaughterhouses and cutting plants appearing on lists drawn up and updated in accordance with Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 or in approved Community 
establishments, 
and 

(iii) in the case of live bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and 
marine gastropods, the production area appears on a list drawn up in accordance with Article 13 of that Regulation, when 
applicable; 
(c) the product satisfies: 
(i) the requirements of this Regulation, including the requirements 
of Article 5 on health and identification marking; 
(ii) the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004; 
and 

(iii) any import conditions laid down in accordance with 
Community legislation governing import controls for products 
of animal origin, 
and 

(d) the requirements of Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 
concerning certificates and documents are satisfied, when appli­
cable. 
2. 

By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the importation of fishery products may also take place in accordance with the special provisions laid down in Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 854/2004. 

3. 

Food business operators importing products of animal origin shall ensure that: 

(a) products are made available for control upon importation in 
accordance with Directive 97/78/EC ( 
1 
); 
(b) importation 
complies 
with 
the 
requirements 
of 
Directive 
2002/99/EC ( 
2 
); 
and 

(c) operations under their control that take place after importation are 
carried out in accordance with the requirements of Annex III. 
4. 

Food business operators importing food containing both products of plant origin and processed products of animal origin shall ensure that the processed products of animal origin contained in such food satisfy the requirements of paragraphs 1 to 3. They must be able to demonstrate that they have done so (for example, through appropriate documentation or certification, which need not be in the format specified in paragraph 1(d)). 

## Chapter Iii Trade Article 7 Documents

1. 

When required in accordance with Annex II or III, food business operators shall ensure that certificates or other documents accompany consignments of products of animal origin. 

2. 

In accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 12(2): 

(a) model documents may be established; 
and 

(b) provision may be made for the use of electronic documents. 

## Article 8 Special Guarantees

1. 

Food business operators intending to place the following food of animal origin on the market in Sweden or Finland shall comply with the rules set out in paragraph 2 in respect of salmonella: 

(a) meat from bovine and porcine animals, including minced meat but 
excluding meat preparations and MSM; 
(b) meat from poultry of the following species: domestic fowl, turkeys, 
guinea-fowl, ducks and geese, including minced meat but excluding 
meat preparations and MSM; 
and 
(c) eggs. 

2. 
(a) In the case of meat from bovine and porcine animals and meat 
from poultry, samples of consignments shall have been taken in the dispatching establishment and been subjected to a microbiological test with negative results in accordance with 
Community legislation. 
 
(b) In the case of eggs, packing centres shall provide a guarantee 
that consignments originate from flocks that have been subjected to a microbiological test with negative results in accordance with Community legislation. 
(c) In the case of meat from bovine and porcine animals, the test 
provided for in subparagraph (a) need not be carried out for consignments intended for an establishment for the purposes of 
pasteurisation, sterilisation or treatment having a similar effect. In the case of eggs, the test provided for in subparagraph (b) need not be carried out for consignments intended for the manufacture of processed products by a process that guar­
antees the elimination of salmonella. 
(d) The tests provided for in subparagraphs (a) and (b) need not be 
carried out for foodstuffs originating in an establishment that is subject to a control programme recognised, in respect of the food of animal origin concerned and in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 12(2), as equivalent to that 
approved for Sweden and Finland. 
(e) In the case of meat from bovine and porcine animals and meat 
from poultry, a trade document or certificate conforming to a model laid down by Community legislation shall accompany 
the food and state that: 
(i) the checks referred to in subparagraph (a) have been 
carried out with negative results; 
or 
(ii) the meat is intended for one of the purposes referred to in 
subparagraph (c); 
or 
(iii) the meat comes from an establishment covered by 
subparagraph (d). 
(f) In the case of eggs, a certificate stating that the tests referred 
to in subparagraph (b) have been carried out with negative results, or that the eggs are destined to be used in the manner referred to in subparagraph (c), must accompany consignments. 
▼M7 
3. 
(a) The requirements of paragraphs 1 and 2 may be updated by 
the Commission, in particular to take account of changes in Member States' control programmes or of the adoption of microbiological criteria in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. Those measures, designed to amend nonessential elements of this Regulation, *inter alia,* by supple­
menting it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory 
procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 12(3). 
(b) In accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in 
Article 12(2), the rules laid down in paragraph 2 of this Article in respect of any of the foodstuffs referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article may be extended, in whole or in part, to any Member State, or any region of a Member State, that has a control programme recognised as equivalent to that approved for Sweden and Finland in respect of the food of animal origin concerned. 
4. 

For the purposes of this Article, 'control programme' means a control programme approved in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 2160/2003. 

## Chapter Iv Final Provisions ▼M7 Article 9

Transitional measures of general scope designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, *inter alia,* by supplementing it with new non-essential elements, in particular further specifications of the requirements laid down in this Regulation, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 12(3). 

Other implementing or transitional measures may be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 12(2). 

## ▼C1 Article 10 Amendment And Adaptation Of Annexes Ii And Iii

1. 

►M7 Annexes II and III may be adapted or updated by the Commission taking into account: ◄ 

(a) the development of guides to good practice; 
(b) the experience gained from the implementation of HACCP-based 
systems pursuant to Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004; 
(c) the technological developments and their practical consequences and 
consumer expectations with regard to food composition; 
(d) scientific advice, particularly new risk assessments; 
(e) microbiological and temperature criteria for foodstuffs; 
(f) changes in patterns of consumption. 

▼M7 
Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, *inter alia,* by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 12(3). 

2. 

Exemptions from Annex II and III may be granted by the Commission, provided that they do not affect the achievement of the objectives of this Regulation. Those measures, designed to amend nonessential elements of this Regulation, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 12(3). 

▼C1 
3. 

Member States may, without compromising achievement of the objectives of this Regulation, adopt, in accordance with paragraphs 4 to 8, national measures adapting the requirements laid down in Annex III. 

4. 
(a) The national measures referred to in paragraph 3 shall have the 
aim of: 
(i) enabling the continued use of traditional methods at any of 
the stages of production, processing or distribution of 
food; 
or 
(ii) accommodating the needs of food businesses situated in 
regions that are subject to special geographic constraints. 
(b) In other cases, they shall apply only to the construction, layout 
and equipment of establishments. 
5. 

Any Member State wishing to adopt national measures as referred to in paragraph 3 shall notify the Commission and other Member States. 

Each notification shall: 

(a) provide a detailed description of the requirements that that Member 
State considers need to be adapted and the nature of the adaptation 
sought; 
(b) describe the foodstuffs and establishments concerned; 
(c) explain the reasons for the adaptation, including, where relevant, by 
providing a summary of the hazard analysis carried out and any measures to be taken to ensure that the adaptation will not 
compromise the objectives of this Regulation; 
and 
(d) give any other relevant information. 

6. 

The other Member States shall have three months from the receipt of a notification referred to in paragraph 5 to send written comments to the Commission. In the case of adaptations arising from paragraph 4(b), this period shall, at the request of any Member State, be extended to four months. The Commission may, and when it receives written comments from one or more Member States shall, consult Member States within the committee referred to in Article 12(1). The Commission may decide, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 12(2), whether the envisaged measures may be implemented, subject, if necessary, to appropriate amendments. Where appropriate, the Commission may propose general measures in accordance with paragraph 1 or 2 of this Article. 

7. 

A Member State may adopt national measures adapting the requirements of Annex III only: 

(a) in compliance with a decision adopted in accordance with 
paragraph 6; 
(b) if, one month after the expiry of the period referred to in paragraph 
6, the Commission has not informed Member States that it has received written comments or that it intends to propose the 
adoption of a decision in accordance with paragraph 6; 
or 
(c) in accordance with paragraph 8. 

8. 

A Member State may, of its own initiative and subject to the general provisions of the Treaty, maintain or establish national rules: 

(a) prohibiting or restricting the placing on the market within its 
territory of raw milk or raw cream intended for direct human 
consumption; 
or 

(b) permitting the use, with the authorisation of the competent auth­
ority, of raw milk not meeting the criteria laid down in Annex III, Section IX, as regards plate count and somatic cell count of the manufacture of cheeses with an ageing or ripening period of at least 60 days, and dairy products obtained in connection with the manu­
facture of such cheeses, provided that this does not prejudice the 
achievement of the objectives of this Regulation. 

## Article 11 Specific Decisions

►M7 Without prejudice to the general application of Article 9 and Article 10(1), implementing measures may be laid down in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 12(2), and amendments to Annex II or III, as measures designed to amend nonessential elements of this Regulation, may be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 12(3): ◄ 

1. to lay down rules for the transport of meat while it is warm; 
2. to specify, in respect of MSM, which calcium content is not signifi­
cantly higher than that of minced meat; 
3. to lay down other treatments that may be applied in a processing 
establishment to live bivalve molluscs from class B or C production areas that have not been submitted to purification or relaying; 
4. to specify recognised testing methods for marine biotoxins; 
5. to lay down additional health standards for live bivalve molluscs in 
cooperation with the relevant Community Reference Laboratory, 
including: 
(a) limit values and analysis methods for other marine biotoxins; 
(b) virus testing procedures and virological standards; 
and 

(c) sampling plans and the methods and analytical tolerances to be 
applied to check compliance with the health standards; 
6. to lay down health standards or checks, where there is scientific 
evidence indicating that they are necessary to protect public health; 
7. to extend Annex III, Section VII, Chapter IX, to live bivalve 
molluscs other than pectinidae; 
8. to specify criteria for determining when epidemiological data 
indicate that a fishing ground does not present a health hazard with regard to the presence of parasites and, consequently, for determining when the competent authority may authorise food business operators not to freeze fishery products in accordance 
with Annex III, Section VIII, Chapter III, Part D; 
9. to lay down freshness criteria and limits with regard to histamine 
and total volatile nitrogen for fisheries products; 
10. to permit the use for the manufacture of certain dairy products of 
raw milk not meeting the criteria laid down in Annex III, Section 
IX, as regards its plate count and somatic cell count; 
11. without prejudice to Directive 96/23/EC ( 
1 
), to fix a maximum 
permitted value for the combined total of residues of antibiotic 
substances in raw milk; 
and 

12. to approve equivalent processes for the production of gelatine or 
collagen. 

## Article 12 Committee Procedure

1. 

The Commission shall be assisted by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health. 

2. 

Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof. 

The period provided for in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months. 

▼M7 
3. 

Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1) to (4) and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof. 

## ▼C1 Article 13 Consultation Of The European Food Safety Authority

The Commission shall consult the European Food Safety Authority on any matter falling within the scope of this Regulation that could have a significant impact on public health and, in particular, before proposing to extend Annex III, Section III, to other animal species. 

## Article 14 Report To The European Parliament And To The Council

1. 

The Commission shall, not later than 20 May 2009, submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council reviewing the experience gained from the implementation of this Regulation. 

2. 

The Commission shall, if appropriate, accompany the report with relevant proposals. 

## Article 15

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day after that of its publication in the *Official Journal of the European Union*. 

It shall apply 18 months after the date on which all of the following acts have entered into force: 

(a) Regulation (EC) No 852/2004; 
(b) Regulation (EC) No 854/2004; 
and 
(c) Directive 2004/41/EC. 
However, it shall apply no earlier than 1 January 2006. 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

## Definitions

For the purpose of this Regulation: 

1. 
MEAT 
1.1. 
'Meat' means edible parts of the animals referred to in points 1.2 to 1.8, 
including blood. 
1.2. 
'Domestic ungulates' means domestic bovine (including *Bubalus* and 
Bison species), porcine, ovine and caprine animals, and domestic 
solipeds. 
1.3. 
'Poultry' means farmed birds, including birds that are not considered as 
domestic but which are farmed as domestic animals, with the exception of ratites. 
1.4. 
'Lagomorphs' means rabbits, hares and rodents. 
1.5. 
'Wild game' means: 
- wild ungulates and lagomorphs, as well as other land mammals that 
are hunted for human consumption and are considered to be wild game under the applicable law in the Member State concerned, including mammals living in enclosed territory under conditions of 
freedom similar to those of wild game; 
and 
- wild birds that are hunted for human consumption. 

1.6. 
'Farmed game' means farmed ratites and farmed land mammals other 
than those referred to in point 1.2. 
1.7. 
'Small wild game' means wild game birds and lagomorphs living freely 
in the wild. 
1.8. 
'Large wild game' means wild land mammals living freely in the wild 
that do not fall within the definition of small wild game. 
1.9. 
'Carcase' means the body of an animal after slaughter and dressing. 
1.10. 'Fresh meat' means meat that has not undergone any preserving process 
other than chilling, freezing or quick-freezing, including meat that is 
vacuum-wrapped or wrapped in a controlled atmosphere. 
1.11. 'Offal' means fresh meat other than that of the carcase, including viscera 
and blood. 
1.12. 'Viscera' means the organs of the thoracic, abdominal and pelvic cavities, 
as well as the trachea and oesophagus and, in birds, the crop. 
1.13. 'Minced meat' means boned meat that has been minced into fragments 
and contains less than 1 % salt. 
1.14. 'Mechanically separated meat' or 'MSM' means the product obtained by 
removing meat from flesh-bearing bones after boning or from poultry carcases, using mechanical means resulting in the loss or modification 
of the muscle fibre structure. 
1.15. 'Meat preparations' means fresh meat, including meat that has been 
reduced to fragments, which has had foodstuffs, seasonings or additives added to it or which has undergone processes insufficient to modify the internal muscle fibre structure of the meat and thus to eliminate the 
characteristics of fresh meat. 
1.16. 'Slaughterhouse' means an establishment used for slaughtering and 
dressing animals, the meat of which is intended for human consumption. 
1.17. 'Cutting plant' means an establishment used for boning and/or cutting up 
meat. 
1.18. 'Game-handling establishment' means any establishment in which game 
and game meat obtained after hunting are prepared for placing on the 
market. 

## 2. Live Bivalve Molluscs

2.1. 
'Bivalve molluscs' means filter-feeding lamellibranch molluscs. 
2.2. 
'Marine biotoxins' means poisonous substances accumulated by bivalve 
molluscs, in particular as a result of feeding on plankton containing 
toxins. 
2.3. 
'Conditioning' means the storage of live bivalve molluscs coming from 
class A production areas, purification centres or dispatch centres in tanks or any other installation containing clean seawater, or in natural sites, to remove sand, mud or slime, to preserve or to improve organoleptic qualities and to ensure that they are in a good state of vitality before 
wrapping or packaging. 
2.4. 
'Gatherer' means any natural or legal person who collects live bivalve 
molluscs by any means from a harvesting area for the purpose of handling 
and placing on the market. 
2.5. 
'Production area' means any sea, estuarine or lagoon area, containing 
either natural beds of bivalve molluscs or sites used for the cultivation 
of bivalve molluscs, and from which live bivalve molluscs are taken. 
2.6. 
'Relaying area' means any sea, estuarine or lagoon area with boundaries 
clearly marked and indicated by buoys, posts or any other fixed means, 
and used exclusively for the natural purification of live bivalve molluscs. 
2.7. 
'Dispatch centre' means any on-shore or off-shore establishment for the 
reception, conditioning, washing, cleaning, grading, wrapping and 
packaging of live bivalve molluscs fit for human consumption. 
2.8. 
'Purification centre' means an establishment with tanks fed by clean 
seawater in which live bivalve molluscs are placed for the time necessary to reduce contamination to make them fit for human 
consumption. 
2.9. 
'Relaying' means the transfer of live bivalve molluscs to sea, lagoon or 
estuarine areas for the time necessary to reduce contamination to make them fit for human consumption. This does not include the specific operation of transferring bivalve molluscs to areas more suitable for 
further growth or fattening. 

## 3. Fishery Products

3.1. 
'Fishery products' means all seawater or freshwater animals (except for 
live bivalve molluscs, live echinoderms, live tunicates and live marine gastropods, and all mammals, reptiles and frogs) whether wild or farmed 
and including all edible forms, parts and products of such animals. 
3.2. 
'Factory vessel' means any vessel on board which fishery products 
undergo one or more of the following operations followed by wrapping or packaging and, if necessary, chilling or freezing: filleting, slicing, 
skinning, shelling, shucking, mincing or processing. 
3.3. 
'Freezer vessel' means any vessel on board which freezing of fishery 
products is carried out, where appropriate after preparatory work such as bleeding, heading, gutting and removal of fins and, where necessary, 
followed by wrapping or packaging. 
3.4. 
'Mechanically separated fishery product' means any product obtained by 
removing flesh from fishery products using mechanical means resulting in 
the loss or modification of the flesh structure. 
3.5. 
'Fresh fishery products' means unprocessed fishery products, whether 
whole or prepared, including products packaged under vacuum or in a modified atmosphere, that have not undergone any treatment to ensure 
preservation other than chilling. 
3.6. 
'Prepared fishery products' means unprocessed fishery products that have 
undergone an operation affecting their anatomical wholeness, such as 
gutting, heading, slicing, filleting, and chopping. 

## 4. Milk

4.1. 
'Raw milk' means milk produced by the secretion of the mammary gland 
of farmed animals that has not been heated to more than 40 °C or 
undergone any treatment that has an equivalent effect. 
4.2. 
'Milk production holding' means an establishment where one or more 
farmed animals are kept to produce milk with a view to placing it on the 
market as food. 

## 5. Eggs

5.1. 
'Eggs' means eggs in shell - other than broken, incubated or cooked 
eggs - that are produced by farmed birds and are fit for direct human 
consumption or for the preparation of egg products. 
5.2. 
'Liquid egg' means unprocessed egg contents after removal of the shell. 
5.3. 
'Cracked eggs' means eggs with damaged shell and intact membranes. 
5.4. 
'Packing centre' means an establishment where eggs are graded by 
quality and weight. 

## 6. Frogs' Legs And Snails

6.1. 
'Frogs' legs' means the posterior part of the body divided by a transverse 
cut behind the front limbs, eviscerated and skinned, of the species RNA 
(family Ranidae). 
6.2. 
'Snails' means terrestrial gastropods of the species Helix pomatiaLinné, 
Helix aspersaMuller, *Helix lucorum* and species of the family 
Achatinidae. 

