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"BCOMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 344/91
of 13 February 1991
laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EEC) No 1186/90 to extend the scope of
the Community scale for the classification of carcases of adult bovine animals
(OJ L 41, 14.2.1991, p. 15)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
"M1 Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3087/91 of 22 October 1991 L 291 15 23.10.1991
"M2 Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2191/93 of 27 July 1993 L 196 17 5.8.1993
"M3 Commission Regulation (EC) No 1993/95 of 16 August 1995 L 194 7 17.8.19951991R0344 — EN — 01.09.1995 — 003.001 — 1
COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 344/91
of 13 February 1991
laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EEC)
No 1186/90 to extend the scope of the Community scale for the
classification of carcases of adult bovine animals
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1186/90 of 7 May 1990
extending the scope of the Community scale for the classification of
carcases of adult bovine animals (1), and in particular Article 2 thereof,
Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 1186/90, and in particular Article 1
thereof, provided for the scope of the Community scale for the
classification of carcases of adult bovine animals introduced by Council
Regulation (EEC) No 1208/81 at 28 April 1981 determining the
Community scale for the classification of carcases of adult bovine
animals (2) to be extended to cover all carcases and halfcarcases placed
on the market;
Whereas the conditions for identifying classified carcases need to be
specified; whereas the system of marking provided for products
delivered into intervention is the most suitable for this purpose and
whereas provisions should therefore be made for marking similar to that
laid down in Commission Regulation (EEC) No 859/89 of 29 March
1989 laying down detailed rules for the application of intervention
measures in the beef and veal sector (3), as last amended by Regulation
(EEC) No 2271/90 (4), and in particular Article 4 (3) thereof, while
authorizing the Member States to grant exceptions as to the positioning
of the markings laid down therein;
Whereas according to the practices in certain Member States, on certain
conditions, labelling provides the same guarantees as marking as regards
the reliability of identification and in addition allows more detailed
information; whereas it is therefore appropriate to allow the Member
States to use labelling instead of marking;
Whereas provision should be made for indication of the category in
accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 1208/81, and in particular Article
3 (1) thereof;
Whereas, in view of the limited capacity of certain smallscale
slaughterhouses, recourse should be had to Article 2 (b) of Regulation
(EEC) No 1186/90 and provision should be made for the possibility of
waiving, at the request of a Member State, obligatory classification,
where a small average number of adult bovine animals is slaughtered;
whereas the Commission must, when making its decision, take account
of certain circumstances, in particular the objective of gradual harmon-
ization in this area; whereas, however, in order to simplify application of
the abovementioned provision to smaller-scale establishments, it is
advisable to authorize the Member States themselves to grant this waiver
in the case of establishments which slaughter no more than 75 adult
bovine animals per week as an annual average and in the case of carcases
of animals purchased on the hoof by traders practising exclusively retail
trade and slaughtered for them under contract;
Whereas in cases where an approved establishment itself bones all the
obtained and classified carcases, compulsory identification no longer
serves any purpose;!B
(1) OJ No L 119, 11. 5. 1990, p. 32.
(2) OJ No L 123, 7. 5. 1981, p. 3.
(3) OJ No L 91, 4. 4. 1989, p. 5.
(4) OJ No L 204, 2. 8. 1990, p. 45.1991R0344 — EN — 01.09.1995 — 003.001 — 2
Whereas classification should be carried out by staff having the
necessary qualifications certified by licence or approval;
Whereas the reliability of classifications must be verified by effective
checks carried out by public or private bodies having no connection with
the slaughterhouses they inspect; whereas it must be possible to penalize
incorrect classification, in particular by revoking the licence of the
person responsible;
Whereas the Member States should be obliged to inform the Commission
of the steps taken to ensure compliance with Regulation (EEC) No
1186/90 and to penalize infringements of this Regulation in particular;
Whereas the Management Committee for beef and veal has not delivered
and opinion within the time limit set by its chairman;
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. The identification referred to in Article 1 (1) of Regulation (EEC)
No 1186/90 of carcases or half-carcases classified according to the
Community scale for the classification of the carcases of adult bovine
animals established by Regulation (EEC) No 1208/81 in approved
establishments shall be carried out by means of a mark indicating the
category and the class of conformation and fatness.
"M2This marking shall be carried out by stamping on the outside
surface of the carcase using an indelible and non-toxic ink following a
method approved by the competent national authorities; the letters and
figures must be not less than two centimetres in height. 3The marks
shall be applied on the hindquarters on the striploin at the level of the
fourth lumbar vertebra and on the forequarters, on the brisket between 10
an 30 centimetres form the cut edge of the sternum. "M2However,
Member States may determine other positions on each quarter provided
such positions are on the outside surface of the carcase and provided they
inform the Commission beforehand. 3
2. Without prejudice to Article 4 (3) (c) and (d) of Regulation (EEC)
No 859/89 and Article 2 (2) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No
3445/90 (1), Member States may authorize remplacement of the marking
by the use of labels under the following conditions:
— the labels may be kept and attached only in the approved
establishments which slaughter the animals; they must be of a size
not less than 5 × 10 cm;
— in addition to the requirements mentioned in paragraph 1, they must
indicate the approval number of the slaughterhouse, the identifica-
tion or slaughter number of the animal, the date of slaughter and the
weight of the carcase;
— the indications referred to in the second indent must be perfectly
legible and no alterations shall be permitted;
— the labels msut be tamper-proof, tear-resistant and firmly attached to
each quarter in the places defined in paragraph 1.
