1991R0344 — EN — 11.07.2003 — 004.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COMMISSIONREGULATION(EEC)No344/91
of13February1991
layingdowndetailedrulesforapplyingCouncilRegulation(EEC)No1186/90toextendthescope
oftheCommunityscalefortheclassification ofcarcases ofadultbovineanimals
(OJ L 41, 14.2.1991, p. 15)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3087/91 of 22 October 1991 L 291 15 23.10.1991
►M2Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2191/93 of 27 July 1993 L 196 17 5.8.1993
►M3Commission Regulation (EC) No 1993/95 of 16 August 1995 L 194 7 17.8.1995
►M4Commission Regulation (EC) No 1215/2003 of 7 July 2003 L 169 32 8.7.2003
▼B
COMMISSIONREGULATION(EEC)No344/91
of13February1991
laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EEC)
No 1186/90 to extend the scope of the Community scale for the
classification ofcarcasesofadultbovineanimals
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European EconomicCommunity,
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,
WhereasRegulation (EEC) No 1186/90, and in particular Article 1
thereof, provided for the scope of the Community scale for the classi-fication of carcases of adult bovine animals introduced by CouncilRegulation (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 deliv-ered into intervention is the most suitable for this purpose and whereasprovisions 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 rulesfor the application of intervention meas uresin the beef and veal sector (
3), aslas t amended by Regulation (EEC)
No 2271/90 (4), and in particular Article 4 (3) thereof, while author-
izing the Member Statesto grant exceptionsasto the pos itioning ofthe markingslaid down therein;
Whereasaccording to the practicesin certain Member States , on
certain conditions, labelling provides the same guarantees as marking
asregardsthe reliability of identification and in addition allowsmoredetailed information; whereasit istherefore appropriate to allow theMember 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 particularArticle 3 (1) thereof;
Whereas, in view of the limited capacity of certain smallscale slaugh-
terhouses, recourse should be had to Article 2 (b) of Regulation (EEC)
No 1186/90 and provision should be made for the possibility ofwaiving, 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 accountof certain circumstances, in particular the objective of gradual harmo-
nization in this area; whereas, however, in order to simplify application
of the abovementioned provision to smaller-scale establishments, it isadvisable to authorize the Member States themselves to grant thiswaiver in the case of establishments which slaughter no more than 75adult bovine animalsper week asan annual average and in the cas e ofcarcases of animals purchased on the hoof by traders practising exclu-
sively 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 longerserves any purpose;1991R0344 — EN — 11.07.2003 — 004.001 — 2
(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.
▼B
Whereas classification should be carried out by staff having the neces-
sary qualifications certified by licence or approval;
Whereas the reliability of classifications must be verified by effective
checkscarried out by public or private bodieshaving no connectionwith the slaughterhouses they inspect; whereas it must be possible topenalize incorrect classification, in particular by revoking the licence
of the person responsible;
Whereas the Member States should be obliged to inform the Commis-
sion of the steps taken to ensure compliance with Regulation (EEC) No1186/90 and to penalize infringementsof thisRegulation in particular;
Whereasthe Management Committee for beef and veal hasnot deliv-
ered 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 theCommunity scale for the classification of the carcases of adult bovineanimals established by Regulation (EEC) No 1208/81 in approvedestablishments 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 amethod approved by the competent national authorities; the letters and
figures must be not less than two centimetres in height. ◄The marks
shall be applied on the hindquarters on the striploin at the level of thefourth lumbar vertebra and on the forequarters, on the brisket between10 an 30 centimetresform the cut edge of the s ternum.►
M2However, Member Statesmay determine other pos itionson
each quarter provided such positions are on the outside surface of the
carcase and provided they inform the Commission beforehand. ◄
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 Statesmay 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 establish-
ments which slaughter the animals; they must be of a size not lessthan 5 × 10 cm;
— in addition to the requirementsmentioned in paragraph 1, they mus t
indicate the approval number of the slaughterhouse, the identifica-
tion or slaughter number of the animal, the date of slaughter, theweight of the carcase and, where applicable, that the classificationhas been carried out by using automated grading techniques;
— the indications referred to in the second indent must be perfectly
legible and no alterationss hall be permitted;
— the labels msut be tamper-proof, tear-resistant and firmly attached
to each quarter in the placesdefined in paragraph 1.