## 7. Processed Products

7.1. 
'Meat products' means processed products resulting from the processing 
of meat or from the further processing of such processed products, so that the cut surface shows that the product no longer has the characteristics of 
fresh meat. 
7.2. 
'Dairy products' means processed products resulting from the processing 
of raw milk or from the further processing of such processed products. 
7.3. 
'Egg products' means processed products resulting from the processing of 
eggs, or of various components or mixtures of eggs, or from the further 
processing of such processed products. 
7.4. 
'Processed fishery products' means processed products resulting from the 
processing of fishery products or from the further processing of such 
processed products. 
7.5. 
'Rendered animal fat' means fat derived from rendering meat, including 
bones, and intended for human consumption. 
7.6. 
'Greaves' means the protein-containing residue of rendering, after partial 
separation of fat and water. 
7.7. 
'Gelatine' means natural, soluble protein, gelling or non-gelling, obtained 
by the partial hydrolysis of collagen produced from bones, hides and 
skins, tendons and sinews of animals. 
7.8. 
'Collagen' means the protein-based product derived from animal bones, 
hides, skins and tendons manufactured in accordance with the relevant 
requirements of this Regulation. 
7.9. 
'Treated stomachs, bladders and intestines' means stomachs, bladders and 
intestines that have been submitted to a treatment such as salting, heating 
or drying after they have been obtained and after cleaning. 

## 8. Other Definitions

8.1. 
'Products of animal origin' means: 
- food of animal origin, including honey and blood; 
- live bivalve molluscs, live echinoderms, live tunicates and live marine 
gastropods intended for human consumption; 
and 
- other animals destined to be prepared with a view to being supplied 
live to the final consumer. 
8.2. 
'Wholesale market' means a food business that includes several separate 
units which share common installations and sections where foodstuffs are 
sold to food business operators. 

## Annex Ii Requirements Concerning Several Products Of Animal Origin Section I: Identification Marking

When required in accordance with Article 5 or 6, and subject to the provisions of Annex III, food business operators must ensure that products of animal origin have an identification mark applied in compliance with the following provisions. 

## A. Application Of The Identification Mark

▼M6 
1. 
The identification mark must be applied before the product leaves the 
establishment of production. 

▼M3 
2. 
However, when a product's packaging and/or wrapping is removed or it 
is further processed in another establishment, a new mark must be applied to the product. In such cases, the new mark must indicate the 
approval number of the establishment where these operations take place. 
▼M6 
3. 
An identification mark is not necessary on packs of eggs when a 
packing centre code is applied in accordance with Part A of Annex XIV to Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 ( 
1 
). 

▼C1 
4. 
Food business operators must, in accordance with Article 18 of Regu­
lation (EC) No 178/2002, have in place systems and procedures to identify food business operators from whom they have received and 
to whom they have delivered products of animal origin. 

## B. Form Of The Identification Mark

5. 
The mark must be legible and indelible, and the characters easily 
decipherable. It must be clearly displayed for the competent authorities. 

| 6.                                                                       |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| lishment is located, which may be written out in full or shown as a two- |
| letter code in accordance with the relevant ISO standard.                |
|                                                                          |

▼M13 
In the case of Member States, however, these codes are BE, BG, CZ, DK, DE, EE, GR, ES, FR, HR, IE, IT, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PL, PT, SI, SK, FI, RO, SE and UK. 

▼M2 
__________ 

▼C1 
7. 
The mark must indicate the approval number of the establishment. If an 
establishment manufactures both food to which this Regulation applies and food to which it does not, the food business operator may apply the 
same identification mark to both types of food. 
▼M6 
8. 
►M13 When applied in an establishment located within the 
Community, the mark must be oval in shape and include the abbreviation CE, EC, EF, EG, EK, EO, EY, ES, EÜ, EK, EB, EZ or 
WE. ◄ 

Those abbreviations must not be included in marks applied on products 
imported into the Community from establishments located outside the 
Community. 

## C. Method Of Marking

9. 
The mark may, depending on the presentation of different products of 
animal origin, be applied directly to the product, the wrapping or the packaging, or be printed on a label affixed to the product, the wrapping or the packaging. The mark may also be an irremovable tag made of a 
resistant material. 
10. In the case of packaging containing cut meat or offal, the mark must be 
applied to a label fixed to the packaging, or printed on the packaging, in such a way that it is destroyed when the packaging is opened. This is not necessary, however, if the process of opening destroys the pack­ aging. When wrapping provides the same protection as packaging, the 
label may be affixed to the wrapping. 
11. For products of animal origin that are placed in transport containers or 
large packages and are intended for further handling, processing, wrapping or packaging in another establishment, the mark may be 
applied to the external surface of the container or packaging. 
12. In the case of liquid, granulate and powdered products of animal origin 
carried in bulk, and fishery products carried in bulk, an identification mark is not necessary if accompanying documentation contains the 
information specified in points 6, 7 and, where appropriate, 8. 
13. When products of animal origin are placed in a package destined for 
direct supply to the final consumer, it is sufficient to apply the mark to 
the exterior of that package only. 
14. When the mark is applied directly to products of animal origin, the 
colours used must be authorised in accordance with Community rules 
on the use of colouring substances in foodstuffs. 

## Section Ii: Objectives Of Haccp-Based Procedures

1. 
Food business operators operating slaughterhouses must ensure that the 
procedures that they have put in place in accordance with the general requirements of Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 meet the requirements that the hazard analysis shows to be necessary and the 
specific requirements listed in point 2. 
2. 
The procedures must guarantee that each animal or, where appropriate, each 
lot of animals accepted onto the slaughterhouse premises: 
(a) is properly identified; 
(b) is accompanied by the relevant information from the holding of prov­
enance referred to in Section III; 

(c) does not come from a holding or an area subject to a movement 
prohibition or other restriction for reasons of animal or public health, 
except when the competent authority so permits; 
(d) is clean; 
(e) is healthy, as far as the food business operator can judge; 
and 

(f) is in a satisfactory state as regards welfare on arrival at the slaughter­
house. 
 
3. 
In the event of failure to comply with any of the requirements listed under 
point 2, the food business operator must notify the official veterinarian and 
take appropriate measures. 

## ▼C1 Section Iii: Food Chain Information

Food business operators operating slaughterhouses must, as appropriate, request, receive, check and act upon food chain information as set out in this Section in respect of all animals, other than wild game, sent or intended to be sent to the slaughterhouse. 

▼M6 
1. 
Slaughterhouse operators must not accept animals onto the slaughterhouse 
premises unless they have requested, and been provided with, relevant food chain information contained in the records kept at the holding of provenance 
in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. 
▼C1 
2. 
Slaughterhouse operators must be provided with the information no less than 
24 hours before the arrival of animals at the slaughterhouse, except in the 
circumstances mentioned in point 7. 
▼M6 
3. 
The relevant food chain information referred to in point 1 is to cover, in 
particular: 
▼M15 
(a) 
the status of the holding of provenance or the regional animal health 
status, and whether the holding is officially recognised to apply controlled housing conditions in relation to *Trichinella* in accordance with Point A of Chapter I of Annex IV to Commission Regulation (EC) No 2075/2005 ( 
1 
); 

## ▼C1 (B) The Animals' Health Status;

(c) 
veterinary medicinal products or other treatments administered to the 
animals within a relevant period and with a withdrawal period greater than zero, together with their dates of administration and withdrawal 
periods; 
(d) 
the occurrence of diseases that may affect the safety of meat; 
(e) 
the results, if they are relevant to the protection of public health, of any 
analysis carried out on samples taken from the animals or other samples taken to diagnose diseases that may affect the safety of meat, including samples taken in the framework of the monitoring 
and control of zoonoses and residues; 
(f) 
relevant reports about previous *ante*- and *post-mortem* inspections of 
animals from the same holding of provenance including, in particular, 
reports from the official veterinarian; 
(g) 
production data, when this might indicate the presence of disease; 
and 

(h) 
the name and address of the private veterinarian normally attending the 
holding of provenance. 
4. 
(a) However, it is not necessary for the slaughterhouse operator to be 
provided with: 
(i) the information referred to in point 3(a), (b), (f) and (h), if the 
operator is already aware of this information (for example, 
through a standing arrangement or a quality assurance scheme); 
or 
(ii) the information referred to in point 3(a), (b), (f) and (g), if the 
producer declares that there is no relevant information to report. 
(b) The information need not be provided as a verbatim extract from the 
records of the holding of provenance. It may be provided through elec­ tronic data exchange or in the form of a standardised declaration signed 
by the producer. 
5. 
Food business operators deciding to accept animals onto the slaughterhouse 
premises after evaluating the relevant food chain information must make it available to the official veterinarian without delay and, except in the circum­ stances mentioned in point 7, no less than 24 hours before the arrival of the animal or lot. The food business operator must notify the official veterinarian of any information that gives rise to health concerns before *ante-mortem* 
inspection of the animal concerned. 
6. 
If any animal arrives at the slaughterhouse without food chain information, 
the operator must immediately notify the official veterinarian. Slaughter of 
the animal may not take place until the official veterinarian so permits. 
▼M8 
7. 
If the competent authority so permits and provided it does not jeopardise the 
objectives of this Regulation, food chain information may arrive less than 24 hours before the arrival of the animals of all species to which it relates at the 
slaughterhouse or accompany these animals to the slaughterhouse. 

However, any item of food chain information, knowledge of which may 
result in serious disruption of the slaughterhouse activity, is to be made available to the food business operator operating the slaughterhouse in sufficient time before the animals arrive at the slaughterhouse, in order for 
that food business operator to plan the slaughterhouse activity accordingly. 
The food business operator operating the slaughterhouse must evaluate the 
relevant information and must submit the food chain information received to the official veterinarian. The slaughter or dressing of the animals may not 
take place until the official veterinarian so permits. 

▼C1 
8. 
Food business operators must check passports accompanying domestic 
solipeds to ensure that the animal is intended for slaughter for human consumption. If they accept the animal for slaughter, they must give the 
passport to the official veterinarian. 

## ▼M12 Section Iv: Requirements Applicable To Frozen Food Of Animal Origin

1. 
For the purposes of this Section, 'date of production' means: 
(a) the date of slaughter in the case of carcasses, half carcasses or quarter 
carcases; 
(b) the date of killing in the case of bodies of wild game; 
(c) the date of harvesting or catching, in the case of fishery products; 
(d) the date of processing, cutting, mincing or preparation, as appropriate, 
for any other food of animal origin. 
2. 
Until the stage at which a food is labelled in accordance with Directive 
2000/13/EC or used for further processing, food business operators must ensure that in the case of frozen food of animal origin intended for human consumption, the following information is made available to the food business operator to whom the food is supplied and, upon request, to 
the competent authority: 
 
(a) the date of production; and 

(b) the date of freezing, if different from the date of production. 

Where a food is made from a batch of raw materials with different dates of production and of freezing, the oldest dates of production and/or of freezing, as appropriate, must be made available. 

3. 
The appropriate form in which the information must be made available is up 
to the choice of the supplier of the frozen food, as long as the information requested in paragraph 2 will be clearly and unequivocally available to and 
retrievable by the business operator to whom the food is supplied. 

## Specific Requirements Section I: Meat Of Domestic Ungulates Chapter I: Transport Of Live Animals To The Slaught­ Erhouse

Food business operators transporting live animals to slaughterhouses must ensure compliance with the following requirements. 

1. 
During collection and transport, animals must be handled carefully without 
causing unnecessary distress. 
2. 
Animals showing symptoms of disease or originating in herds known to be 
contaminated with agents of public health importance may only be trans­
ported to the slaughterhouse when the competent authority so permits. 

## Chapter Ii: Requirements For Slaughterhouses

Food business operators must ensure that the construction, layout and equipment of slaughterhouses in which domestic ungulates are slaughtered meet the following requirements. 

1. 
(a) Slaughterhouses must have adequate and hygienic lairage facilities or, 
climate permitting, waiting pens that are easy to clean and disinfect. These facilities must be equipped for watering the animals and, if necessary, feeding them. The drainage of the wastewater must not 
compromise food safety. 
(b) They must also have separate lockable facilities or, climate permitting, 
pens for sick or suspect animals with separate draining and sited in such a way as to avoid contamination of other animals, unless the competent 
authority considers that such facilities are unnecessary. 
(c) The size of the lairage facilities must ensure that the welfare of the 
animals is respected. Their layout must facilitate ante-mortem inspec­
tions, including the identification of the animals or groups of animals. 
2. 
To avoid contaminating meat, they must: 
(a) have a sufficient number of rooms, appropriate to the operations being 
carried out; 
(b) have a separate room for the emptying and cleaning of stomachs and 
intestines, unless the competent authority authorises the separation in time of these operations within a specific slaughterhouse on a case-bycase basis; 
(c) ensure separation in space or time of the following operations: 
(i) stunning and bleeding; 
(ii) in the case of porcine animals, scalding, depilation, scraping and 
singeing; 
(iii) evisceration and further dressing; 
(iv) handling clean guts and tripe; 
(v) preparation and cleaning of other offal, particularly the handling of 
skinned heads if it does not take place at the slaughter line; 
(vi) packaging offal; 
and 
(vii) dispatching meat; 
(d) have installations that prevent contact between the meat and the floors, 
walls and fixtures; 
and 

(e) have slaughter lines (where operated) that are designed to allow constant 
progress of the slaughter process and to avoid cross-contamination between the different parts of the slaughter line. Where more than one slaughter line is operated in the same premises, there must be adequate 
separation of the lines to prevent cross-contamination. 
3. 
They must have facilities for disinfecting tools with hot water supplied at not 
less than 82 °C, or an alternative system having an equivalent effect. 
4. 
The equipment for washing hands used by the staff engaged in handling 
exposed meat must have taps designed to prevent the spread of contami­
nation. 
5. 
There must be lockable facilities for the refrigerated storage of detained meat 
and separate lockable facilities for the storage of meat declared unfit for 
human consumption. 
6. 
There must be a separate place with appropriate facilities for the cleaning, 
washing and disinfection of means of transport for livestock. However, slaughterhouses need not have these places and facilities if the competent 
authority so permits and official authorised places and facilities exist nearby. 
7. 
They must have lockable facilities reserved for the slaughter of sick and 
suspect animals. This is not essential if this slaughter takes place in other establishments authorised by the competent authority for this purpose, or at 
the end of the normal slaughter period. 
8. 
If manure or digestive tract content is stored in the slaughterhouse, there 
must be a special area or place for that purpose. 
9. 
They must have an adequately equipped lockable facility or, where needed, 
room for the exclusive use of the veterinary service. 

## Chapter Iii: Requirements For Cutting Plants

Food business operators must ensure that cutting plants handling meat of domestic ungulates: 

1. 
are constructed so as to avoid contamination of meat, in particular by: 
(a) allowing constant progress of the operations; 
or 
(b) ensuring separation between the different production batches; 

2. 
have rooms for the separate storage of packaged and exposed meat, unless 
stored at different times or in such a way that the packaging material and the 
manner of storage cannot be a source of contamination for the meat; 
3. 
have cutting rooms equipped to ensure compliance with the requirements 
laid down in Chapter V; 
4. 
have equipment for washing hands with taps designed to prevent the spread 
of contamination, for use by staff engaged in handling exposed meat; and 
5. 
have facilities for disinfecting tools with hot water supplied at not less than 
82 °C, or an alternative system having an equivalent effect. 

## Chapter Iv: Slaughter Hygiene

Food business operators operating slaughterhouses in which domestic ungulates are slaughtered must ensure compliance with the following requirements. 

1. 
After arrival in the slaughterhouse, the slaughter of the animals must not be 
unduly delayed. However, where required for welfare reasons, animals must 
be given a resting period before slaughter. 
2. 
(a) Meat from animals other than those referred to in subparagraphs (b) and 
(c) must not be used for human consumption if they die otherwise than 
by being slaughtered in the slaughterhouse. 
(b) Only live animals intended for slaughter may be brought into the 
slaughter premises, with the exception of: 
(i) animals that have undergone emergency slaughter outside the 
slaughterhouse in accordance with Chapter VI; 
(ii) animals slaughtered at the place of production in accordance with 
Section III; 
and 
(iii) wild game, in compliance with Section IV, Chapter II. 
(c) Meat from animals that undergo slaughter following an accident in a 
slaughterhouse may be used for human consumption if, on inspection, 
no serious lesions other than those due to the accident are found. 
3. 
The animals or, where appropriate, each batch of animals sent for slaughter 
must be identified so that their origin can be traced. 
4. 
Animals must be clean. 
5. 
Slaughterhouse operators must follow the instructions of the veterinarian 
appointed by the competent authority in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 to ensure that ante-mortem inspection of every animal to be 
slaughtered is carried out under suitable conditions. 
6. 
Animals brought into the slaughter hall must be slaughtered without undue 
delay. 
7. 
Stunning, bleeding, skinning, evisceration and other dressing must be carried 
out without undue delay and in a manner that avoids contaminating the 
meat. In particular: 
(a) the trachea and oesophagus must remain intact during bleeding, except 
in the case of slaughter according to a religious custom; 
(b) during the removal of hides and fleece: 
(i) contact between the outside of the skin and the carcase must be 
prevented; 
and 
(ii) operators and equipment coming into contact with the outer surface 
of hides and fleece must not touch the meat; 
(c) measures must be taken to prevent the spillage of digestive tract content 
during and after evisceration and to ensure that evisceration is completed 
as soon as possible after stunning; 
and 

(d) removal of the udder must not result in contamination of the carcase 
with milk or colostrum. 
8. 
Carcases and other parts of the body intended for human consumption must 
be completely skinned, except in the case of porcine animals, the heads of ovine and caprine animals and calves, the muzzle and lips of bovine animals 
and the feet of bovine, ovine and caprine animals. Heads, including muzzle 
and lips, and feet must be handled in such a way as to avoid contamination. 
▼C1 
9. 
When not skinned, porcine animals must have their bristles removed 
immediately. The risk of contamination of the meat with scalding water must be minimised. Only approved additives may be used for this operation. 
Porcine animals must be thoroughly rinsed afterwards with potable water. 
10. The carcases must not contain visible faecal contamination. Any visible 
contamination must be removed without delay by trimming or alternative 
means having an equivalent effect. 
11. Carcases and offal must not come into contact with floors, walls or work 
stands. 
12. Slaughterhouse operators must follow the instructions of the competent 
authority to ensure that post-mortem inspection of all slaughtered animals is carried out under suitable conditions in accordance with Regulation (EC) 
No 854/2004. 
13. Until post-mortem inspection is completed, parts of a slaughtered animal 
subject to such inspection must: 
(a) remain identifiable as belonging to a given carcase; 
and 
(b) come into contact with no other carcase, offal or viscera, including those 
that have already undergone post-mortem inspection. 
However, provided that it shows no pathological lesion, the penis may be discarded immediately. 

