COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 2891/93 of 21 October 1993 amending Regulation (EEC) No 1538/91 introducing detailed rules for implementing Regulation (EEC) No 1906/90 on certain marketing standards for poultrymeat
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1906/90 of 26 June 1990 on certain marketing standards for poultrymeat (1), as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 317/93 (2), and in particular Articles 7 and 9 thereof,
Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1538/91 (3), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1980/92 (4), lays down the detailed rules for implementing marketing standards in the poultrymeat sector;
Whereas, in the light of experience, certain definitions concerning species, age, carcase presentation and anatomical conformation should be amended; whereas it is necessary to define the product 'magret` or 'maigret` in order to prevent fraudulent practices;
Whereas, with a view to the uniform application of Regulation (EEC) No 1538/91, the terms 'marketing` and 'batch` should be defined in the poultrymeat sector and the special tolerances concerning the monitoring of the use of poultry carcase definitions, of presentation names and of quality categories for carcases and cuts should be amended;
Whereas, with a view to adjusting to the real situation in the sector, certain criteria governing farming conditions and quantitative thresholds for the optional indication of the farming method should be amended;
Whereas Article 14 of Regulation (EEC) No 1538/91 provides that the names and terms to be indicated are to be formulated in at least the language or languages of the Member State in which retailing or any other use takes place; whereas that provision should be amended in accordance with Council Directive 79/112/EEC of 18 December 1978 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs for sale to the ultimate consumer (5), as last amended by Directive 91/72/EEC (6), in order to facilitate the marketing of poultrymeat in cases other, than delivery of the poultrymeat to the ultimate consumer;
Whereas, in view of economic and technological developments in both the preparation of poultry and checks, and given that water content is of particular interest in the marketing of frozen or quick-frozen chickens, Community studies have indicated the need to adapt the relevant provisions; whereas, therefore, the maximum water content of frozen or quick-frozen chickens should be fixed and a monitoring system both in slaughterhouses and at all marketing stages should be defined without violating the principle of the free circulation of products in a single market;
Whereas water absorption in the production establishment should be verified and reliable methods for the determination of the content of water added during the preparation of carcases of frozen or quick-frozen chickens should be established without a distinction being made between physiological liquid and other water originating from the preparation of the chickens given that such a distinction would encounter practical difficulties;
Whereas the marketing of non-conforming frozen or quick-frozen chickens without a suitable indication on the packaging should be prohibited; whereas, as a result, it is necessary to adopt practical rules with regard to the indications to be marked on individual and bulk packaging depending on their destination so as to facilitate checks and to ensure that they are not used other then for their intended use;
Whereas it is necessary to lay down the action to be taken if a check reveals an irregularity in a consignment, where the products do not satisfy the requirements of this Regulation; whereas a procedure should be established for the settlement of disputes which may arise from intra-Community consignments;
Whereas, in the event of a dispute, the Commission should be able to take action on the spot and by adopting measures appropriate to the situation;
Whereas the harmonization of requirements concerning water content presupposes the designation of Community and national reference laboratories;
Whereas provisions should be made for the Member States to adopt practical methods to check the water content of frozen and quick-frozen chickens; whereas, with a view to ensuring the uniform application of that Regulation, provisions should be made for Member States to inform the Commission and the other Member States of the methods;
Whereas Article 12 of Regulation (EEC) No 1906/90 provides that Council Regulation (EEC) No 2967/76 of 23 November 1976 laying down common standards for the water content of frozen and deep-frozen chickens, hens and cocks (7), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3204/83 (8), is to continue to apply until the implementation of the standards adopted pursuant to Article 7 of that Regulation; whereas measures for the implementation of those standards are included in this Regulation; whereas, therefore, that Regulation and Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2785/80 of 30 October 1980 introducing detailed rules for the application of Regulation (EEC) No 2967/76 (9), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3759/85 (10), should be repealed;
Whereas the Management Committee for Poultrymeat and Eggs has not delivered an opinion within the time limit set by its chairman,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Regulation (EEC) No 1538/91 is hereby amended as follows:
1. Article 1:
- relates solely to the Dutch version,
- the fourth indent of point 1 (a) is replaced by the following:
'- poussin, coquelet: chicken of less than 650 g carcase weight (expressed without giblets, head and feet), chicken of 650 g to 750 g may be called "poussin" if the age at slaughter does not exceed 28 days. Member States may apply Article 11 for the checking of this slaughter age.`,
- point 1 (c) is replaced by the following:
'(c) Ducks (Anas platyrhynchos dom., cairina muschata), Mulard ducks (c.m.x.a.p.),
- young duck or duckling, (young) Muscovy duck, (young) Mulard duck: bird in which the tip of the sternum is flexible (not ossified),
- duck, Muscovy duck, Mulard duck: bird in which the tip of the sternum is rigid (ossified);`,
- point 2 (b) is replaced by the following:
'(b) Quarter: leg quarter or breast quarter, obtained by a transversal cut of a half;`,
- point 2 (f) is replaced by the following:
'(f) Chicken leg with a portion of the back: the weight of the back does not exceed 25 % of that of the whole cut;`,
- the following point (m) is inserted in point 2:
'(m) magret, maigret: breast fillet of ducks and geese referred to in 3 comprising skin and sub-cutan fat covering the breast muscle, without the deep pectoral muscle`,
- the following is inserted in point 2 after points (a) to (m)
'For the products listed under (e), (g) and (h) the wording "cuts shall be made at the joints" is to mean cuts made within the two lines deliminating the joints as shown in the graphical presentation in Annex Ia.`;
2. the following Article 1a is inserted
'Article 1 a
For the purposes of this Regulation:
"marketing" means holding or displaying for sale, offering for sale, selling, delivery or any other form of marketing;
"batch" means poultrymeat of the same species and type, the same class, the same production run, from the same slaughterhouse or cutting plant, situated in the same place, which are to be inspected. For the purposes of Article 8 and Annexes V and VI, a batch shall only comprise prepackages of the same nominal weight category.`;
3. Article 2 (3) is replaced by the following:
'3. For all carcase presentations, if the head is not removed, trachea, oesophagus and crop may remain in the carcase.`;
4. Article 7 is amended as follows:
- paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:
'1. Decisions arising from failure to comply with Articles 1, 2 and 6 may only be taken for the whole of the batch which has been checked in accordance with the provisions of this Article`,
- paragraph 2 is deleted,
- the table contained in paragraph 3 is replaced by the following table:
TABLE
- paragraphs 4 and 5 become paragraphs 3 and 4 and are replaced by the following:
'4. In the checking of a batch of class A poultrymeat, the total tolerable number of detective units referred to in column 3 of the table of paragraph 3 is allowed. These defective units may also comprise, in the case of breast fillet, fillets with up to 2 % in weight of cartilage (flexible tip of sternum).
However, the number of defective units not complying with the provisions of points 1 and 3 of provisions of Article 1 (1) and (3) as well as Article 6 (1) shall not exceed the figures shown in column 4 of the table contained in paragraph 3.
As regards point 3 of Article 1 (3), any defective unit shall not be considered tolerable unless it be of a weight of at least 240 g in the case of duck livers and of at least 385 g in the case of goose livers.
5. In the checking of a batch of class B poultrymeat, the tolerable number of defective units shall be doubled.`;
5. Article 10 is amended as follows:
- paragraph 1 the introductory sentence is replaced by the following:
'1. In order to indicate types of farming with the exception of organic or biological farming, no other terms except those set out hereunder and the corresponding terms in the other Community languages listed in Annex III may appear on the labelling within the meaning of Article 1 (3) (a) of Directive 79/112/EEC, and in any case they may appear only if the relevant conditions specified in Annex IV are fulfilled:`,
- only to the Dutch version, relates
- paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
'2. Mention of the age at slaughter of length of fattening period shall be permitted only when use is made of one of the terms referred to in paragraph 1 and for an age of not less than that indicated in Annex IV (b), (c) or (d). However, this provisions does not apply in the case of animals falling within the fourth indent of point 1 (a) of Article 1.`;
6. Article 14 is replaced by the following:
'Article 14
The names of the products and other terms provided for in this Regulation shall be indicated:
- in the case of sales to the ultimate consumer, in a language easily understood by purchasers as referred to in Article 14 of Council Directive 79/112/EEC in the Member State in which such sales take place; this provision shall not prevent such particulars from being indicated in various languages,
- in any other case, in one or more languages of the Community.`;
7. The following Article 14a is inserted:
'Article 14a
1. Without prejudice to paragraphs 6 and 10, frozen and quick-frozen chickens may be marketed by way of business or trade within the Community only if the water content does not exceed the technically unavoidable values determined by the method of analysis described in Annex V (drip method) or that in VI (chemical method).