2a. Classification and identification must take place not later than one
hour after the commencement of slaughter operations.
3. The marks and labels must not be removed before the quarters are
boned.!B
(1) OJ No L 333, 30. 11. 1990, p. 30.!M2
!B
!M2
!B1991R0344 — EN — 01.09.1995 — 003.001 — 3
!M2
In particular, Member States shall take appropriate steps to ensure that
this provision is compiled with in intra-Community trade.
4. The category shall be indicated in accordance with Article 3 (1) of
Regulation (EEC) No 1208/81.
The indication of sub-classes or, where necessary, the break-down of
categories by age shall be by means of symbols other than those used for
classification.
5. For the purpose of communicating the classification results referred
to in Article 1 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 1186/90, the classes of
conformation and fat cover as well as the category shall be indicated on
the invoice, or on a document attached thereto, addressed to the supplier
of the animal or, falling that, to the physical or legal person responsible
for the slaughter operations, by means of symbols expressly provided for
that purpose in Community legislation.
Article 2
1. At the request of a Member State, the Commission waive to the
obligations concerning the classification of carcases of adult bovine
animals set out in Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 1186/90 for
approved establishments which slaughter only a small number of adult
bovine animals per week as an annual average; when making its
decision, the Commission shall take account of the evolution of the
capacity of the slaughterhouses, the organization of classification
operations and the objective of gradual harmonization in this area.
The waiver must have a limited period of validity.
2. Without prejudice to the first paragraph, Member States may decide
that the requirements on classification of carcases of adult bovine
animals laid down in Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 1186/90 shall not
be compulsory:
— for approved establishments which slaughter not more than 75 adult
bovine animals per week as an annual average,
— for retailers who purchase live animals and have them slaughtered
under contract on their account.
3. The obligations relating to the identification of the carcases of adult
bovine animals set out in Article 1 shall not apply to approved
slaughterhouses which themselves bone all of the carcases obtained.
Article 3
1. Member States shall ensure that classification is carried out by
qualified technicians who have obtained a licence for this purpose. The
licence may be replaced by an approval granted by the Member State
where such approval corresponds to recognition of a qualification.
The performance of the classifiers operating regularly in approved
establishments which slaughter more than 75 adult bovine animals per
week as an annual average will be monitored quarterly by the way of an
unannounced individual test carried out on 40 carcases. However in
approved establishments where only one classifier regularly operates and
where less than 40 carcases are available, the test shall be carried out on
the number of carcases actually available, provided that this is at least 25.
The test shall be operated by a body independent of the slaughterhouse
and of the classification agencies and shall count towards the inspections
required under paragraph 2. However the requirement to be independent
of the classification agency shall not apply where the competent
authority itself carried out such controls.
2. Classification and identification of the carcases in the establishments
covered by Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 1186/90 shall be checked
on the spot without prior warning of a body independent of the
slaughterhouse.!B
!M2
!M31991R0344 — EN — 01.09.1995 — 003.001 — 4
Checks must be carried out at least twice every three months in all
approved establishments which operate classification and must relate to
at least the same number of carcases referred to in the second
subparagraph of paragraph 1, selected at random. However, in the case
of the approved establishments referred to in the first indent of Article 2
(2) and of approved establishments where only one classifier regularly
operates, frequency of the checks may be reduced to once every three
months only.
Where the body responsible for checks is the same as that responsible for
classification and identification of the carcases or where it does not fall
under the authority of a public body, the checks provided for in the
preceding subparagraph must be carried out under the physical
supervision of a public body under the same conditions and at least
once a year. The public body shall be informed regularly of the findings
of the body responsible for checks.
In cases where a significant number of incorrect classifications or of
identifications failing to comply with the rules is ascertained during
these inspections:
(a) the number of carcases inspected and the frequency of spot checks
shall be increased; and
(b) the licence provided for in the preceding paragraph may be revoked.Inspection reports referring to the controls undertaken under this Article
shall be made and kept by the national controlling bodies. These reports
shall include in particular the number of carcases checked and the
number of those which were incorrectly classified or identified. They
shall also give full details of the type of dressings used, and where
applicable, of their conformity with Community rules.
3. Member States shall inform the Commission of the measures taken
for the application of Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 1186/90 and of
penalties for infringements such as, in particular, the falsification and
fraudulent use of stamps and labels, or classification carried out by
unlicensed personnel.
Article 4
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 June 1991.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in
all Member States.!M3
!B1991R0344 — EN — 01.09.1995 — 003.001 — 5