14. Both kidneys must be removed from their fatty covering. In the case of 
bovine and porcine animals, and solipeds, the peri-renal capsule must also 
be removed. 
15. If the blood or other offal of several animals is collected in the same 
container before completion of post-mortem inspection, the entire contents must be declared unfit for human consumption if the carcase of one or more 
of the animals concerned has been declared unfit for human consumption. 
16. After post-mortem inspection: 
▼M3 
(a) 
the tonsils of bovine animals, porcine animals and solipeds must be 
removed hygienically; 
▼C1 
(b) 
parts unfit for human consumption must be removed as soon as 
possible from the clean sector of the establishment; 
(c) 
meat detained or declared unfit for human consumption and inedible 
by-products must not come into contact with meat declared fit for 
human consumption; 
and 

(d) 
viscera or parts of viscera remaining in the carcase, except for the 
kidneys, must be removed entirely and as soon as possible, unless 
the competent authority authorises otherwise. 
17. After completion of slaughter and post-mortem inspection, the meat must be 
stored in accordance with the requirements laid down in Chapter VII. 
18. When destined for further handling: 

(a) stomachs must be scalded or cleaned; however, in the case of stomachs 
of young ruminants intended for rennet production, the stomachs need 
only be emptied; 
(b) intestines must be emptied and cleaned; 
(c) heads and feet must be skinned or scalded and depilated; however, when 
authorised by the competent authority, visibly clean feet may be trans­ ported to and skinned or scalded and depilated in an approved estab­
lishment further handling the feet for processing into food. 
▼C1 
19. Where establishments are approved for the slaughter of different animal 
species or for the handling of carcases of farmed game and wild game, precautions must be taken to prevent cross-contamination by separation either in time or in space of operations carried out on the different species. Separate facilities for the reception and storage of unskinned carcases of farmed game slaughtered at the farm and for wild game must 
be available. 
20. If the slaughterhouse does not have lockable facilities reserved for the 
slaughter of sick or suspect animals, the facilities used to slaughter such animals must be cleaned, washed and disinfected under official supervision 
before the slaughter of other animals is resumed. 

## Chapter V: Hygiene During Cutting And Boning

Food business operators must ensure that cutting and boning of meat of domestic ungulates takes place in accordance with the following requirements. 

1. 
Carcases of domestic ungulates may be cut into half-carcases or quarters, 
and half carcases into no more than three wholesale cuts, in slaughterhouses. 
Further cutting and boning must be carried out in a cutting plant. 
2. 
The work on meat must be organised in such a way as to prevent or 
minimise contamination. To this end, food business operators must ensure 
in particular that: 
(a) meat intended for cutting is brought into the workrooms progressively as 
needed; 
(b) during cutting, boning, trimming, slicing, dicing, wrapping and pack­
aging, the meat is maintained at not more than 3 °C for offal and 7 °C for other meat, by means of an ambient temperature of not more than 
12 °C or an alternative system having an equivalent effect; 
and 

(c) where the premises are approved for the cutting of meat of different 
animal species, precautions are taken to avoid cross-contamination, where necessary by separation of the operations on the different 
species in either space or time. 
3. 
However, meat may be boned and cut before it reaches the temperature 
referred to in point 2(b) in accordance with Chapter VII, point 3. 
4. 
Meat may also be boned and cut prior to reaching the temperature referred to 
in point 2(b) when the cutting room is on the same site as the slaughter premises. In this case, the meat must be transferred to the cutting room either directly from the slaughter premises or after a waiting period in a chilling or refrigerating room. As soon as it is cut and, where appropriate, packaged, the 
meat must be chilled to the temperature referred to in point 2(b). 

## ▼C1 Chapter Vi: Emergency Slaughter Outside The Slaught­ Erhouse

Food business operators must ensure that meat from domestic ungulates that have undergone emergency slaughter outside the slaughterhouse may be used for human consumption only if it complies with all the following requirements. 

1. 
An otherwise healthy animal must have suffered an accident that prevented 
its transport to the slaughterhouse for welfare reasons. 
2. 
A veterinarian must carry out an ante-mortem inspection of the animal. 
3. 
The slaughtered and bled animal must be transported to the slaughterhouse 
hygienically and without undue delay. Removal of the stomach and intes­ tines, but no other dressing, may take place on the spot, under the super­ vision of the veterinarian. Any viscera removed must accompany the slaughtered animal to the slaughterhouse and be identified as belonging to 
that animal. 
4. 
If more than two hours elapse between slaughter and arrival at the slaughter­
house, the animal must be refrigerated. Where climatic conditions so permit, 
active chilling is not necessary. 
5. 
A declaration by the food business operator who reared the animal, stating 
the identity of the animal and indicating any veterinary products or other treatments administered to the animal, dates of administration and with­ drawal periods, must accompany the slaughtered animal to the slaughter­
house. 
6. 
A declaration issued by the veterinarian recording the favourable outcome of 
the ante-mortem inspection, the date and time of, and reason for, emergency slaughter, and the nature of any treatment administered by the veterinarian to 
the animal, must accompany the slaughtered animal to the slaughterhouse. 
7. 
The slaughtered animal must be fit for human consumption following postmortem inspection carried out in the slaughterhouse in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 854/2004, including any additional tests required in 
the case of emergency slaughter. 
8. 
Food business operators must follow any instructions that the official 
veterinarian may give after post-mortem inspection concerning the use of 
the meat. 

## ▼M15 __________ ▼C1 Chapter Vii: Storage And Transport

Food business operators must ensure that the storage and transport of meat of domestic ungulates takes place in accordance with the following requirements. 

1. 
(a) Unless other specific provisions provide otherwise, post-mortem 
inspection must be followed immediately by chilling in the slaught­ erhouse to ensure a temperature throughout the meat of not more than 3 °C for offal and 7 °C for other meat along a chilling curve that ensures a continuous decrease of the temperature. However, meat may be cut 
and boned during chilling in accordance with Chapter V, point 4. 
(b) During the chilling operations, there must be adequate ventilation to 
prevent condensation on the surface of the meat. 
2. 
Meat must attain the temperature specified in point 1 and remain at that 
temperature during storage. 
3. 
Meat must attain the temperature specified in point 1 before transport, and 
remain at that temperature during transport. However, transport may also take place if the competent authority so authorises to enable the production 
of specific products, provided that: 
(a) such transport takes place in accordance with the requirements that the 
competent authority specifies in respect of transport from one given 
establishment to another; 
and 

(b) the meat leaves the slaughterhouse, or a cutting room on the same site as 
the slaughter premises, immediately and transport takes no more than 
two hours. 
4. 
Meat intended for freezing must be frozen without undue delay, taking into 
account where necessary a stabilisation period before freezing. 
5. 
Exposed meat must be stored and transported separately from packaged 
meat, unless stored or transported at different times or in such a way that the packaging material and the manner of storage or transport cannot be a 
source of contamination for the meat. 

## Section Ii: Meat From Poultry And Lagomorphs Chapter I: Transport Of Live Animals To The Slaught­ Erhouse

Food business operators transporting live animals to slaughterhouses must ensure compliance with the following requirements. 

1. 
During collection and transport, animals must be handled carefully without 
causing unnecessary distress. 
2. 
Animals showing symptoms of disease or originating in flocks known to be 
contaminated with agents of public-health importance may only be trans­
ported to the slaughterhouse when permitted by the competent authority. 
3. 
Crates for delivering animals to the slaughterhouse and modules, where 
used, must be made of non-corrodible material and be easy to clean and disinfect. Immediately after emptying and, if necessary, before re-use, all equipment used for collecting and delivering live animals must be cleaned, 
washed and disinfected. 

## Chapter Ii: Requirements For Slaughterhouses

Food business operators must ensure that the construction, layout and equipment of slaughterhouses in which poultry or lagomorphs are slaughtered meet the following requirements. 

1. 
They must have a room or covered space for the reception of the animals 
and for their inspection before slaughter. 
2. 
To avoid contaminating meat, they must: 
(a) have a sufficient number of rooms, appropriate to the operations being 
carried out; 
(b) have a separate room for evisceration and further dressing, including the 
addition of seasonings to whole poultry carcases, unless the competent authority authorises separation in time of these operations within a 
specific slaughterhouse on a case-by-case basis; 
(c) ensure separation in space or time of the following operations: 
(i) stunning and bleeding; 
(ii) plucking or skinning, and any scalding; 
and 
(iii) dispatching meat; 

(d) have installations that prevent contact between the meat and the floors, 
walls and fixtures; 
and 

(e) have slaughter lines (where operated) that are designed to allow a 
constant progress of the slaughter process and to avoid cross-contami­ nation between the different parts of the slaughter line. Where more than one slaughter line is operated in the same premises, there must be 
adequate separation of the lines to prevent cross-contamination. 
3. 
They must have facilities for disinfecting tools with hot water supplied at not 
less than 82 °C, or an alternative system having an equivalent effect. 
4. 
The equipment for washing hands used by the staff engaged in handling 
exposed meat must have taps designed to prevent the spread of contami­
nation. 
5. 
There must be lockable facilities for the refrigerated storage of detained meat 
and separate lockable facilities for the storage of meat declared unfit for 
human consumption. 
6. 
There must be a separate place with appropriate facilities for the cleaning, 
washing and disinfection of: 
(a) transport equipment such as crates; 
and 
(b) means of transport. 

These places and facilities are not compulsory for (b) if officially authorised places and facilities exist nearby. 

7. 
They must have an adequately equipped lockable facility or, where needed, 
room for the exclusive use of the veterinary service. 

## Chapter Iii: Requirements For Cutting Plants

1. 
Food business operators must ensure that cutting plants handling meat from 
poultry or lagomorphs: 
(a) are constructed so as to avoid contamination of meat, in particular by: 
(i) allowing constant progress of the operations; 
or 
(ii) ensuring separation between the different production batches; 

(b) have rooms for the separate storage of packaged and exposed meat, 
unless stored at different times or in such a way that the packaging material and the manner of storage cannot be a source of contamination 
for the meat; 
(c) have cutting rooms equipped to ensure compliance with the requirements 
laid down in Chapter V; 
(d) have equipment for washing hands used by staff handling exposed meat 
with taps designed to prevent the spread of contamination; 
and 

(e) have facilities for disinfecting tools with hot water supplied at not less 
than 82 °C, or an alternative system having an equivalent effect. 
2. 
If the following operations are undertaken in a cutting plant: 
(a) the evisceration of geese and ducks reared for the production of 'foie 
gras', which have been stunned, bled and plucked on the fattening farm; 
or 

(b) the evisceration of delayed eviscerated poultry, 
food business operators must ensure that separate rooms are available for that purpose. 

## Chapter Iv: Slaughter Hygiene

Food business operators operating slaughterhouses in which poultry or lago­
morphs are slaughtered must ensure compliance with the following requirements. 

1. 
(a) Meat from animals other than those referred to in (b) must not be used 
for human consumption if they die otherwise than by being slaughtered 
in the slaughterhouse. 
(b) Only live animals intended for slaughter may be brought into the 
slaughter premises, with the exception of: 
(i) delayed eviscerated poultry, geese and ducks reared for the 
production of 'foie gras' and birds that are not considered as domestic but which are farmed as domestic animals, if slaughtered 
at the farm in accordance with Chapter VI; 
(ii) farmed game slaughtered at the place of production in accordance 
with Section III; 
and 
(iii) small wild game in accordance with Section IV, Chapter III. 

2. 
Slaughterhouse operators must follow the instructions of the competent 
authority to ensure that ante-mortem inspection is carried out under 
suitable conditions. 
3. 
Where establishments are approved for the slaughter of different animal 
species or for the handling of farmed ratites and small wild game, precautions must be taken to prevent cross contamination by separation either in time or in space of the operations carried out on the different species. Separate facilities for the reception and storage of carcases of farmed ratites slaughtered at the farm and for small wild game must be 
available. 
4. 
Animals brought into the slaughter room must be slaughtered without undue 
delay. 

| 5.                                                                           | Stunning, bleeding, skinning or plucking, evisceration and other dressing    |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| must be carried out without undue delay in such a way that contamination     |                                                                              |
| of the meat is avoided. In particular, measures must be taken to prevent the |                                                                              |
| spillage of digestive tract contents during evisceration.                    |                                                                              |
| 6.                                                                           | Slaughterhouse operators must follow the instructions of the competent       |
| authority to ensure that the post-mortem inspection is carried out under     |                                                                              |
| suitable conditions, and in particular that slaughtered animals can be       |                                                                              |
| inspected properly.                                                          |                                                                              |
|                                                                              |                                                                              |

7. 
After post-mortem inspection: 
(a) parts unfit for human consumption must be removed as soon as possible 
from the clean sector of the establishment; 
(b) meat detained or declared unfit for human consumption and inedible byproducts must not come into contact with meat declared fit for human 
consumption; 
and 

(c) viscera or parts of viscera remaining in the carcase, except for the 
kidneys, must be removed entirely, if possible, and as soon as 
possible, unless otherwise authorised by the competent authority. 
8. 
After inspection and evisceration, slaughtered animals must be cleaned and 
chilled to not more than 4 °C as soon as possible, unless the meat is cut 
while warm. 
9. 
When carcases are subjected to an immersion chilling process, account must 
be taken of the following. 
(a) Every precaution must be taken to avoid contamination of carcases, 
taking into account parameters such as carcase weight, water 
temperature, volume and direction of water flow and chilling time. 
(b) Equipment must be entirely emptied, cleaned and disinfected whenever 
this is necessary and at least once a day. 
10. Sick or suspect animals, and animals slaughtered in application of disease 
eradication or control programmes, must not be slaughtered in the estab­ lishment except when permitted by the competent authority. In that event, slaughter must be performed under official supervision and steps taken to prevent contamination; the premises must be cleaned and disinfected before 
being used again. 

## Chapter V: Hygiene During And After Cutting And Boning

Food business operators must ensure that cutting and boning of meat of poultry and lagomorphs takes place in accordance with the following requirements. 

1. 
The work on meat must be organised in such a way as to prevent or 
minimise contamination. To this end, food business operators must ensure 
in particular that: 
(a) meat intended for cutting is brought into the workrooms progressively as 
needed; 
(b) during cutting, boning, trimming, slicing, dicing, wrapping and pack­
aging, the temperature of the meat is maintained at not more than 4 °C by means of an ambient temperature of 12 °C or an alternative system 
having an equivalent effect; 
and 

(c) where the premises are approved for the cutting of meat of different 
animal species, precautions are taken to avoid cross-contamination, where necessary by separation of the operations on the different 
species in either space or time. 
2. 
However, meat may be boned and cut prior to reaching the temperature 
referred to in point 1(b) when the cutting room is on the same site as the 
slaughter premises, provided that it is transferred to the cutting room either: 
(a) directly from the slaughter premises; 
or 
(b) after a waiting period in a chilling or refrigerating room. 

3. 
As soon as the meat is cut and, where appropriate, packaged, it must be 
chilled to a temperature of not more than 4 °C. 
4. 
Meat must attain a temperature of not more than 4 °C before transport, and 
be maintained at that temperature during transport. However, if the competent authority so authorises, livers for the production of *foie gras* 
may be transported at a temperature of more than 4 °C, provided that: 
(a) such transport takes place in accordance with the requirements that the 
competent authority specifies in respect of transport from one given 
establishment to another; and 
(b) the meat leaves the slaughterhouse, or a cutting room immediately and 
transport takes no more than two hours. 
5. 
Meat derived from poultry and lagomorphs intended for freezing must be 
frozen without undue delay. 
6. 
Exposed meat must be stored and transported separately from packaged 
meat, unless stored or transported at different times or in such a way that the packaging material and the manner of storage or transport cannot be a 
source of contamination for the meat. 
▼C1 

## Chapter Vi: Slaughter On The Farm

Food business operators may slaughter poultry referred to in Chapter IV, point 
1(b)(i), on the farm only with the authorisation of the competent authority and in compliance with the following requirements. 

1. 
The farm must undergo regular veterinary inspection. 
2. 
The food business operator must inform the competent authority in advance 
of the date and time of slaughter. 
3. 
The holding must have facilities for concentrating the birds to allow an antemortem inspection of the group to be made. 
4. 
The holding must have premises suitable for the hygienic slaughter and 
further handling of the birds. 
5. 
Animal welfare requirements must be complied with. 
6. 
The slaughtered birds must be accompanied to the slaughterhouse by a 
declaration by the food business operator who reared the animal indicating any veterinary products or other treatments administered to the animal, dates 
of administration and withdrawal periods, and the date and time of slaughter. 
7. 
The slaughtered animal must be accompanied to the slaughterhouse by a 
certificate issued by the official veterinarian or approved veterinarian in 
accordance with Regulation (EC) No 854/2004. 
8. 
In the case of poultry reared for the production of 'foie gras', the unevis­
cerated birds must be transported immediately and, if necessary, refrigerated to a slaughterhouse or cutting plant. They must be eviscerated within 24 
hours of slaughter under the supervision of the competent authority. 
9. 
Delayed eviscerated poultry obtained at the farm of production may be kept 
for up to 15 days at a temperature of not more than 4 °C. It must then be eviscerated in a slaughterhouse or in a cutting plant located in the same 
Member State as the farm of production. 

## ▼M1 Chapter Vii: Water Retention Agents

Food business operators shall ensure that poultrymeat that has been treated specifically to promote water retention is not placed on the market as fresh meat but as meat preparations or used for the production of processed products. 