2. The competent authorities designated by each Member State shall ensure that the slaughterhouses adopt all measures necessary to comply with the provisions of paragraph 1 and in particular that:
- samples for monitoring water absorption during chilling and water content of frozen and quick-frozen chickens are taken,
- results of the checks are recorded and kept for a period of one year,
- each batch is marked in such a way that its date of production can be identified; this batch mark must appear on the production record.
3. Regular checks in accordance with Annex VII on the water absorbed or checks in accordance with Annex V shall be carried out in the slaughterhouses at least once each working period of four hours.
Where these checks reveal that the amount of water absorbed is greater than the total water content permitted under the terms of this Regulation, account being taken of the water absorbed by the carcases during the stages of processing which are not subject to checking, and where, in any case, the amount of water absorbed is greater than the levels referred to in point 9 of Annex VII, or in point 7 of Annex V, the necessary technical adjustments shall be made immediately by the slaughterhouse to the process.
4. In all cases referred to in the second subparagraph of paragraph 3 and in any case at least once a fortnight, checks on water content referred to in paragraph 1 shall be carried out, by sampling, on frozen and quick frozen chickens from each slaughterhouse according to Annexes V or VI, to be chosen by the competent authority of the Member State. These checks shall not be conducted for carcases in respect of which proof is provided to the satisfaction of the competent authority that they are intended exclusively for export.
5. The checks referred to in paragraphs 3 and 4 shall be carried out by or under the responsibility of the competent authorities. The competent authorities may, in specific cases, apply the provisions of paragraph 3, and in particular of points 1 and 9 of Annex VII, and of paragraph 4 more stringently in respect of a given slaughterhouse, where this proves necessary to ensure compliance with the total water content permitted under this Regulation.
6. If the result of the checks referred to in paragraph 4 is in excess of the admissible limits, the batch concerned shall be deemed not to comply with this Regulation. In that event, however, the slaughterhouse concerned may request that a counter-analysis be carried out using a method to be chosen by the competent authority of the Member State.
7. Where, if necessary after such counter-analysis, the batch in question is deemed not to comply with this Regulation, the competent authority shall take the appropriate measures aimed at allowing such a batch to be marketed within the Community only on condition such a batch to be marketed within the Community only on condition that both individual and bulk packaging of the carcases concerned shall be marked by the slaughterhouse under the supervision of the competent authority with a tape or label bearing at least one of the following forms of wording in red capital letters:
"Contenido en agua superior al límite CEE"
"Vandindhold overstiger EØF-Normen"
"Wassergehalt über dem EWG-Höchstwert"
"Ðåñéåêôéêüôçôá óå íåñü áíþôåñç ôïõ ïñßïõ ÅÏÊ"
"Water content exceeds EEC limit"
"Teneur en eau supérieure à la limite CEE"
"Tenore d'acqua superiore al limite CEE"
"Watergehalte hoger dan het EEG-maximum"
"Teor de água superior ao limite CEE".
The batch referred to in the first subparagraph shall remain under the supervision of the competent authority until it is dealt with in accordance with the paragraph or otherwise disposed of. If it is certified to the competent authority that the batch referred to in the first subparagraph is to be exported, the competent authority shall take all necessary measures to prevent the batch in question from being marketed within the Community. The forms of wording provided for in the first subparagraph shall be marked in a conspicuous place in such a way as to be easily visible, clearly legible and indelible. They shall not in any way be hidden, obscured or interrupted by other written or pictorial matter. The latters shall be at least 1 cm high on the individual packaging and 2 cm on bulk packaging.
