COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1047/2009
of 19 October 2009
amending Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets as regards the marketing standards for poultrymeat
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 37 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament (1),
Whereas:
(1)
Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products (Single CMO Regulation) (2) lays down certain marketing standards for poultrymeat.
(2)
Article 116 of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 provides that products of the poultrymeat sector are to be marketed in accordance with the provisions of Annex XIV to that Regulation.
(3)
The marketing standards were developed to contribute to an improvement in the quality of poultrymeat and information relating thereto and, consequently, facilitate the sale of such meat. In particular, a definition of fresh poultrymeat that is more precise than in the legislation on food safety was introduced, with effect as from 1 July 1991, by Council Regulation (EEC) No 1906/90 of 26 June 1990 on certain marketing standards for poultry (3). Experience shows that there is a need to confirm the strict principle behind this definition and to make it even more explicit.
(4)
In view of the fact that poultrymeat is being consumed increasingly in the form of meat preparations and products, the scope of the marketing standards for poultrymeat should be extended to include poultrymeat preparations and products.
(5)
Similarly, poultrymeat in brine falling within CN code 0210 99 39 should also be covered by the marketing standards.
(6)
Experience shows that in certain cases fresh poultrymeat preparations can easily substitute for fresh poultrymeat when they are presented for sale to the consumer. In order to avoid any distortion of competition between fresh poultrymeat and fresh poultrymeat preparations, it is appropriate to extend the principle behind the definition of fresh poultrymeat to fresh poultrymeat preparations.
(7)
Under Community legislation on the labelling of foodstuffs, the labelling and the methods used must not be such as to mislead the purchaser, in particular as to the characteristics of the foodstuff, and particularly as to the nature of the product, its identity, properties, composition, quantity, durability, origin or provenance, or method of production or manufacture.
(8)
Poultrymeat which has been frozen or quick-frozen must be sold in that state or be used in preparations marketed as frozen or quick-frozen, or in meat products.
(9)
Since the subdivision of Class A into A 1 and A 2 and the subdivision of frozen poultrymeat by weight categories provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 are not widely used in practice and therefore superfluous, these provisions should be abolished for the sake of simplification.
(10)
Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 should therefore be amended accordingly,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Annex XIV to Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 is hereby amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.
Article 2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall apply from 1 May 2010.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Luxembourg, 19 October 2009.