## ▼C1 Section Iii: Meat Of Farmed Game

1. 
The provisions of Section I apply to the production and placing on the 
market of meat from even-toed farmed game mammals (Cervidae and 
Suidae), unless the competent authority considers them inappropriate. 
2. 
The provisions of Section II apply to the production and placing on the 
market of meat from ratites. However, those of Section I apply where the competent authority considers them appropriate. Appropriate facilities must 
be provided, adapted to the size of the animals. 
3. 
Notwithstanding points 1 and 2, food business operators may slaughter 
farmed ratites and farmed ungulates referred to in point 1 at the place of 
origin with the authorisation of the competent authority if: 
(a) the animals cannot be transported, to avoid any risk for the handler or to 
protect the welfare of the animals; 
(b) the herd undergoes regular veterinary inspection; 
(c) the owner of the animals submits a request; 
(d) the competent authority is informed in advance of the date and time of 
slaughter of the animals; 
(e) the holding has procedures for concentrating the animals to allow an 
ante-mortem inspection of the group to be made; 
(f) the holding has facilities suitable for the slaughter, bleeding and, where 
ratites are to be plucked, plucking of the animals; 
(g) animal welfare requirements are complied with; 
(h) slaughtered and bled animals are transported to the slaughterhouse 
hygienically and without undue delay. If transport takes more than two hours, the animals are, if necessary, refrigerated. Evisceration may 
take place on the spot, under the supervision of the veterinarian; 
(i) a declaration by the food business operator who reared the animals, 
stating their identity and indicating any veterinary products or other treatments administered, dates of administration and withdrawal 
periods, accompanies the slaughtered animals to the slaughterhouse; 
and 

(j) during transport to the approved establishment, a certificate issued and 
signed by the official veterinarian or approved veterinarian, attesting to a favourable result of the ante-mortem inspection, correct slaughter and bleeding and the date and time of slaughter, accompanies the slaughtered 
animals. 
▼M10 
3a. By way of derogation from point 3(j), the competent authority may authorise 
that the attestation of the correct slaughter and bleeding and of the date and time of slaughter be included only in the declaration by the food business 
operator referred to in point 3(i), provided that: 
(a) the holding is situated in a Member State or region, as defined in 
Article 2(2)(p) of Directive 64/432/EEC which is not under health 
restrictions in accordance with Union law or national legislation; 
(b) the food business operator has demonstrated the appropriate level of 
competence to slaughter animals without causing the animals any avoidable pain, distress or suffering in accordance with Article 7(2) of 
Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 and without prejudice to Article 12 of 
that Regulation. 
▼C1 
4. 
Food business operators may also slaughter bison on the farm in accordance 
with point 3 in exceptional circumstances. 

## Section Iv: Wild Game Meat Chapter I: Training Of Hunters In Health And Hygiene

1. 
Persons who hunt wild game with a view to placing it on the market for 
human consumption must have sufficient knowledge of the pathology of wild game, and of the production and handling of wild game and wild game meat after hunting, to undertake an initial examination of wild game 
on the spot. 
2. 
It is however enough if at least one person of a hunting team has the 
knowledge referred to in point 1. References in this Section to a 'trained 
person' are references to that person. 
3. 
The trained person could also be the gamekeeper or the game manager if he 
or she is part of the hunting team or located in the immediate vicinity of where hunting is taking place. In the latter case, the hunter must present the wild game to the gamekeeper or game manager and inform them of any 
abnormal behaviour observed before killing. 
4. 
Training must be provided to the satisfaction of the competent authority to 
enable hunters to become trained persons. It should cover at least the 
following subjects: 
(a) the normal anatomy, physiology and behaviour of wild game; 
(b) abnormal behaviour and pathological changes in wild game due to 
diseases, environmental contamination or other factors which may 
affect human health after consumption; 
(c) the hygiene rules and proper techniques for the handling, transportation, 
evisceration, etc. of wild game animals after killing; 
and 

(d) legislation and administrative provisions on the animal and public health 
and hygiene conditions governing the placing on the market of wild 
game. 
5. 
The competent authority should encourage hunters' organisations to provide 
such training. 

## Chapter Ii: Handling Of Large Wild Game

1. 
After killing, large wild game must have their stomachs and intestines 
removed as soon as possible and, if necessary, be bled. 
2. 
The trained person must carry out an examination of the body, and of any 
viscera removed, to identify any characteristics that may indicate that the meat presents a health risk. The examination must take place as soon as 
possible after killing. 
3. 
Meat of large wild game may be placed on the market only if the body is 
transported to a game-handling establishment as soon as possible after the examination referred to in point 2. The viscera must accompany the body as specified in point 4. The viscera must be identifiable as belonging to a given 
animal. 
4. 
(a) If no abnormal characteristics are found during the examination referred 
to in point 2, no abnormal behaviour was observed before killing, and there is no suspicion of environmental contamination, the trained person 
must attach to the animal body a numbered declaration stating this. This 
declaration must also indicate the date, time and place of killing. 
The declaration need not be attached to the animal body and may cover more than one animal body, provided that each animal body is appro­ priately identified and the declaration bears an indication of the identi­ fication number of each animal body covered by it, with the corresponding date, time and place of killing. All animal bodies covered by a single declaration may only be sent to a single gamehandling establishment. 

The head and the viscera need not accompany the body to the gamehandling establishment, except in the case of species susceptible to trichinosis (porcine animals, solipeds and others), whose heads (except for tusks) and diaphragm must accompany the body. 

However, the competent authority may authorise that heads of animals susceptible to *Trichinella* infestation be sent to a technical plant for the production of game trophies, which has been approved in accordance with Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002. The technical plant shall be indicated in the declaration of the trained person. A copy of that declaration shall be sent to the technical plant. Where the results of the Trichinella examination of the carcase are positive, the competent authority shall carry out an official check to verify the proper handling of the head in the technical plant. 

However, hunters must comply with any additional requirements imposed in the Member State where hunting takes place, in particular to permit the monitoring of certain residues and substances in accordance with Directive 96/23/EC. 

▼C1 
(b) In other circumstances, the head (except for tusks, antlers and horns) and 
all the viscera except for the stomach and intestines must accompany the body. The trained person who carried out the examination must inform the competent authority of the abnormal characteristics, abnormal behaviour or suspicion of environmental contamination that prevented 
him or her from making a declaration in accordance with (a); 
(c) If no trained person is available to carry out the examination referred to 
in point 2 in a particular case, the head (except for tusks, antlers and horns) and all the viscera except for the stomach and the intestines must 
accompany the body. 
5. 
Chilling must begin within a reasonable period of time after killing and 
achieve a temperature throughout the meat of not more than 7 °C. Where 
climatic conditions so permit, active chilling is not necessary. 
6. 
During transport to the game-handling establishment, heaping must be 
avoided. 
7. 
Large wild game delivered to a game-handling establishment must be 
presented to the competent authority for inspection. 

## ▼M16 8. In Addition, Unskinned Large Wild Game:

(a) may be skinned and placed on the market only if: 
(i) before skinning, it is stored and handled separately from other food 
and it is not frozen; 
(ii) after skinning, it undergoes a final inspection in a game-handling 
establishment in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 854/2004; 
(b) may be sent to a game handling establishment in another Member State 
only if, during transport to that game-handling establishment, it is accompanied by a certificate conforming to the specimen set out in 
the Annex to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 636/2014 ( 
1 
) issued and signed by an official veterinarian, attesting 
that the requirements set out in point 4 as regards the availability of a declaration, when relevant, and the accompaniment of relevant parts of the body, have been complied with. 

In case the game handling establishment, close to the hunting area, is in 
another Member State, transport to this game handling establishment need not be accompanied by the certificate but by the declaration of the trained person referred to in point 2 to comply with Article 3(1) of Directive 89/662/EEC, taking into account the animal health status of the 
Member State of origin. 

▼C1 
9. 
The rules laid down in Section I, Chapter V, apply to the cutting and boning 
of large wild game. 

## Chapter Iii: Handling Of Small Wild Game

1. 
The trained person must carry out an examination to identify any character­
istics that may indicate that the meat presents a health risk. The examination 
must take place as soon as possible after killing. 
2. 
If abnormal characteristics are found during the examination, abnormal 
behaviour was observed before killing, or environmental contamination is 
suspected, the trained person must inform the competent authority. 
3. 
Meat of small wild game may be placed on the market only if the body is 
transported to a game-handling establishment as soon as possible after the 
examination referred to in point 1. 
4. 
Chilling must begin within a reasonable period of time of killing and achieve 
a temperature throughout the meat of not more than 4 °C. Where climatic 
conditions so permit, active chilling is not necessary. 
5. 
Evisceration must be carried out, or completed, without undue delay upon 
arrival at the game -handling establishment, unless the competent authority 
permits otherwise. 
6. 
Small wild game delivered to a game-handling establishment must be 
presented to the competent authority for inspection. 
7. 
The rules laid down in Section II, Chapter V, apply to the cutting and 
boning of small wild game. 

## Section V: Minced Meat, Meat Preparations And Mech­ Anically Separated Meat (Msm) Chapter I: Requirements For Production Establishments

Food business operators operating establishments producing minced meat, meat preparations or MSM must ensure that they: 

1. 
are constructed so as to avoid contamination of meat and products, in 
particular by: 
(a) allowing constant progress of the operations; 
or 
(b) ensuring separation between the different production batches; 

2. 
have rooms for the separate storage of packaged and exposed meat and 
products, unless stored at different times or in such a way that the packaging material and the manner of storage cannot be a source of contami­
nation for the meat or products; 
3. 
have rooms equipped to ensure compliance with the temperature 
requirements laid down in Chapter III; 
4. 
have equipment for washing hands used by staff handling exposed meat and 
products with taps designed to prevent the spread of contamination; 
and 
5. 
have facilities for disinfecting tools with hot water supplied at not less than 
82 °C, or an alternative system having an equivalent effect. 

## Chapter Ii: Requirements For Raw Material

Food business operators producing minced meat, meat preparations or MSM 
must ensure that the raw materials used satisfy the following requirements. 

1. 
The raw material used to prepare minced meat must meet the following 
requirements. 
(a) It must comply with the requirements for fresh meat; 
(b) It must derive from skeletal muscle, including adherent fatty tissues; 
(c) It must not derive from: 
(i) scrap cuttings and scrap trimmings (other than whole muscle 
cuttings); 
(ii) MSM; 
(iii) meat containing bone fragments or skin; 
or 
(iv) meat of the head with the exception of the masseters, the nonmuscular part of the *linea alba*, the region of the carpus and the tarsus, bone scrapings and the muscles of the diaphragm (unless the 
serosa has been removed). 
2. 
The following raw material may be used to prepare meat preparations: 
(a) fresh meat; 
(b) meat meeting the requirements of point 1; 
and 
(c) if the meat preparation is clearly not intended to be consumed without 
first undergoing heat treatment: 
(i) meat derived from the mincing or fragmentation of meat meeting the 
requirements of point 1 other than point 1(c)(i); 
and 
(ii) MSM meeting the requirements of Chapter III, point 3(d). 
3. 
The raw material used to produce MSM must meet the following require­
ments. 
(a) It must comply with the requirements for fresh meat; 
(b) The following material must not be used to produce MSM: 
(i) for poultry, the feet, neckskin and head; 
and 
(ii) for other animals, the bones of the head, feet, tails, femur, tibia, 
fibula, humerus, radius and ulna. 

## Chapter Iii: Hygiene During And After Production

Food business operators producing minced meat, meat preparations or MSM 
must ensure compliance with the following requirements. 

1. 
The work on meat must be organised in such a way as to prevent or 
minimise contamination. To this end, food business operators must ensure 
in particular that the meat used is: 
(a) at a temperature of not more than 4 °C for poultry, 3 °C for offal and 
7 °C for other meat; 
and 
 
(b) brought into the preparation room progressively as needed. 
2. 
The following requirements apply to the production of minced meat and 
meat preparations. 
(a) Unless the competent authority authorises boning immediately before 
mincing, frozen or deep-frozen meat used for the preparation of minced meat or meat preparations must be boned before freezing. It 
may be stored only for a limited period. 
(b) When prepared from chilled meat, minced meat must be prepared: 
(i) in the case of poultry, within no more than three days of their 
slaughter; 
(ii) in the case of animal other than poultry, within no more than six 
days of their slaughter; 
or 
(iii) within no more than 15 days from the slaughter of the animals in 
the case of boned, vacuum-packed beef and veal. 
(c) Immediately after production, minced meat and meat preparations must 
be wrapped or packaged and be: 
(i) chilled to an internal temperature of not more than 2 °C for minced 
meat and 4 °C for meat preparations; 
or 
(ii) frozen to an internal temperature of not more than -18 °C. 
These temperature conditions must be maintained during storage and transport. 

3. 
The following requirements apply to the production and use of MSM 
produced using techniques that do not alter the structure of the bones used in the production of MSM and the calcium content of which is not 
significantly higher than that of minced meat. 
(a) Raw material for deboning from an on-site slaughterhouse must be no 
more than seven days old; otherwise, raw material for deboning must be no more than five days old. However, poultry carcases must be no more 
than three days old. 
(b) Mechanical separation must take place immediately after deboning. 
(c) If not used immediately after being obtained, MSM must be wrapped or 
packaged and then chilled to a temperature of not more than 2 °C or frozen to an internal temperature of not more than –18 °C. These temperature requirements must be maintained during storage and 
transport. 
(d) If the food business operator has carried out analyses demonstrating that 
MSM complies with the microbiological criteria for minced meat adopted in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 it may be used in meat preparations that are clearly not intended to be consumed 
without first undergoing heat treatment and in meat products. 
(e) MSM not shown to comply with the criteria referred to in (d) may be 
used only to manufacture heat-treated meat products in establishments 
approved in accordance with this Regulation. 
4. 
The following requirements apply to the production and use of MSM 
produced using techniques other than those mentioned in point 3. 
(a) Raw material for deboning from an on-site slaughterhouse must be no 
more than seven days old; otherwise, raw material for deboning must be no more than five days old. However, poultry carcases must be no more 
than three days old. 
(b) If mechanical separation does not take place immediately after deboning 
the flesh-bearing bones must be stored and transported at a temperature of not more than 2 °C or, if frozen, at a temperature of not more than 
-18 °C. 
(c) Flesh-bearing bones obtained from frozen carcases must not be refrozen. 
(d) If not used within one hour of being obtained, MSM must be chilled 
immediately to a temperature of not more than 2 °C. 
(e) If, after chilling, MSM is not processed within 24 hours, it must be 
frozen within 12 hours of production and reach an internal temperature 
of not more than –18 °C within six hours. 
(f) Frozen MSM must be wrapped or packaged before storage or transport, 
must not be stored for more than three months and must be maintained 
at a temperature of not more than –18 °C during storage and transport. 
(g) MSM may be used only to manufacture heat-treated meat products in 
establishments approved in accordance with this Regulation. 
5. 
Minced meat, meat preparations and MSM must not be re-frozen after 
thawing. 

## Chapter Iv: Labelling

1. 
In addition to the requirements of Directive 2000/13/EC ( 
1 
), food business 
operators must ensure compliance with the requirement of point 2 if, and to the extent that, national rules in the Member State in the territory of which 
the product is placed on the market so require. 
2. 
Packages intended for supply to the final consumer containing minced meat 
from poultry or solipeds or meat preparations containing MSM must bear a 
notice indicating that such products should be cooked before consumption. 

## Section Vi: Meat Products

1. 
Food business operators must ensure that the following items are not used in 
the preparation of meat products: 
(a) genital organs of either female or male animals, except testicles; 
(b) urinary organs, except the kidneys and the bladder; 
(c) the cartilage of the larynx, the trachea and the extra-lobular bronchi; 
(d) eyes and eyelids; 
(e) the external auditory meatus; 
(f) horn tissue; 
and 
(g) in poultry, the head - except the comb and the ears, the wattles and 
caruncles - the oesophagus, the crop, the intestines and the genital 
organs. 
2. 
All meat, including minced meat and meat preparations, used to produce 
meat product must meet the requirements for fresh meat. However, minced meat and meat preparations used to produce meat products need not satisfy 
other specific requirements of Section V. 

## Section Vii: Live Bivalve Molluscs

▼M9 
1. 
This Section applies to live bivalve molluscs. With the exception of the 
provisions on purification, it also applies to live echinoderms, live tunicates and live marine gastropods. Provisions on classification of production areas set out in Chapter II part A of that Section do not apply 
to marine gastropods which are not filter feeders. 
▼C1 
2. 
Chapters I to VIII apply to animals harvested from production areas that the 
competent authority has classified in accordance with Regulation (EC) 
No 854/2004. Chapter IX applies to pectinidae harvested outside those areas. 
3. 
Chapters V, VI, VIII and IX, and point 3 of Chapter VII, apply to retail. 
4. 
The requirements of this Section supplement those laid down in Regulation 
(EC) No 852/2004: 
(a) In the case of operations that take place before live bivalve molluscs 
arrive at a dispatch or purification centre, they supplement the 
requirements of Annex I to that Regulation. 
(b) In the case of other operations, they supplement the requirements of 
Annex II to that Regulation. 

## Chapter I: General Requirements For The Placing On The Market Of Live Bivalve Molluscs

1. 
Live bivalve molluscs may not be placed on the market for retail sale 
otherwise than via a dispatch centre, where an identification mark must be 
applied in accordance with Chapter VII. 
2. 
Food business operators may accept batches of live bivalve molluscs only if 
the documentary requirements set out in points 3 to 7 have been complied 
with. 
3. 
Whenever a food business operator moves a batch of live bivalve molluscs 
between establishments, up to and including the arrival of the batch at a dispatch centre or processing establishment, a registration document must 
accompany the batch. 
4. 
The registration document must be in at least one official language of the 
Member State in which the receiving establishment is located and contain at 
least the information specified below. 
(a) In the case of a batch of live bivalve molluscs sent from a production 
area, the registration document must contain at least the following 
information: 
(i) the gatherer's identity and address; 
(ii) the date of harvesting; 
(iii) the location of the production area described in as precise detail as 
is practicable or by a code number; 
(iv) the health status of the production area; 
(v) the shellfish species and quantity; 
and 
(vi) the destination of the batch. 
(b) In the case of a batch of live bivalve molluscs sent from a relaying area, 
the registration document must contain at least the information referred 
to in (a) and the following information: 
(i) the location of the relaying area; 
and 

(ii) the duration of relaying. 
(c) In the case of a batch of live bivalve molluscs sent from a purification 
centre, the registration document must contain at least the information 
referred to in (a) and the following information: 
(i) the address of the purification centre; 
(ii) the duration of purification; 
and 

(iii) the dates on which the batch entered and left the purification centre. 
5. 
Food business operators sending batches of live bivalve molluscs must 
complete the relevant sections of the registration document so that they are easy to read and cannot be altered. Food business operators receiving batches must date-stamp the document on receipt of the batch or record the 
date of receipt in another manner. 
6. 
Food business operators must keep a copy of the registration document 
relating to each batch sent and received for at least twelve months after its dispatch or receipt (or such longer period as the competent authority 
may specify). 
7. 
However, if: 
(a) the staff gathering live bivalve molluscs also operate the dispatch centre, 
purification centre, relaying area or processing establishment receiving 
the live bivalve molluscs; 
and 
(b) a single competent authority supervises all the establishments concerned, registration documents are not necessary if that competent authority so permits. 

