# C_2019383EN.01000702.xml

| 11.11.2019 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 383/7 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |

11.11.2019

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 383/7

---

Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 12 September 2019 (request for a preliminary ruling from the Rechtbank Rotterdam — Netherlands) — A, B, C, D, E, F, G v Staatssecretaris van Economische Zaken

(Case C-347/17) (1)

(Reference for a preliminary ruling - Protection of health - Hygiene Package - Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 - Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 - Hygiene of food of animal origin - Poultry meat - Post-mortem inspection of carcasses - Visible contamination of a carcass - Zero-tolerance approach)

(2019/C 383/06)

Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

Rechtbank Rotterdam

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicants: A, B, C, D, E, F, G

Defendant: Staatssecretaris van Economische Zaken

Operative part of the judgment

| 1. | Annex III, Section II, Chapter IV, points 5 and 8, to 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 must be interpreted as meaning that the concept of ‘contamination’ includes not only contamination by faeces, but also contamination by crop contents and by bile. |
| --- | --- |

1.

Annex III, Section II, Chapter IV, points 5 and 8, to 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 must be interpreted as meaning that the concept of ‘contamination’ includes not only contamination by faeces, but also contamination by crop contents and by bile.

| 2. | Annex III, Section II, Chapter IV, points 5 and 8, to Regulation No 853/2004 must be interpreted as meaning that a poultry carcass must no longer contain any visible contamination after the cleaning stage and before the chilling stage. |
| --- | --- |

2.

Annex III, Section II, Chapter IV, points 5 and 8, to Regulation No 853/2004 must be interpreted as meaning that a poultry carcass must no longer contain any visible contamination after the cleaning stage and before the chilling stage.

| 3. | Annex I, Section I, Chapter II, Part D, point 1, to Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption, as amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 739/2011 of 27 July 2011, must be interpreted as not precluding the competent authority, for the purposes of inspecting poultry carcasses, from removing them from the slaughter line and carrying out both an external and internal examination of those carcasses, if necessary by lifting their fat tissue, provided that that examination does not go beyond what is necessary in order to ensure the effectiveness of that control, which it is for the referring court to verify. |
| --- | --- |

3.

Annex I, Section I, Chapter II, Part D, point 1, to Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption, as amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 739/2011 of 27 July 2011, must be interpreted as not precluding the competent authority, for the purposes of inspecting poultry carcasses, from removing them from the slaughter line and carrying out both an external and internal examination of those carcasses, if necessary by lifting their fat tissue, provided that that examination does not go beyond what is necessary in order to ensure the effectiveness of that control, which it is for the referring court to verify.

---

(1)  OJ C 300, 11.9.2017.

---