8. The Member State of destination may, where there are serious ground for suspecting irregularities, carry out non-discriminatory random checks of frozen or quick-frozen chickens in order to verify that a consignment meets the requirements of this Article.
9. The checks referred to in paragraph 8 shall be carried out at the place of destination of the goods or at another suitable place, provided that in the latter case the choice of the places is not at the border and interferes as little as possible with the routing of the goods and that the goods may proceed normally to their destination once the appropriate sample has been taken. However the products concerned shall not be sold to the final consumer until the result of the check is available.
Such checks shall be carried out as soon as possible so as not unduly to delay their placing on the market, or cause delays which might impair their quality.
Results of these checks and any subsequent decisions and the grounds for taking them shall be notified at the latest two working days after sampling to the consignor, the consignee or their representative. Decisions taken by the competent authority of the Member State of destination and the reasons for such decisions shall be notified to the competent authority of the Member State of dispatch.
If the consignor or his representative so requests, the said decisions and reasons shall be forwarded to him in writing with details of the rights of appeal which are available to him under the law in force in the Member State of destination and of the procedure and time limits applicable.
10. If the results of the checks referred to in paragraph 8 is in excess of the admissible limits, the holder of the batch concerned may request that a counter-analysis be carried out using a method of his choice in one of the reference laboratories listed in Annex VIII, or in any other laboratory approved for this purpose by the competent authorities. The expenses occasioned by this counter-analysis shall be borne by the holder of the batch. Tasks and competences of reference laboratories are provided for in Annex IX.
11. If, after a check carried out in accordance with paragraphs 8 and 9 and, if requested, after a counter-analysis, it is found that the frozen or quick-frozen chickens do not comply with this Article, the competent authority of the Member State of destination shall apply the procedures provided for in paragraph 7.
12. In the cases provided for in paragraphs 10 and 11, the competent authority of the Member State of destination shall contact the competent authorities of the Member State of dispatch without delay. The latter authorities shall take all necessary measures and notify the competent authority of the first Member State of the nature of the checks carried out, the decisions taken and the reasons for such decisions.
Where the checks referred to in paragraphs 8 and 10 show repeated irregularities, or where such checks, in the view of the Member State or dispatch, are being carried out without sufficient justification, the competent authorities of the Member States concerned shall inform the Commission.
The Commission, to the extent necessary to ensure uniform application of this Regulation or at the request of the competent authority of the Member State of destination, and taking into account the nature of the infringements may:
- send a mission of experts to the establishment concerned, and in conjunction with the competent national authorities, carry out on-the-spot inspections, or
- request the competent authority of the Member State of dispatch to intensify its sampling of the products of the establishment concerned and if necessary to apply sanctions in accordance with Article 10 of Regulation (EEC) No 1906/90.
The Commission shall inform the Member States of its findings. Member States in whose territory an inspection is carried out shall give the experts all the assistance necessary for the performance of their tasks.
Pending the Commission's findings, the Member State of dispatch must, at the request of the Member State of destination, intensify checks on products coming from the establishment in question.
Where these measures are taken to deal with repeated irregularities on the part of an establishment, the Commission shall charge any expenses occasioned by the application of the indents of the third subparagraph to the establishment involved.
13. The Member States shall adopt the practical measures for the checks provided for in this Article. They shall inform the other Member States and the Commission before 1 November 1993 of these measures. Any relevant changes shall be communicated immediately to the other Member States and to the Commission.`;
8. Annexes I, III and IV are replaced by the corresponding Annexes to this Regulation;
9. Annexes Ia, V, VI, VII, VIII and IX are added by the corresponding Annexes to this Regulation.
Article 2
Regulations (EEC) No 2967/76 and (EEC) No 2785/80 are repealed.
Article 3
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 December 1993.
Article 1 point 7 and Article 2 shall apply as from 1 March 1994.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 21 October 1993.