## Chapter Ii: Hygiene Requirements For The Production And Harvesting Of Live Bivalve Molluscs A. Requirements For Production Areas

1. 
Gatherers may only harvest live bivalve molluscs from production areas 
with fixed locations and boundaries that the competent authority has classified - where appropriate, in cooperation with food business operators - as being of class A, B or C in accordance with Regulation 
(EC) No 854/2004. 
2. 
Food business operators may place live bivalve molluscs collected from 
class A production areas on the market for direct human consumption 
only if they meet the requirements of Chapter V. 
3. 
Food business operators may place live bivalve molluscs collected from 
class B production areas on the market for human consumption only 
after treatment in a purification centre or after relaying. 
4. 
Food business operators may place live bivalve molluscs collected from 
class C production areas on the market for human consumption only after relaying over a long period in accordance with Part C of this 
Chapter. 
5. 
After purification or relaying, live bivalve molluscs from class B or C 
production areas must meet all of the requirements of Chapter V. However, live bivalve molluscs from such areas that have not been submitted for purification or relaying may be sent to a processing establishment, where they must undergo treatment to eliminate pathogenic micro-organisms (where appropriate, after removal of sand, mud or slime in the same or another establishment). The permitted 
treatment methods are: 
(a) sterilisation in hermetically sealed containers; 
and 
(b) heat treatments involving: 

(i) immersion in boiling water for the period required to raise the 
internal temperature of the mollusc flesh to not less than 90 °C and maintenance of this minimum temperature for a period of 
not less than 90 seconds; 
(ii) cooking for three to five minutes in an enclosed space where 
the temperature is between 120 and 160 °C and the pressure is between 2 and 5 kg/cm 
2 
, followed by shelling and freezing of 
the flesh to a core temperature of - 20 °C; 
and 

(iii) steaming under pressure in an enclosed space satisfying the 
requirements relating to cooking time and the internal temperature of the mollusc flesh mentioned under (i). A validated methodology must be used. Procedures based on the HACCP principles must be in place to verify the uniform 
distribution of heat. 
6. 
Food business operators must not produce live bivalve molluscs in, or 
harvest them from, areas that the competent authority has not classified, or which are unsuitable for health reasons. Food business operators must take account of any relevant information concerning areas' suitability for production and harvesting, including information obtained from ownchecks and the competent authority. They must use this information, particularly information on environmental and weather conditions, to 
determine the appropriate treatment to apply to harvested batches. 

## B. Requirements For Harvesting And Handling Following Harvesting

Food business operators harvesting live bivalve molluscs, or handling them immediately after harvesting, must ensure compliance with the following requirements. 

1. 
Harvesting techniques and further handling must not cause additional 
contamination or excessive damage to the shells or tissues of the live bivalve molluscs or result in changes significantly affecting their suit­ ability for treatment by purification, processing or relaying. Food 
business operators must in particular: 
(a) adequately protect live bivalve molluscs from crushing, abrasion or 
vibration; 
(b) not expose live bivalve molluscs to extreme temperatures; 
(c) not re-immerse live bivalve molluscs in water that could cause 
additional contamination; 
and 

(d) if carrying out conditioning in natural sites, use only areas that the 
competent authority has classified as being of class A. 
2. 
Means of transport must permit adequate drainage, be equipped to 
ensure the best survival conditions possible and provide efficient 
protection against contamination. 

## C. Requirements For Relaying Live Bivalve Molluscs

Food business operators relaying live bivalve molluscs must ensure compliance with the following requirements. 

1. 
Food business operators may use only those areas that the competent 
authority has approved for relaying live bivalve molluscs. Buoys, poles or other fixed means must clearly identify the boundaries of the sites. There must be a minimum distance between relaying areas, and also between relaying areas and production areas, so as to minimise any risk 
of the spread of contamination. 
2. 
Conditions for relaying must ensure optimal conditions for purification. 
In particular, food business operators must: 
(a) use techniques for handling live bivalve molluscs intended for 
relaying that permit the resumption of filter-feeding activity after 
immersion in natural waters; 
(b) not relay live bivalve molluscs at a density that prevents purifi­
cation; 
(c) immerse live bivalve molluscs in seawater at the relaying area for 
an appropriate period, fixed depending on the water temperature, which period must be of at least two months' duration unless the competent authority agrees to a shorter period on the basis of the 
food business operator's risk analysis; 
and 

(d) ensure sufficient separation of sites within a relaying area to 
prevent mixing of batches; the 'all in, all out' system must be used, so that a new batch cannot be brought in before the whole 
of the previous batch has been removed. 
3. 
Food business operators managing relaying areas must keep permanent 
records of the source of live bivalve molluscs, relaying periods, relaying areas used and the subsequent destination of the batch after 
relaying, for inspection by the competent authority. 

## Chapter Iii: Structural Requirements For Dispatch And Purification Centres

1. 
The location of premises on land must not be subject to flooding by ordinary 
high tides or run-off from surrounding areas. 
2. 
Tanks and water storage containers must meet the following requirements: 
(a) Internal surfaces must be smooth, durable, impermeable and easy to 
clean. 
(b) They must be constructed so as to allow complete draining of water. 
(c) Any water intake must be situated in a position that avoids contami­
nation of the water supply. 
3. 
In addition, in purification centres, purification tanks must be suitable for the 
volume and type of products to be purified. 

## Chapter Iv: Hygiene Requirements For Purification And Dispatch Centres A. Requirements For Purification Centres

Food business operators purifying live bivalve molluscs must ensure compliance with the following requirements. 

1. 
Before purification commences, live bivalve molluscs must be washed 
free of mud and accumulated debris using clean water. 
2. 
Operation of the purification system must allow live bivalve molluscs 
rapidly to resume and to maintain filter-feeding activity, to eliminate sewage contamination, not to become re-contaminated and to be able to remain alive in a suitable condition after purification for wrapping, 
storage and transport before being placed on the market. 
3. 
The quantity of live bivalve molluscs to be purified must not exceed the 
capacity of the purification centre. The live bivalve molluscs must be continuously purified for a period sufficient to achieve compliance with allow the health standards of Chapter V and microbiological criteria 
adopted in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. 
4. 
Should a purification tank contain several batches of live bivalve 
molluscs, they must be of the same species and the length of the treatment must be based on the time required by the batch needing 
the longest period of purification. 
5. 
Containers used to hold live bivalve molluscs in purification systems 
must have a construction that allows clean seawater to flow through. The depth of layers of live bivalve molluscs must not impede the 
opening of shells during purification. 
6. 
No crustaceans, fish or other marine species may be kept in a purifi­
cation tank in which live bivalve molluscs are undergoing purification. 
7. 
Every package containing purified live bivalve molluscs sent to a 
dispatch centre must be provided with a label certifying that all 
molluscs have been purified. 

## B. Requirements For Dispatch Centres

Food business operators operating dispatch centres must ensure compliance with the following requirements. 

1. 
Handling of live bivalve molluscs, particularly conditioning, calibration, 
wrapping and packing, must not cause contamination of the product or 
affect the viability of the molluscs. 
2. 
Before dispatch, the shells of live bivalve molluscs must be washed 
thoroughly with clean water. 
3. 
Live bivalve molluscs must come from: 
(a) a class A production area; 
(b) a relaying area; 
(c) a purification centre; 
or 
(d) another dispatch centre. 
4. 
The requirements laid down in points 1 and 2 also apply to dispatch 
centres situated on board vessels. Molluscs handled in such centres must 
come from a class A production area or a relaying area. 

## Chapter V: Health Standards For Live Bivalve Molluscs

In addition to ensuring compliance with microbiological criteria adopted in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, food business operators must ensure that live bivalve molluscs placed on the market for human consumption meet the standards laid down in this Chapter. 

1. 
They must have organoleptic characteristics associated with freshness and 
viability, including shells free of dirt, an adequate response to percussion and 
normal amounts of intravalvular liquid. 
2. 
They must not contain marine biotoxins in total quantities (measured in the 
whole body or any part edible separately) that exceed the following limits: 
(a) for paralytic shellfish poison (PSP), 800 micrograms per kilogram; 
(b) for amnesic shellfish poison (ASP), 20 milligrams of domoic acid per 
kilogram; 
(c) for okadaic acid, dinophysistoxins and pectenotoxins together, 160 
micrograms of okadaic acid equivalents per kilogram; 

## ▼M14 (D) For Yessotoxins, 3,75 Milligrams Of Yessotoxin Equivalent Per Kilogram; ▼C1 And

(e) for azaspiracids, 160 micrograms of azaspiracid equivalents per 
kilogram. 

## Chapter Vi: Wrapping And Packaging Of Live Bivalve Molluscs

1. 
Oysters must be wrapped or packaged with the concave shell downwards. 
▼M9 
2. 
All packages of live bivalve molluscs leaving dispatch centres or destined 
for another dispatch centre, must be closed. Packages of live bivalve molluscs, intended for direct retail sale, must remain closed until they are 
presented for sale to the final consumer. 

## ▼C1 Chapter Vii: Identification Marking And Labelling

1. 
The label, including the identification mark, must be waterproof. 
2. 
In addition to the general requirements for identification marks contained in 
Annex II, Section I, the following information must be present on the label: 
(a) the species of bivalve mollusc (common name and scientific name); 
and 
(b) the date of packaging, comprising at least the day and the month. 

By way of derogation from Directive 2000/13/EC, the date of minimum durability may be replaced by the entry 'these animals must be alive when sold'. 

3. 
The retailer must keep the label attached to the packaging of live bivalve 
molluscs that are not in individual consumer-size packages for at least 60 
days after splitting up the contents. 

## Chapter Viii: Other Requirements

1. 
Food business operators storing and transporting live bivalve molluscs must 
ensure that they are kept at a temperature that does not adversely affect food 
safety or their viability. 
2. 
Live bivalve molluscs must not be re-immersed in, or sprayed with, water 
after they have been packaged for retail sale and left the dispatch centre. 

## ▼M9 Chapter Ix: Specific Requirements For Pectinidae And Marine Gastropods Which Are Not Filter Feeders Harvested Outside Classified Production Areas

Food business operators harvesting pectinidae and marine gastropods, which are not filter feeders, outside classified production areas or handling such pectinidae and/or such marine gastropods must comply with the following requirements: 

1. 
Pectinidae and marine gastropods, which are not filter feeders, may not be 
placed on the market unless they are harvested and handled in accordance with Chapter II, Part B, and meet the standards laid down in Chapter V, as 
proved by a system of own-checks. 
2. 
In addition, where data from official monitoring programmes enable the 
competent authority to classify fishing grounds - where appropriate, in cooperation with food business operators - the provisions of Chapter II, 
Part A, apply by analogy to pectinidae 
3. 
Pectinidae and marine gastropods, which are not filter feeders, may not be 
placed on the market for human consumption otherwise than via a fish auction, a dispatch centre or a processing establishment. When they handle pectinidae and/or such marine gastropods, food business operators operating such establishments must inform the competent authority and, as regards dispatch centres, comply with the relevant requirements of Chapters 
III and IV. 
4. 
Food business operators handling pectinidae and live marine gastropods, 
which are not filter feeders, must comply: 
(a) with the documentary requirements of Chapter I, points 3 to 7, where 
applicable. In this case, the registration document must clearly indicate the location of the area where the pectinidae and/or live marine 
gastropods were harvested; or 
(b) with the requirements of Chapter VI, point 2 concerning the closing of 
all packages of live pectinidae and live marine gastropods dispatched for retail sale and Chapter VII concerning identification marking and 
labelling. 
▼M9 
1. 
This Section does not apply to bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and 
marine gastropods if they are still alive when placed on the market. With the exception of Chapters I and II, it applies to such animals when not placed on the market live, in which case they must have been obtained in accordance 
with Section VII. 
It applies to thawed unprocessed fishery products and fresh fishery products to which food additives have been added in accordance with the appropriate Union legislation. 

▼M6 
2. 
Chapter III, Parts A, C and D, Chapter IV, Part A and Chapter V apply to 
retail. 
▼C1 
3. 
The requirements of this Section supplement those laid down in Regulation 
(EC) No 852/2004: 
(a) In the case of establishments, including vessels, engaged in primary 
production and associated operations they supplement the requirements 
of Annex I to that Regulation. 
(b) In the case of other establishments, including vessels, they supplement 
the requirements of Annex II to that Regulation. 
▼M6 
(c) In the case of water supply, they supplement the requirements of Annex 
II, Chapter VII to that Regulation; clean seawater may be used for the handling and washing of fishery products, the production of ice used to chill fishery products and the rapid cooling of crustaceans and molluscs 
after their cooking. 
▼M5 
By way of derogation from point (a), point 7 of Part A of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 may not apply to operators engaged in small-scale coastal fishing within the meaning of Article 26(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006 ( 
1 
), and carrying out their activities only for short periods of less than 24 hours. 

## ▼C1 4. In Relation To Fishery Products:

(a) primary production covers the farming, fishing and collection of live 
fishery products with a view to their being placed on the market; 
and 

(b) associated operations cover any of the following operations, if carried 
out on board fishing vessels: slaughter, bleeding, heading, gutting, 
removing fins, refrigeration and wrapping; they also include: 
1. 
the transport and storage of fishery products the nature of which has 
not been substantially altered, including live fishery products, within 
fish farms on land; 
and 

2. 
the transport of fishery products the nature of which has not been 
substantially altered, including live fishery products, from the place 
of production to the first establishment of destination. 

## Chapter I: Requirements For Vessels

Food business operators must ensure that: 

1. 
vessels used to harvest fishery products from their natural environment, or to 
handle or process them after harvesting, comply with the structural and 
equipment requirements laid down in Part I; 
and 

2. 
operations carried out on board vessels take place in accordance with the 
rules laid down in Part II. 

## I. Structural And Equipment Requirements A. **Requirements For All Vessels**

1. 
Vessels must be designed and constructed so as not to cause 
contamination of the products with bilge-water, sewage, smoke, 
fuel, oil, grease or other objectionable substances. 
2. 
Surfaces with which fishery products come into contact must be of 
suitable corrosion-resistant material that is smooth and easy to 
clean. Surface coatings must be durable and non-toxic. 
3. 
Equipment and material used for working on fishery products must 
be made of corrosion-resistant material that is easy to clean and 
disinfect. 
4. 
When vessels have a water intake for water used with fishery 
products, it must be situated in a position that avoids contamination 
of the water supply. 
B. Requirements for vessels designed and equipped to preserve fresh 
fishery products for more than 24 hours 
1. 
Vessels designed and equipped to preserve fishery products for 
more than 24 hours must be equipped with holds, tanks or containers for the storage of fishery products at the temperatures 
laid down in Chapter VII. 
2. 
Holds must be separated from the engine compartments and from 
the crew quarters by partitions which are sufficient to prevent any contamination of the stored fishery products. Holds and containers used for the storage of fishery products must ensure their preser­ vation under satisfactory conditions of hygiene and, where necessary, ensure that melt water does not remain in contact with 
the products. 
3. 
In vessels equipped for chilling fishery products in cooled clean 
seawater, tanks must incorporate devices for achieving a uniform temperature throughout the tanks. Such devices must achieve a chilling rate that ensures that the mix of fish and clean seawater reaches not more than 3 °C six hours after loading and not more than 0 °C after 16 hours and allow the monitoring and, where 
necessary, recording of temperatures. 

## C. **Requirements For Freezer Vessels**

Freezer vessels must: 

 
1. 
have freezing equipment with sufficient capacity to lower the 
temperature rapidly so as to achieve a core temperature of not 
more than -18 °C; 
2. 
have refrigeration equipment with sufficient capacity to maintain 
fishery products in the storage holds at not more than -18 °C. Storage holds must be equipped with a temperature-recording 
device in a place where it can be easily read. The temperature sensor of the reader must be situated in the area where the 
temperature in the hold is the highest; 
and 

3. 
meet the requirements for vessels designed and equipped to 
preserve fishery products for more than 24 hours laid down in 
Part B, point 2. 

## D. **Requirements For Factory Vessels**

1. 
Factory vessels must have at least: 
(a) a receiving area reserved for taking fishery products on board, 
designed to allow each successive catch to be separated. This area must be easy to clean and designed so as to protect the products from the sun or the elements and from any source of 
contamination; 
(b) a hygienic system for conveying fishery products from the 
receiving area to the work area; 
(c) work areas that are large enough for the hygienic preparation 
and processing of fishery products, easy to clean and disinfect and designed and arranged in such a way as to prevent any 
contamination of the products; 
(d) storage areas for the finished products that are large enough and 
designed so that they are easy to clean. If a waste-processing unit operates on board, a separate hold must be designated for 
the storage of such waste; 
(e) a place for storing packaging materials that is separate from the 
product preparation and processing areas; 
(f) special equipment for disposing waste or fishery products that 
are unfit for human consumption directly into the sea or, where circumstances so require, into a watertight tank reserved for that purpose. If waste is stored and processed on board with a view to its sanitation, separate areas must be allocated for that 
purpose; 
(g) a water intake situated in a position that avoids contamination 
of the water supply; 
and 

(h) hand-washing equipment for use by the staff engaged in 
handling exposed fishery products with taps designed to 
prevent the spread of contamination. 
2. 
However, factory vessels on board which crustaceans and molluscs 
are cooked, chilled and wrapped, need not meet the requirements of point 1 if no other form of handling or processing takes place on 
board such vessels. 
3. 
Factory vessels that freeze fishery products must have equipment 
meeting the requirements for freezer vessels laid down in Part C, 
points 1 and 2. 

## Ii. Hygiene Requirements

1. 
When in use, the parts of vessels or containers set aside for the storage 
of fishery products must be kept clean and maintained in good repair and condition. In particular, they must not be contaminated by fuel or 
bilge water. 
2. 
As soon as possible after they are taken on board, fishery products must 
be protected from contamination and from the effects of the sun or any 
other source of heat. **►M6** __________ ◄ 
3. 
Fishery products must be handled and stored so as to prevent bruising. 
Handlers may use spiked instruments to move large fish or fish which might injure them, provided that the flesh of the products suffers no 
damage. 
4. 
Fishery products other than those kept alive must undergo chilling as 
soon as possible after loading. However, when chilling is not possible, 
fishery products must be landed as soon as possible. 

## ▼M6 __________

6. 
Where fish are headed and/or gutted on board, such operations must be 
carried out hygienically as soon as possible after capture, and the products must be washed immediately and thoroughly. In that event, the viscera and parts that may constitute a danger to public health must be removed as soon as possible and kept apart from products intended for human consumption. Livers and roes intended for human consumption must be preserved under ice, at a temperature approaching 
that of melting ice, or be frozen. 
▼C1 
7. 
Where freezing in brine of whole fish intended for canning is practised, 
a temperature of not more than - 9 °C must be achieved for the product. 
The brine must not be a source of contamination for the fish. 

## Chapter Ii: Requirements During And After Landing

1. 
Food business operators responsible for the unloading and landing of fishery 
products must: 
(a) ensure that unloading and landing equipment that comes into contact 
with fishery products is constructed of material that is easy to clean and 
disinfect and maintained in a good state of repair and cleanliness; 
and 

(b) avoid contamination of fishery products during unloading and landing, 
in particular by: 
(i) carrying out unloading and landing operations rapidly; 
(ii) placing fishery products without delay in a protected environment at 
the temperature specified in Chapter VII; 
and 

(iii) not using equipment and practices that cause unnecessary damage 
to the edible parts of the fishery products. 
2. 
Food business operators responsible for auction and wholesale markets or 
parts thereof where fishery products are displayed for sale must ensure 
compliance with the following requirements. 
(a) (i) There must be lockable facilities for the refrigerated storage of 
detained fishery products and separate lockable facilities for the 
storage of fishery products declared unfit for human consumption. 
(ii) If the competent authority so requires, there must be an adequately 
equipped lockable facility or, where needed, room for the exclusive 
use of the competent authority. 
(b) At the time of display or storage of fishery products: 
(i) the premises must not be used for other purposes; 
(ii) vehicles emitting exhaust fumes likely to impair the quality of 
fishery products must not have access to the premises; 
(iii) persons having access to the premises must not introduce other 
animals; 
and 
(iv) the premises must be well lit to facilitate official controls. 
3. 
When chilling was not possible on board the vessel, fresh fishery products, 
other than those kept alive, must undergo chilling as soon as possible after 
landing and be stored at a temperature approaching that of melting ice. 
4. 
Food business operators must cooperate with relevant competent authorities 
so as to permit them to carry out official controls in accordance with Regu­ lation (EC) No 854/2004, in particular as regards any notification procedures for the landing of fishery products that the competent authority of the Member State the flag of which the vessel is flying or the competent authority of the Member State where the fishery products are landed 
might consider necessary. 

## Chapter Iii: Requirements For Establishments, Including Vessels, Handling Fishery Products

Food business operators must ensure compliance with the following require­
ments, where relevant, in establishments handling fishery products. 

## A. Requirements For Fresh Fishery Products

1. 
Where chilled, unpackaged products are not distributed, dispatched, 
prepared or processed immediately after reaching an establishment on land, they must be stored under ice in appropriate facilities. Re-icing must be carried out as often as necessary. Packaged fresh fishery products must be chilled to a temperature approaching that of melting 
ice. 
▼M6 
2. 
Operations such as heading and gutting must be carried out hygieni­
cally. Where gutting is possible from a technical and commercial view­ point, it must be carried out as quickly as possible after the products have been caught or landed. The products must be washed thoroughly 
immediately after these operations. 

▼C1 
3. 
Operations such as filleting and cutting must be carried out so as to 
avoid contamination or spoilage of fillets and slices. Fillets and slices must not remain on the worktables beyond the time necessary for their preparation. Fillets and slices must be wrapped and, where necessary, packaged and must be chilled as quickly as possible after their prep­
aration. 
4. 
Containers used for the dispatch or storage of unpackaged prepared 
fresh fishery products stored under ice must ensure that melt water 
does not remain in contact with the products. 
5. 
Whole and gutted fresh fishery products may be transported and stored 
in cooled water on board vessels. They may also continue to be trans­ ported in cooled water after landing, and be transported from aqua­ culture establishments, until they arrive at the first establishment on 
land carrying out any activity other than transport or sorting. 

## ▼C1 B. Requirements For Frozen Products

Establishments on land that freeze fishery products must have equipment that satisfies the requirements laid down for freezer vessels in Section VIII, Chapter I, part I. C, points 1 and 2. 

## C. Requirements For Mechanically Separated Fishery Products

Food business operators manufacturing mechanically separated fishery products must ensure compliance with the following requirements. 

1. 
The raw materials used must satisfy the following requirements. 
(a) Only whole fish and bones after filleting may be used to produce 
mechanically separated fishery products; 
(b) All raw materials must be free from guts. 
2. 
The manufacturing process must satisfy the following requirements: 
(a) Mechanical separation must take place without undue delay after 
filleting. 
(b) If whole fish are used, they must be gutted and washed beforehand. 
(c) After production, mechanically separated fishery products must be 
frozen as quickly as possible or incorporated in a product intended 
for freezing or a stabilising treatment. 

## ▼M11 D. Requirements Concerning Parasites

1. Food business operators placing on the market the following fishery 
products derived from finfish or cephalopod molluscs: 
(a) fishery products intended to be consumed raw; or 

(b) marinated, salted and any other treated fishery products, if the 
treatment is insufficient to kill the viable parasite; 
must ensure that the raw material or finished product undergo a freezing treatment in order to kill viable parasites that may be a risk to the health of the consumer. 

2. For parasites other than trematodes the freezing treatment must consist of 
lowering the temperature in all parts of the product to at least: 
(a) - 20 °C for not less than 24 hours; or 
(b) - 35 °C for not less than 15 hours. 
3. Food business operators need not carry out the freezing treatment set out 
in point 1 for fishery products: 
(a) that have undergone, or are intended to undergo before consumption 
a heat treatment that kills the viable parasite. In the case of parasites other than trematodes the product is heated to a core temperature of 
60 °C or more for at least one minute; 
(b) that have been preserved as frozen fishery products for a sufficiently 
long period to kill the viable parasites; 
(c) from wild catches, provided that: 
(i) there are epidemiological data available indicating that the fishing 
grounds of origin do not present a health hazard with regard to 
the presence of parasites; and 
(ii) the competent authority so authorises; 
(d) derived from fish farming, cultured from embryos and have been fed 
exclusively on a diet that cannot contain viable parasites that present a health hazard, and one of the following requirements is complied 
with: 
(i) have been exclusively reared in an environment that is free from 
viable parasites; or 
(ii) the food business operator verifies through procedures, approved 
by the competent authority, that the fishery products do not represent a health hazard with regard to the presence of viable 
parasites. 
4. (a) When placing on the market, except when supplied to the final 
consumer, fishery products referred to in point 1 must be accom­ panied by a document issued by the food business operator performing the freezing treatment, stating the type of freezing 
treatment that the products have undergone. 
(b) Before placing on the market fishery products referred to in points 
3(c) and (d) which have not undergone the freezing treatment or which are not intended to undergo before consumption a treatment that kills viable parasites that present a health hazard, a food business operator must ensure that the fishery products originate from a fishing ground or fish farming which complies with the specific conditions referred to in one of those points. This provision may be met by information in the commercial document or by any other information 
accompanying the fishery products. 

## ▼M6 __________ Chapter Iv: Requirements For Certain Processed Fishery Products

Food business operators must ensure compliance with the following requirements in establishments handling certain processed fishery products. 

## A. Requirements For Cooking Of Crustaceans And Molluscs

1. Rapid cooling must follow cooking. If no other method of preservation is 
used, cooling must continue until a temperature approaching that of 
melting ice is reached. 
2. Shelling or shucking must be carried out hygienically, avoiding contami­
nation of the product. Where such operations are done by hand, workers 
must pay particular attention to washing their hands. 
3. After shelling or shucking, cooked products must be frozen immediately, 
or be chilled as soon as possible to the temperature set out in Chapter 
VII. 

## B. Requirements For Fish Oil Intended For Human Consumption

1. Raw materials used in the preparation of fish oil for human consumption 
must: 
(a) come from establishments, including vessels, registered or approved 
pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 or in accordance with this 
Regulation; 
(b) derive from fishery products which are fit for human consumption 
and which comply with the provisions set out in this Section; 
(c) be transported and stored in hygienic conditions; 
(d) be chilled as soon as possible and remain at the temperatures set out 
in Chapter VII. 
By way of derogation from point 1(d), the food business operator may refrain from chilling the fishery products when whole fishery products are used directly in the preparation of fish oil for human consumption, and the raw material is processed within 36 hours after loading, provided that the freshness criteria are met and the total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB- N) value of the unprocessed fishery products do not exceed the limits set out in point 1 of Chapter I of Section II of Annex II to Commission Regulation (EC) No 2074/2005 ( 
1 
). 

2. The production process for fish oil must ensure that all raw material 
intended for the production of crude fish oil is subject to a treatment including, where relevant, heating, pressing, separation, centrifugation, processing, refining and purification steps before being placed on the 
market for the final consumer. 
3. Provided that the raw materials and the production process comply with 
the requirements applying to fish oil intended for human consumption a food business operator may produce and store both fish oil for human consumption and fish oil and fish meal not intended for human 
consumption in the same establishment. 
4. Pending the establishment of specific Community legislation food 
business operators must ensure compliance with national rules for fish 
oil being placed on the market for the final consumer. 

## ▼C1 Chapter V: Health Standards For Fishery Products

In addition to ensuring compliance with microbiological criteria adopted in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, food business operators must ensure, depending on the nature of the product or the species, that fishery products placed on the market for human consumption meet the standards laid down in this Chapter. **►M6** The requirements of Parts B and D shall not apply to whole fishery products that are used directly for the preparation of fish oil intended for human consumption. ◄ 

## A. Organoleptic Properties Of Fishery Products

Food business operators must carry out an organoleptic examination of fishery products. In particular, this examination must ensure that fishery products comply with any freshness criteria. 

## B. Histamine

Food business operators must ensure that the limits with regard to histamine are not exceeded. 

## C. Total Volatile Nitrogen

Unprocessed fishery products must not be placed on the market if chemical tests reveal that the limits with regard to TVB-N or TMA-N have been exceeded. 

## D. Parasites

Food business operators must ensure that fishery products have been subjected to a visual examination for the purpose of detecting visible parasites before being placed on the market. They must not place fishery products that are obviously contaminated with parasites on the market for human consumption. 

## ▼C1 E. Toxins Harmful To Human Health

▼M6 
1. Fishery products derived from poisonous fish of the following families 
must not be placed on the market: Tetraodontidae, Molidae, Diodontidae 
and Canthigasteridae. 

Fresh, prepared, frozen and processed fishery products belonging to the 
family *Gempylidae*, in particular *Ruvettus pretiosus* and Lepidocybium 
flavobrunneum, may only be placed on the market in wrapped/packaged form and must be appropriately labelled to provide information to the consumer on preparation/cooking methods and on the risk related to the 
presence of substances with adverse gastrointestinal effects. 
The scientific name of the fishery products must accompany the common 
name on the label. 

▼C1 
2. Fishery products containing biotoxins such as ciguatoxin or muscle-para­
lysing toxins must not be placed on the market. However, fishery products derived from bivalve molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates and marine gastropods may be placed on the market if they have been produced in accordance with Section VII and comply with the 
standards laid down in Chapter V, point 2, of that section. 

## Chapter Vi: Wrapping And Packaging Of Fishery Products

1. 
Receptacles in which fresh fishery products are kept under ice must be 
water-resistant and ensure that melt-water does not remain in contact with 
the products. 
2. 
Frozen blocks prepared on board vessels must be adequately wrapped before 
landing. 
3. 
When fishery products are wrapped on board fishing vessels, food business 
operators must ensure that wrapping material: 
(a) is not a source of contamination; 
(b) is stored in such a manner that it is not exposed to a risk of contami­
nation; 
(c) intended for re-use is easy to clean and, where necessary, to disinfect. 

## Chapter Vii: Storage Of Fishery Products

Food business operators storing fishery products must ensure compliance with the following requirements. 

1. 
Fresh fishery products, thawed unprocessed fishery products, and cooked 
and chilled products from crustaceans and molluscs, must be maintained 
at a temperature approaching that of melting ice. 
▼M9 
2. 
Frozen fishery products must be kept at a temperature of not more than 
- 18 °C in all parts of the product; however, whole fish initially frozen in brine intended for the manufacture of canned food may be kept at a 
temperature of not more than - 9 °C. 
▼C1 
3. 
Fishery products kept alive must be kept at a temperature and in a manner 
that does not adversely affect food safety or their viability. 

## Chapter Viii: Transport Of Fishery Products

Food business operators transporting fishery products must ensure compliance with the following requirements. 

1. 
During transport, fishery products must be maintained at the required 
temperature. In particular: 
 
(a) fresh fishery products, thawed unprocessed fishery products, and cooked 
and chilled products from crustaceans and molluscs, must be maintained 
at a temperature approaching that of melting ice; 
(b) frozen fishery products, with the exception of whole fish initially frozen 
in brine intended for the manufacture of canned food, must be main­ tained during transport at an even temperature of not more than - 18 °C 
in all parts of the product, possibly with short upward fluctuations of not 
more than 3 °C. 
▼C1 
2. 
Food business operators need not comply with point 1(b) when frozen 
fishery products are transported from a cold store to an approved estab­ lishment to be thawed on arrival for the purposes of preparation and/or 
processing, if the journey is short and the competent authority so permits. 
3. 
If fishery products are kept under ice, melt water must not remain in contact 
with the products. 
4. 
Fishery products to be placed on the market live must be transported in such 
a way as not adversely to affect food safety or their viability. 

## ▼M3 Section Ix: Raw Milk, Colostrum, Dairy Products And Colostrum-Based Products

For the purpose of this Section, 

1. 
'Colostrum' means the fluid secreted by the mammary glands of milkproducing animals up to three to five days post parturition that is rich in 
antibodies and minerals, and precedes the production of raw milk. 
2. 
'Colostrum-based products' means processed products resulting from the 
processing of colostrum or from the further processing of such processed 
products. 

## Chapter I: Raw Milk And Colostrum - Primary Production

Food business operators producing or, as appropriate, collecting raw milk and colostrum must ensure compliance with the requirements laid down in this Chapter. 

## I. Health Requirements For Raw Milk And Colostrum Production

1. 
Raw milk and colostrum must come from animals: 
(a) that 
do 
not 
show 
any 
symptoms 
of 
infectious 
diseases 
communicable to humans through milk and colostrum; 
(b) that are in a good general state of health, present no sign of disease 
that might result in the contamination of milk and colostrum and, in particular, are not suffering from any infection of the genital tract with discharge, enteritis with diarrhoea and fever, or a recognisable 
inflammation of the udder; 
(c) that do not have any udder wound likely to affect the milk and 
colostrum; 
(d) to which no unauthorised substances or products have been admin­
istered and that have not undergone illegal treatment within the 
meaning of Directive 96/23/EC; 
(e) in respect of which, where authorised products or substances have 
been administered, the withdrawal periods prescribed for these 
products or substances have been observed. 
2. 
(a) In particular, as regards brucellosis, raw milk and colostrum must 
come from: 
(i) cows or buffaloes belonging to a herd which, within the 
meaning of Directive 64/432/EEC ( 
1 
), is free or officially free 
of brucellosis; 
(ii) sheep or goats belonging to a holding officially free or free of 
brucellosis within the meaning of Directive 91/68/EEC ( 
2 
); or 
(iii) females of other species belonging, for species susceptible to 
brucellosis, to herds regularly checked for that disease under a 
control plan that the competent authority has approved. 
(b) As regards tuberculosis, raw milk and colostrum must come from: 
(i) cows or buffaloes belonging to a herd which, within the 
meaning of Directive 64/432/EEC, is officially free of tubercu­
losis; or 
(ii) females of other species belonging, for species susceptible to 
tuberculosis, to herds regularly checked for this disease under a 
control plan that the competent authority has approved. 
(c) If goats are kept together with cows, such goats must be inspected 
and tested for tuberculosis. 
3. 
However, raw milk from animals that does not meet the requirements of 
point 2 may be used with the authorisation of the competent authority: 
(a) in the case of cows or buffaloes that do not show a positive reaction 
to tests for tuberculosis or brucellosis, nor any symptoms of these diseases, after having undergone a heat treatment such as to show a 
negative reaction to the alkaline phosphatase test; 
(b) in the case of sheep or goats that do not show a positive reaction to 
tests for brucellosis, or which have been vaccinated against brucellosis as part of an approved eradication programme, and 
which do not show any symptom of that disease, either: 
(i) for the manufacture of cheese with a maturation period of at 
least two months; or 
(ii) after having undergone heat treatment such as to show a 
negative reaction to the alkaline phosphatase test; and 
(c) in the case of females of other species that do not show a positive 
reaction to tests for tuberculosis or brucellosis, nor any symptoms of these diseases, but belong to a herd where brucellosis or tuber­ culosis has been detected after the checks referred to in point 
2(a)(iii) or 2(b)(ii), if treated to ensure its safety. 
4. 
Raw milk and colostrum from any animal not complying with the 
appropriate requirements of points 1 to 3, and in particular, any animal showing individually a positive reaction to the prophylactic 
tests vis-à-vis tuberculosis or brucellosis as laid down in Directive 64/432/EEC and Directive 91/68/EEC, must not be used for human 
consumption. 
5. 
The isolation of animals that are infected, or suspected of being 
infected, with any of the diseases referred to in point 1 or 2 must be effective to avoid any adverse effect on other animals' milk and 
colostrum. 

## Ii. Hygiene On Milk And Colostrum Production Holdings A. **Requirements For Premises And Equipment**

1. 
Milking equipment and premises where milk and colostrum are 
stored, handled or cooled must be located and constructed so as 
to limit the risk of contamination of milk and colostrum. 
2. 
Premises for the storage of milk and colostrum must be protected 
against vermin, have adequate separation from premises where animals are housed and, where necessary to meet the requirements 
laid down in Part B, have suitable refrigeration equipment. 
3. 
Surfaces of equipment that are intended to come into contact with 
milk and colostrum (utensils, containers, tanks, etc. intended for milking, collection or transport) must be easy to clean and, where necessary, disinfect and must be maintained in a sound condition. 
This requires the use of smooth, washable and non-toxic materials. 
4. 
After use, such surfaces must be cleaned and, where necessary, 
disinfected. After each journey, or after each series of journeys when the period of time between unloading and the following loading is very short, but in all cases at least once a day, containers and tanks used for the transport of milk and colostrum must be 
cleaned and disinfected in an appropriate manner before re-use. 

## B. **Hygiene During Milking, Collection And Transport**

1. 
Milking must be carried out hygienically, ensuring in particular: 

(a) that, before milking starts, the teats, udder and adjacent parts 
are clean; 

(b) that milk and colostrum from each animal is checked for orga­
noleptic or physico-chemical abnormalities by the milker or a method achieving similar results and that milk and colostrum presenting such abnormalities is not used for human 
consumption; 
(c) that milk and colostrum from animals showing clinical signs of 
udder disease are not used for human consumption otherwise 
than in accordance with the instructions of a veterinarian; 
(d) the identification of animals undergoing medical treatment 
likely to transfer residues to the milk and colostrum, and that milk and colostrum obtained from such animals before the end of the prescribed withdrawal period are not used for human 
consumption; and 
(e) that teat dips or sprays are used only after authorisation or 
registration in accordance with the procedures laid down in Directive 98/8/EC of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 16 February 1998 concerning the placing of biocidal products on the market ( 
1 
): 
(f) that colostrum is milked separately and not mixed together with 
raw milk. 
2. 
Immediately after milking, milk and colostrum must be held in a 
clean place designed and equipped to avoid contamination. 
(a) Milk must be cooled immediately to not more than 8 o 
C in the 
case of daily collection, or not more than 6 o 
C if collection is 
not daily; 
(b) Colostrum must be stored separately and immediately cooled to 
not more than 8 o 
C in the case of daily collection, or not more 
than 6 o 
C if collection is not daily, or frozen. 
3. 
During transport the cold chain must be maintained and, on arrival 
at the establishment of destination, the temperature of the milk and 
the colostrum must not be more than 10 o 
C. 
4. 
Food business operators need not comply with the temperature 
requirements laid down in points 2 and 3 if the milk meets the 
criteria provided for in Part III and either: 
(a) the milk is processed within two hours of milking; or 
(b) a higher temperature is necessary for technological reasons 
related to the manufacture of certain dairy products and the 
competent authority so authorises. 

## C. **Staff Hygiene**

1. 
Persons performing milking and/or handling raw milk and 
colostrum must wear suitable clean clothes. 
2. 
Persons performing milking must maintain a high degree of 
personal cleanliness. Suitable facilities must be available near the place of milking to enable persons performing milking and handling 
raw milk and colostrum to wash their hands and arms. 

## Iii. Criteria For Raw Milk And Colostrum

1. 
(a) The following criteria for raw milk apply pending the establishment 
of standards in the context of more specific legislation on the 
quality of milk and dairy products. 
(b) National criteria for colostrum, as regards plate count, somatic cell 
count or antibiotic residues, apply pending the establishment of 
specific Community legislation. 
2. 
A representative number of samples of raw milk and colostrum 
collected from milk production holdings taken by random sampling must be checked for compliance with points 3 and 4 in case of raw milk and with the existing national criteria referred to in point 1(b) in 
case of colostrum. The checks may be carried out by, or on behalf of: 
(a) the food business operator producing the milk; 

(b) the food business operator collecting or processing the milk; 
(c) a group of food business operators; or 
(d) in the context of a national or regional control scheme. 
3. 
(a) Food business operators must initiate procedures to ensure that raw 
milk meets the following criteria: 
(i) for raw cows' milk: 

Plate count at 30 o 
C (per ml) 
≤ 100 000 (*) 
Somatic cell count (per ml) 
≤ 400 000 (**) 
(*) Rolling geometric average over a two-month period, with at least 
two samples per month. 
(**) Rolling geometric average over a three-month period, with at least 
one sample per month, unless the competent authority specifies another methodology to take account of seasonal variations in 
production levels. 

(ii) for raw milk from other species: 

Plate count at 30 o 
C (per ml) 
≤ 1 500 000 (*) 
(*) Rolling geometric average over a two-month period, with at least 
two samples per month. 

(b) However, if raw milk from species other than cows is intended for 
the manufacture of products made with raw milk by a process that does not involve any heat treatment, food business operators must take steps to ensure that the raw milk used meets the following criterion: 

Plate count at 30 o 
C (per ml) 
≤ 500 000 (*) 
(*) Rolling geometric average over a two-month period, with at least two 
samples per month. 

4. 
Without prejudice to Directive 96/23/EC, food business operators must 
initiate procedures to ensure that raw milk is not placed on the market if 
either: 
(a) it contains antibiotic residues in a quantity that, in respect of any one 
of the substances referred to in Annexes I and III to Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90 ( 
1 
), exceeds the levels authorised under that 
Regulation; or 
(b) the combined total of residues of antibiotic substances exceeds any 
maximum permitted value. 
5. 
When raw milk fails to comply with point 3 or 4, the food business 
operator must inform the competent authority and take measures to 
correct the situation. 

## Chapter Ii: Requirements Concerning Dairy And Colostrum-Based Products I. Temperature Requirements

1. 
Food business operators must ensure that, upon acceptance at a 
processing establishment, 
(a) milk is quickly cooled to not more than 6 o 
C; 
(b) colostrum is quickly cooled to not more than 6 o 
C or maintained 
frozen, 
and kept at that temperature until processed. 

2. 
However, food business operators may keep milk and colostrum at a 
higher temperature if: 
(a) processing begins immediately after milking, or within four hours of 
acceptance at the processing establishment; or 
(b) the competent authority authorises a higher temperature for tech­
nological reasons concerning the manufacture of certain dairy or 
colostrum-based products. 

## Ii. Requirements For Heat Treatment

1. 
When raw milk, colostrum, dairy or colostrum-based products undergo 
heat treatment, food business operators must ensure that this satisfies the requirements laid down in Chapter XI of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. In particular, they shall ensure, when using the following 
processes, that they comply with the specifications mentioned: 
(a) Pasteurisation is achieved by a treatment involving: 

(i) a high temperature for a short time (at least 72 o 
C for 15 
seconds); 
(ii) a low temperature for a long time (at least 63 o 
C for 30 
minutes); or 
(iii) any other combination of time-temperature conditions to obtain 
an equivalent effect, 
such that the products show, where applicable, a negative reaction to an alkaline phosphatase test immediately after such treatment. 

(b) Ultra high temperature (UHT) treatment is achieved by a treatment: 
 
(i) involving a continuous flow of heat at a high temperature for a 
short time (not less than 135 o 
C in combination with a suitable 
holding time) such that there are no viable microorganisms or 

spores capable of growing in the treated product when kept in 
an aseptic closed container at ambient temperature, and 
(ii) sufficient to ensure that the products remain microbiologically 
stable after incubating for 15 days at 30 o 
C in closed containers 
or for seven days at 55 o 
C in closed containers or after any 
other method demonstrating that the appropriate heat treatment 
has been applied. 

2. 
When considering whether to subject raw milk and colostrum to heat 
treatment, food business operators must: 
(a) have regard to the procedures developed in accordance with the 
HACCP principles pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004; and 
(b) comply with any requirements that the competent authority may 
impose in this regard when approving establishments or carrying 
out checks in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 854/2004. 

## Iii. Criteria For Raw Cows' Milk

▼M6 
1. 
Food business operators manufacturing dairy products must initiate 
procedures to ensure that, immediately before being heat treated and if its period of acceptance specified in the HACCP-based procedures 
is exceeded: 
(a) raw cows' milk used to prepare dairy products has a plate count at 
30 °C of less than 300 000 per ml; and 
(b) heat treated cows' milk used to prepare dairy products has a plate 
count at 30 °C of less than 100 000 per ml. 
▼M3 
2. 
When milk fails to meet the criteria laid down in paragraph 1, the food 
business operator must inform the competent authority and take 
measures to correct the situation. 

## Chapter Iii: Wrapping And Packaging

Sealing of consumer packages must be carried out immediately after filling in the establishment where the last heat treatment of liquid dairy products and colostrum-based products, takes place by means of sealing devices that prevent contamination. The sealing system must be designed in such a way that, after opening, the evidence of its opening remains clear and easy to check. 

## Chapter Iv: Labelling

1. 
In addition to the requirements of Directive 2000/13/EC, except in the cases 
envisaged in Article 13(4) and (5) of that Directive, labelling must clearly 
show: 
(a) in the case of raw milk intended for direct human consumption, the 
words 'raw milk'; 
(b) in the case of products made with raw milk, the manufacturing process 
for which does not include any heat treatment or any physical or 
chemical treatment, the words 'made with raw milk'; 
(c) in case of colostrum, the word 'colostrum'; 
(d) in case of products made with colostrum, the words 'made with colos­
trum'. 
2. 
The requirements of paragraph 1 apply to products destined for retail trade. 
The term 'labelling' includes any packaging, document, notice, label, ring or 
collar accompanying or referring to such products. 

## ▼M3 Chapter V: Identification Marking

By way of derogation from the requirements of Annex II, Section I: 

1. 
rather than indicating the approval number of the establishment, the identi­
fication mark may include a reference to where on the wrapping or 
packaging the approval number of the establishment is indicated; 
2. 
in the case of the reusable bottles, the identification mark may indicate only 
the initials of the consigning country and the approval number of the estab­
lishment. 

## ▼C1 Section X: Eggs And Egg Products Chapter I: Eggs

1. 
At the producer's premises, and until sale to the consumer, eggs must be 
kept clean, dry, free of extraneous odour, effectively protected from shocks 
and out of direct sunshine. 
▼M6 
2. 
Eggs must be stored and transported until sale to the final consumer at a 
temperature, preferably constant, that is best suited to assure optimal conser­ vation of their hygiene properties, unless the competent authority imposes national temperature requirements for egg storage facilities and for vehicles 
transporting eggs between such storage facilities. 
▼C1 
3. 
Eggs must be delivered to the consumer within a maximum time limit of 21 
days of laying. 

## Chapter Ii: Egg Products I. Requirements For Establishments

Food business operators must ensure that establishments for the manufacture of egg products are constructed, laid out and equipped so as to ensure separation of the following operations: 

1. 
washing, drying and disinfecting dirty eggs, where carried out; 
2. 
breaking eggs, collecting their contents and removing parts of shells and 
membranes; 
and 

3. 
operations other than those referred to in points 1 and 2. 

## Ii. Raw Materials For The Manufacture Of Egg Products

Food business operators must ensure that raw materials used to manufacture egg products comply with the following requirements. 

▼M6 
1. The shells of eggs used in the manufacture of egg products must be 
fully developed and contain no breaks. However, cracked eggs may be used for the manufacture of liquid egg or egg products if the estab­ lishment of production or a packing centre delivers them directly to an establishment approved for the manufacture of liquid egg or a processing establishment, where they must be broken as soon as 
possible. 
▼C1 
2. Liquid egg obtained in an establishment approved for that purpose may 
be used as raw material. Liquid egg must be obtained in accordance 
with the requirements of points 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 of Part III. 

## ▼C1 Iii. Special Hygiene Requirements For The Manufacture Of Egg Products

Food business operators must ensure that all operations are carried out in such a way as to avoid any contamination during production, handling and storage of egg products, in particular by ensuring compliance with the following requirements. 

1. 
Eggs must not be broken unless they are clean and dry. 
2. 
Eggs must be broken in a manner that minimises contamination, in 
particular by ensuring adequate separation from other operations. 
Cracked eggs must be processed as soon as possible. 

| 3.                                                                       | Eggs other than those of hens, turkeys or guinea fowl must be handled    |
|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| and processed separately. All equipment must be cleaned and              |                                                                          |
| disinfected before processing of hens', turkeys' and guinea fowls' eggs  |                                                                          |
| is resumed.                                                              |                                                                          |
| 4.                                                                       | Egg contents may not be obtained by the centrifuging or crushing of      |
| eggs, nor may centrifuging be used to obtain the remains of egg whites   |                                                                          |
| from empty shells for human consumption.                                 |                                                                          |
|                                                                          |                                                                          |
| ▼M1                                                                      |                                                                          |
|                                                                          |                                                                          |
| 5.                                                                       | After breaking, each particle of the liquid egg must undergo processing  |
| as quickly as possible to eliminate microbiological hazards or to reduce |                                                                          |
| them to an acceptable level. A batch that has been insufficiently        |                                                                          |
| processed may immediately undergo processing again in the same estab­     |                                                                          |
| lishment if this processing renders it fit for human consumption. Where  |                                                                          |
| a batch is found to be unfit for human consumption, it must be           |                                                                          |
| denatured to ensure that it is not used for human consumption.           |                                                                          |
|                                                                          |                                                                          |
| ▼C1                                                                      |                                                                          |
|                                                                          |                                                                          |
| 6.                                                                       | Processing is not required for egg white intended for the manufacture of |
| dried or crystallised albumin destined subsequently to undergo heat      |                                                                          |
| treatment.                                                               |                                                                          |
| 7.                                                                       | If processing is not carried out immediately after breaking, liquid egg  |
| must be stored either frozen or at a temperature of not more than 4 °C.  |                                                                          |
| The storage period before processing at 4 °C must not exceed 48 hours.   |                                                                          |
| However, these requirements do not apply to products to be de-sugared,   |                                                                          |
| if de-sugaring process is performed as soon as possible.                 |                                                                          |

8. 
Products that have not been stabilised so as to be kept at room 
temperature must be cooled to not more than 4 °C. Products for 
freezing must be frozen immediately after processing. 

## Iv. Analytical Specifications

1. 
The concentration of 3-OH-butyric acid must not exceed 10 mg/kg in 
the dry matter of the unmodified egg product. 
2. 
The lactic acid content of raw material used to manufacture egg 
products must not exceed 1 g/kg of dry matter. However, for fermented products, this value must be the one recorded before the 
fermentation process. 
3. 
The quantity of eggshell remains, egg membranes and any other 
particles in the processed egg product must not exceed 100 mg/kg of 
egg product. 

## ▼C1 V. Labelling And Identification Marking

1. 
In addition to the general requirements for identification marking laid 
down in Annex II, Section I, consignments of egg products, destined not 
for retail but for use as an ingredient in the manufacture of another product, must have a label giving the temperature at which the egg products must be maintained and the period during which conservation 
may thus be assured. 
▼M1 
2. 
In the case of liquid egg, the label referred to in point 1 must also bear 
the words: 'non-pasteurised liquid egg - to be treated at place of 
destination' and indicate the date and hour of breaking. 

## ▼C1 Section Xi: Frogs' Legs And Snails

Food business operators preparing frogs' legs or snails for human consumption must ensure compliance with the following requirements. 

1. 
Frogs and snails must be killed in an establishment constructed, laid out and 
equipped for that purpose. 
2. 
Establishment in which frogs' legs are prepared must have a room reserved 
for the storage and washing of live frogs, and for their slaughter and 
bleeding. This room must be physically separate from the preparation room. 
3. 
Frogs and snails that die otherwise than by being killed in the establishment 
must not be prepared for human consumption. 
4. 
Frogs and snails must be subjected to an organoleptic examination carried 
out by sampling. If that examination indicates that they might present a 
hazard, they must not be used for human consumption. 
5. 
Immediately following preparation, frogs' legs must be washed fully with 
running potable water and immediately chilled to a temperature approaching 
that of melting ice, frozen or processed. 
6. 
After killing, snails' hepato-pancreas must, if it might present a hazard, be 
removed and not be used for human consumption. 

## Section Xii: Rendered Animal Fats And Greaves Chapter I: Requirements Applicable To Establishments Collecting Or Processing Raw Materials

Food business operators must ensure that establishments collecting or processing raw materials for the production of rendered animal fats and greaves comply with the following requirements. 

1. 
Centres for the collection of raw materials and further transport to processing 
establishments must be equipped with facilities for the storage of raw 
materials at a temperature of not more than 7 °C. 
2. 
Each processing establishment must have: 
(a) refrigeration facilities; 
(b) a dispatch room, unless the establishment dispatches rendered animal fat 
only in tankers; 
and 
(c) if appropriate, suitable equipment for the preparation of products 
consisting of rendered animal fats mixed with other foodstuffs and/or 
seasonings. 
3. 
However, the refrigeration facilities required under points 1 and 2(a) are not 
necessary if the arrangements for the supply of raw materials ensure that they are never stored or transported without active refrigeration otherwise 
than as provided for in Chapter II, point 1(d). 

## Chapter Ii: Hygiene Requirements For The Preparation Of Rendered Animal Fat And Greaves

Food business operators preparing rendered animal fats and greaves must ensure compliance with the following requirements. 

1. 
Raw materials must: 
(a) derive from animals which have been slaughtered in a slaughterhouse, 
and which have been found fit for human consumption following antemortem and post-mortem inspection; 
(b) consist of adipose tissues or bones, which are reasonably free from 
blood and impurities; 
(c) come from establishments registered or approved pursuant to Regulation 
(EC) No 852/2003 or in accordance with this Regulation; 
and 

(d) be transported, and stored until rendering, in hygienic conditions and at 
an internal temperature of not more than 7 °C. However, raw materials may be stored and transported without active refrigeration if rendered 
within 12 hours after the day on which they were obtained. 
2. 
During rendering the use of solvents is prohibited. 
3. 
When the fat for refining meets the standards laid down in point 4, rendered 
animal fat prepared in accordance with points 1 and 2 may be refined in the same establishment or in another establishment with a view to improving its 
physico-chemical quality. 
4. 
Rendered animal fat, depending on type, must meet the following standards: 

| Ruminants            | Porcine animals    | Other animal fat   |          |
|----------------------|--------------------|--------------------|----------|
| Edible tallow        |                    |                    |          |
| Tallow for           |                    |                    |          |
| refining             |                    |                    |          |
| Edible fat           |                    |                    |          |
| Lard and             |                    |                    |          |
| other fat            |                    |                    |          |
| for refining         |                    |                    |          |
| Edible               |                    |                    |          |
| For                  |                    |                    |          |
| refining             |                    |                    |          |
| Premier              |                    |                    |          |
| jus (                |                    |                    |          |
|                      |                    |                    |          |
| 1                    |                    |                    |          |
|                      |                    |                    |          |
| )                    |                    |                    |          |
| Other                | Lard (             |                    |          |
|                      |                    |                    |          |
| 2                    |                    |                    |          |
|                      |                    |                    |          |
| )                    |                    |                    |          |
| Other                |                    |                    |          |
|                      |                    |                    |          |
| FFA (m/m % oleic     |                    |                    |          |
| acid) maximum        |                    |                    |          |
| 0,75                 | 1,25               | 3,0                | 0,75     |
| Peroxide maximum     | 4 meq/kg           | 4 meq/kg           | 6 meq/kg |
| Total                | insoluble          |                    |          |
| impurities           |                    |                    |          |
| Maximum 0,15 %       | Maximum 0,5 %      |                    |          |
| Odour, taste, colour | Normal             |                    |          |
|                      |                    |                    |          |

( 
1 
) Rendered animal fat obtained by low-temperature rendering of fresh fat from the heart, caul, kidneys and mesentery of bovine animals, and fat from cutting rooms. 

( 
2 
) Rendered animal fat obtained from the adipose tissues of porcine animals. 

5. 
Greaves intended for human consumption must be stored in accordance with 
the following temperature requirements. 
(a) When greaves are rendered at a temperature of not more than 70 °C, 
they must be stored: 
(i) at a temperature of not more than 7 °C for a period not exceeding 
24 hours; 
or 
(ii) at a temperature of not more than –18 °C. 
(b) When greaves are rendered at a temperature of more than 70 °C and 
have a moisture content of 10 % (m/m) or more, they must be stored: 
(i) at a temperature of not more than 7 °C for a period not exceeding 
48 hours or a time/temperature ratio giving an equivalent guarantee; 
or 
(ii) at a temperature of not more than –18 °C. 
(c) When greaves are rendered at a temperature of more than 70 °C and 
have a moisture content of less than 10 % (m/m), there are no specific 
requirements. 

## Section Xiii: Treated Stomachs, Bladders And Intestines

Food business operators treating stomachs, bladders and intestines must ensure compliance with the following requirements. 

1. 
Animal intestines, bladders and stomachs may be placed on the market only 
if: 
(a) they derive from animals which have been slaughtered in a slaughter­
house, and which have been found fit for human consumption following 
ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection; 
(b) they are salted, heated or dried; 
and 
(c) after the treatment referred to in (b), effective measures are taken to 
prevent re-contamination. 
2. 
Treated stomachs, bladders and intestines that cannot be kept at ambient 
temperature must be stored chilled using facilities intended for that purpose until their dispatch. In particular, products that are not salted or 
dried must be kept at a temperature of not more than 3 °C. 

## Section Xiv: Gelatine

1. 
Food business operators manufacturing gelatine must ensure compliance 
with the requirements of this section. 
2. 
For the purpose of this section, 'tanning' means the hardening of hides, 
using vegetable tanning agents, chromium salts or other substances such as aluminium salts, ferric salts, silicic salts, aldehydes and quinones, or 
other synthetic hardening agents. 

## Chapter I: Requirements For Raw Materials

1. 
For the production of gelatine intended for use in food, the following raw 
materials may be used: 
▼M9 
(a) 
bones, other than specified risk materials as defined in Article 3(1)(g) 
of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 
1 
); 

▼C1 
(b) 
hides and skins of farmed ruminant animals; 

(c) 
pig skins; 
(d) 
poultry skin; 
(e) 
tendons and sinews; 
(f) 
wild game hides and skins; 
and 
(g) 
fish skin and bones. 
2. 
The use of hides and skins is prohibited if they have undergone any tanning 
process, regardless of whether this process was completed. 
3. 
Raw materials listed in point 1(a) to (e) must derive from animals which 
have been slaughtered in a slaughterhouse and whose carcases have been found fit for human consumption following ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection or, in the case of hides and skins from wild game, found fit for 
human consumption. 
▼M18 
4. 
(a) Raw materials that have not undergone any preserving treatment other 
than chilling, freezing or quick-freezing must come from establishments registered or approved pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 or in 
accordance with this Regulation, 
(b) The following treated raw materials may be used: 
(i) bones other than specified risk material as defined in Article 3(1)(g) 
of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 coming from establishments under the control of and listed by the competent authority, and that have 
been subjected to one of the following treatments: 

- crushed to pieces of approximately 15 mm and degreased with 
hot water at a temperature of minimum 70 °C for at least 30 minutes, minimum 80 C for at least 15 minutes, or minimum 90 °C for at least 10 minutes, and then separated and subsequently washed and dried for at least 20 minutes in a stream of hot air with an initial temperature of minimum 350 °C, or for 15 minutes in a stream of hot air with an 
initial temperature of more than 700 °C, 
- sun-dried for a minimum of 42 days at an average temperature 
of at least 20 °C, 

- acid treatment such that the pH is maintained at less than 6 to 
the core for at least 1 hour before drying; 
(ii) hides and skins of farmed ruminant animals, pig skins, poultry skins 
and wild game hides and skins coming from establishments under the control of and listed by the competent authority, and that have 
been subjected to one of the following treatments: 
- treatment with alkali to establish a pH > 12 to the core followed 
by salting for at least 7 days, 
- drying for at least 42 days at a temperature of at least 20 °C, 
- acid treatment such that the pH is maintained at less than 5 to 
the core for a minimum of 1 hour, 
- alkali treatment throughout at a pH > 12 for at least 8 hours; 
(iii) bones other than specified risk material defined in Article 3(1)(g) of 
Regulation (EC) No 999/2001, hides and skins of farmed ruminant animals, pig skins, poultry skins, fish hides and wild game hides and skins that have undergone any other treatment than those specified in point (i) or (ii) and that come from establishments registered or approved pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 
or in accordance with this Regulation. 
For the purposes of the first 2 indents of point (b)(ii), the duration of the treatments may include the time of transportation. 

 
The treated raw materials referred to in points (b)(i) and (b)(ii) must be derived from: 

- domestic and farmed ruminant animals, pigs and poultry which have 
been slaughtered in a slaughterhouse and the carcasses of which have been found fit for human consumption following ante- and post-mortem 
inspection, or 
- from killed wild game whose carcasses have been found fit for human 
consumption following post-mortem inspection. 

▼C1 
5. 
Collection centres and tanneries may also supply raw material for the 
production of gelatine intended for human consumption if the competent authority specifically authorises them for this purpose and they fulfil the 
following requirements. 
(a) They must have storage rooms with hard floors and smooth walls that 
are easy to clean and disinfect and, where appropriate, provided with 
refrigeration facilities. 
(b) The storage rooms must be kept in a satisfactory state of cleanliness and 
repair, so that they do not constitute a source of contamination for the 
raw materials. 
(c) If raw material not in conformity with this chapter is stored and/or 
processed in these premises, it must be segregated from raw material in conformity with this chapter throughout the period of receipt, storage, 
processing and dispatch. 

## Chapter Ii: Transport And Storage Of Raw Materials

1. 
In place of the identification mark provided for in Annex II, Section I, a 
document indicating the establishment of origin and containing the information set out in the Appendix to this Annex must accompany raw materials during transport, when delivered to a collection centre or tannery 
and when delivered to the gelatine-processing establishment. 
2. 
Raw materials must be transported and stored chilled or frozen unless they 
are processed within 24 hours after their departure. However, degreased and dried bones or ossein, salted, dried and limed hides, and hides and skins treated with alkali or acid may be transported and stored at ambient 
temperature. 
▼M18 
3. 
After the veterinary checks provided for in Directive 97/78/EC, and without 
prejudice to the conditions laid down in Article 8(4) of that Directive, raw materials for the production of gelatine for human consumption, for which animal health certification is required, must be transported directly to the 
establishment at the place of destination. 
All precautions, including safe disposal of animal by-products, waste, unused or surplus material, shall be taken to avoid risks of spreading diseases to animals. 

## ▼M5 Chapter Iii: Requirements For The Manufacture Of Gelatine

1. 
The production process for gelatine must ensure that: 
(a) all ruminant bone material derived from animals born, reared or 
slaughtered in countries or regions with a controlled or undetermined BSE risk in accordance with Community legislation is subjected to a process which ensures that all bone material is finely crushed and degreased with hot water and treated with dilute hydrochloric acid (at minimum concentration of 4 % and pH < 1,5) over a period of at least 
two days. This treatment is followed either by: 
- an alkaline treatment of saturated lime solution (pH > 12,5) for a 
period of at least 20 days with a heat treatment step of 138 °C 
minimum during at least four seconds, or 
- an acid treatment (pH < 3,5) during 10 hours minimum with a heat 
treatment step of 138 °C minimum during at least four seconds, or 

- a heat-and-pressure process for at least 20 minutes with saturated 
steam of 133 °C at more than 3 bars, or 
- any approved equivalent process; 

(b) other raw material is subjected to a treatment with acid or alkali, 
followed by one or more rinses. The pH must be adjusted subsequently. Gelatine must be extracted by heating one or more times in succession, 
followed by purification by means of filtration and heat treatment. 
2. 
A food business operator may produce and store both gelatine intended for 
human consumption and gelatine not intended for human consumption in the same establishment provided that the raw materials and the production process comply with the requirements applying to gelatine intended for 
human consumption. 

## ▼M18 Chapter Iv: Requirements For Finished Products

Food business operators must ensure that gelatine complies with the residue limits set out in the following table. 

Residue 
Limit 
As 
1 ppm 
Pb 
5 ppm 
Cd 
0,5 ppm 
Hg 
0,15 ppm 
Cr 
10 ppm 
Cu 
30 ppm 
Zn 
50 ppm 
SO 
2 (European Pharmacopoeia, latest edition) 
50 ppm 
H 
2 
O 
2 (European Pharmacopoeia, latest edition) 
10 ppm 

## ▼M5 Chapter V: Labelling

Wrapping and packaging containing gelatine must bear the words 'gelatine fit for human consumption' and must indicate the date of minimum durability. 

## ▼C1 Section Xv: Collagen

▼M18 
1. 
Food business operators manufacturing collagen must ensure compliance 
with the requirements of this section. Without prejudice to other provisions, products derived from collagen must be made from collagen which complies 
with the requirements of this section. 
▼C1 
2. 
For the purpose of this section, 'tanning' means the hardening of hides, 
using vegetable tanning agents, chromium salts or other substances such as aluminium salts, ferric salts, silicic salts, aldehydes and quinones, or 
other synthetic hardening agents. 

## Chapter I: Requirements For Raw Materials

▼M9 
1. 
For the production of collagen intended for use in food, the following raw 
materials may be used: 
(a) bones, other than specified risk materials as defined in Article 3(1)(g) of 
Regulation (EC) No 999/2001; 
(b) hides and skins of farmed ruminant animals; 
(c) pig skins; 
(d) poultry skin; 
(e) tendons and sinews; 
(f) wild game hides and skins; and 
(g) fish skin and bones. 

▼C1 
2. 
The use of hides and skins is prohibited if they have undergone any tanning 
process, regardless of whether this process was completed. 
3. 
Raw materials listed in point 1(a) to (d) must derive from animals which 
have been slaughtered in a slaughterhouse and whose carcases have been found fit for human consumption following ante-and post-mortem inspection or, in the case of hides and skins from wild game, found fit for human 
consumption. 
▼M18 
4. 
(a) Raw materials that have not undergone any preserving treatment other 
than chilling, freezing or quick-freezing must come from establishments registered or approved pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 or in 
accordance with this Regulation. 
(b) The following treated raw materials may be used: 

(i) bones other than specified risk material as defined in Article 3(1)(g) 
of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 coming from establishments under the control of and listed by the competent authority, and that have 
been subjected to one of the following treatments: 

- crushed to pieces of approximately 15 mm and degreased with 
hot water at a temperature of minimum 70 °C for at least 30 minutes, minimum 80 °C for at least 15 minutes, or minimum 90 °C for at least 10 minutes, and then separated and subsequently washed and dried for at least 20 minutes in a stream of hot air with an initial temperature of minimum 350 °C, or for 15 minutes in a stream of hot air with an 
initial temperature of more than 700 °C, 
- sun-dried for a minimum of 42 days at an average temperature 
of at least 20 °C, 

- acid treatment such that the pH is maintained at less than 6 to 
the core for at least 1 hour before drying; 
(ii) hides and skins of farmed ruminant animals, pig skins, poultry skins 
and wild game hides and skins coming from establishments under the control of and listed by the competent authority, and that have 
been subjected to one of the following treatments: 
- treatment with alkali to establish a pH > 12 to the core followed 
by salting for at least 7 days, 

- drying for at least 42 days at a temperature of at least 20 °C, 
- acid treatment such that the pH is maintained at less than 5 to 
the core for a minimum of 1 hour, 
- alkali treatment throughout at a pH > 12 for at least 8 hours; 

(iii) bones other than specified risk material defined in Article 3(1)(g) of 
Regulation (EC) No 999/2001, hides and skins of farmed ruminant animals, pig skins, poultry skins, fish hides and wild game hides and skins that have undergone any other treatment than those specified in point (i) or (ii) and that come from establishments registered or approved pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 
or in accordance with this Regulation. 
For the purposes of the first 2 indents of point (b)(ii), the duration of the treatments may include the time of transportation. 

The treated raw materials referred to in point (b) must be derived from: 

- domestic and farmed ruminant animals, pigs and poultry which have 
been slaughtered in a slaughterhouse and the carcasses of which have been found fit for human consumption following ante- and post-mortem 
inspection, or 
- from killed wild game whose carcasses have been found fit for human 
consumption following post-mortem inspection. 

▼C1 
5. 
Collection centres and tanneries may also supply raw material for the 
production of collagen intended for human consumption if the competent authority specifically authorises them for this purpose and they fulfil the following requirements. 
(a) They must have storage rooms with hard floors and smooth walls that 
are easy to clean and disinfect and, where appropriate, provided with 
refrigeration facilities. 
(b) The storage rooms must be kept in a satisfactory state of cleanliness and 
repair, so that they do not constitute a source of contamination for the 
raw materials. 
(c) If raw material not in conformity with this chapter is stored and/or 
processed in these premises, it must be segregated from raw material in conformity with this chapter throughout the period of receipt, storage, 
processing and dispatch. 

## Chapter Ii: Transport And Storage Of Raw Materials

1. 
In place of the identification mark provided for in Annex II, Section I, a 
document indicating the establishment of origin and containing the information set out in the Appendix to this Annex must accompany raw materials during transport, when delivered to a collection centre or tannery 
and when delivered to the collagen-processing establishment. 
2. 
Raw materials must be transported and stored chilled or frozen unless they 
are processed within 24 hours after their departure. However, degreased and dried bones or ossein, salted, dried and limed hides, and hides and skins treated with alkali or acid may be transported and stored at ambient 
temperature. 
▼M18 
3. 
After the veterinary checks provided for in Directive 97/78/EC, and without 
prejudice to the conditions laid down in Article 8(4) of that Directive, raw materials for the production of collagen for human consumption, for which animal health certification is required, must be transported directly to the 
establishment at the place of destination. 
All precautions, including safe disposal of animal by-products, waste, unused or surplus material, shall be taken to avoid risks of spreading diseases to animals. 

## ▼C1 Chapter Iii: Requirements For The Manufacture Of Collagen ▼M18 1. The Production Process For Collagen Must Ensure That:

(a) all ruminant bone material derived from animals born, reared or 
slaughtered in countries or regions with a controlled or undetermined BSE risk as determined in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 is subjected to a process which ensures that all bone material is finely crushed and degreased with hot water and treated 
with dilute hydrochloric acid (at a minimum concentration of 4 % and 
pH < 1,5) over a period of at least 2 days; this treatment must be followed by pH adjustment using acid or alkali followed by: 
(i) either one or more rinses and at least one of the following processes: 
- filtration, 
- milling, 
- extrusion, 
(ii) or any approved equivalent process; 

(b) raw materials other than that referred to in point (a) must be subjected to 
a treatment involving washing, pH adjustment using acid or alkali 
followed by: 
(i) either one or more rinses and at least one of the following processes: 
- filtration, 
- milling, 
- extrusion, 
(ii) or any approved equivalent process. 

▼C1 
2. 
After having been subjected to the process referred to in point 1, collagen 
may undergo a drying process. 
▼M5 
3. 
A food business operator may produce and store both collagen intended for 
human consumption and collagen not intended for human consumption in the same establishment provided that the raw materials and the production process comply with the requirements applying to collagen intended for 
human consumption. 

## ▼M18 Chapter Iv: Requirements For Finished Products

Food business operators must ensure that collagen complies with the residue limits set out in the following table. 

| Residue                                  | Limit    |
|------------------------------------------|----------|
|                                          |          |
| As                                       | 1 ppm    |
| Pb                                       | 5 ppm    |
| Cd                                       | 0,5 ppm  |
| Hg                                       | 0,15 ppm |
| Cr                                       | 10 ppm   |
| Cu                                       | 30 ppm   |
| Zn                                       | 50 ppm   |
| SO                                       |          |
|                                          |          |
| 2                                        |          |
|                                          |          |
| (European Pharmacopoeia, latest edition) | 50 ppm   |
| H                                        |          |
|                                          |          |
| 2                                        |          |
|                                          |          |
| O                                        |          |
|                                          |          |
| 2                                        |          |
|                                          |          |
| (European Pharmacopoeia, latest edition) | 10 ppm   |
|                                          |          |

## ▼C1 Chapter V: Labelling

Wrapping and packaging containing collagen must bear the words 'collagen fit for human consumption' and indicate the date of preparation. 

▼M18 
SECTION 
XVI: HIGHLY 
REFINED 
CHONDROITIN 
SULPHATE, HYALURONIC ACID, OTHER HYDROLYSED CARTILAGE PRODUCTS, CHITOSAN, GLUCOSAMINE, RENNET, ISINGLASS AND AMINO ACIDS 

1. 
Food business operators manufacturing the following highly refined products 
of animal origin: 
(a) chondroitin sulphate, 
(b) hyaluronic acid, 
(c) other hydrolysed cartilage products, 
(d) chitosan, 
(e) glucosamine, 
(f) rennet, 
(g) isinglass, 
(h) amino acids that are authorised as food additives in accordance with 
Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 
1 
), 
must ensure that the treatment of the raw materials used eliminates any animal or public health risk. 

2. 
The raw materials used for the manufacturing of the highly refined products 
referred to in point 1 must derive from: 
(a) animals, including feathers thereof, which have been slaughtered in a 
slaughterhouse and whose carcasses have been found fit for human 
consumption following ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection, or; 
(b) fishery products complying with Section VIII. 
Human hair may not be used as a source for the manufacture of amino acids. 

## Model Document To Accompany Raw Material Destined For The Production Of Gelatine Or Collagen Intended For Human Consumption

Number of the commercial document: 

I. 
Identification of raw material 
Nature of the raw material: 
Animal species: 
Type of packaging: 
Number of packages: 
Net weight (kg): 

II. Origin of raw material 
Type, name, address and approval/registration/special authorisation number of the establishment of origin: 
Name and address of the consignor ( 
1 
): 

III. Destination of raw material 
Type, name, address and approval/registration/special authorisation number of the production establishment of destination: 
Name and address of the consignee ( 
2 
): 

IV. Means of transport: 
Done at 
, on 
(Signature of the operator of the establishment of origin or its representatives)