Where classification is carried out by using automated grading techni-
ques, the use of labels shall be compulsory.
2a. Classification and identification must take place not later than
one hour after the commencement of slaughter operations.1991R0344 — EN — 11.07.2003 — 004.001 — 3
(1) OJ No L 333, 30. 11. 1990, p. 30.▼M2
▼B
▼M4
▼B
▼M2
▼M4
▼M2
▼M4
In cases where the automated grading techniques fail to classify
carcasses, classification and identification of these carcasses must takeplace before the end of the daily slaughter operations.
3. The marksand labelsmus t not be removed before the quartersare
boned.
In particular, Member States shall take appropriate steps to ensure that
thisprovis ion iscompiled 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 usedfor classification.
5. For the purpose of communicating the classification results
referred to in Article 1 (2) of Regulation (EEC) No 1186/90, theclasses 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 legalperson responsible for the slaughter operations, by means of symbolsexpressly 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 bovineanimalss et out in Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 1186/90 forapproved establishments which slaughter only a small number of adult
bovine animalsper week asan annual average; when making itsdeci-
sion, the Commission shall take account of the evolution of thecapacity of the slaughterhouses, the organization of classificationoperationsand the objective of gradual harmonization in thisarea.
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 adultbovine animalslaid 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 animalsper week asan annual average,
— for retailers who purchase live animals and have them slaughtered
under contract on their account.
3. The obligationsrelating to the identification of the carcas esof
adult bovine animals set out in Article 1 shall not apply to approvedslaughterhouses which themselves bone all of the carcases obtained.
Article 3
1. Member States shall ensure that classification is carried out by
qualified technicianswho have obtained a licence for thispurpos e.The licence may be replaced by an approval granted by the MemberState 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 asan annual average will be monitored quarterly by the way of
an unannounced individual test carried out on 40 carcases. However inapproved establishments where only one classifier regularly operatesand where less than 40 carcases are available, the test shall be carriedout on the number of carcases actually available, provided that this isat least 25. The test shall be operated by a body independent of the1991R0344 — EN — 11.07.2003 — 004.001 — 4
▼B
▼M2
▼B
▼M2
▼B
▼M3
▼M3
slaughterhouse and of the classification agencies and shall count
towardsthe ins pectionsrequired under paragraph 2. However therequirement to be independent of the classification agency shall not
apply where the competent authority itself carried out such controls.
1a. Member Statesmay grant a licence authoris ing automated
grading techniquesfor application in their territory or a part thereof.Authorisation shall be subject to meeting the conditions and minimum
requirements for a certification test laid down in Annex I. At least two
months prior to the start of the certification test, Member States shallprovide the Commission with the information referred to in Annex II,part A. Member States shall designate an independent body which shallanalyse the results of the certification test. Within two months uponcompletion of the certification test, Member States shall provide the
Commission with the information referred to in Annex II, part B.
Where a licence isgranted authoris ing automated grading techniques
based on a certification test during which more than one carcass
presentation was used, the differences between those carcass presenta-
tions shall not lead to differences in the classification results.
After having informed the Commission, Member States may grant a
licence authorising automated grading techniques for application in
their territory or a part thereof without organising the certification
test, provided such a licence has already been granted for the sameautomated grading techniquesfor application in another part of thatMember State concerned or in another Member State on the basis of acertification test with a sample of carcasses that they consider to be
equally representative, in terms of category, classes of conformation
and of fat cover, of the adult bovine animalss laughtered in theMember State concerned or a part thereof.
Classification by automated grading techniques shall only be valid if
the carcass presentation is identical to one that was used during the
certification test.
1b. Establishments operating classification by using automated
grading techniquess hall:
— identify the category of the carcass; for this purpose use shall be
made of the system for the identification and registration of bovineanimalsasreferred to in Title I of Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000,
— keep daily control reportson the functioning of the automated
grading techniques, including in particular any shortcomings
encountered and actions taken where necessary.
1c. Modificationsof the technical s pecificationsof the automated
grading techniquesfor which a licence wasgranted s hall only beallowed after having obtained the approval of the competent authorities
of the Member State concerned and subject to proof that such modifi-
cationsres ult in a higher level of accuracy than that obtained duringthe certification test.
Member States shall inform the Commission of any such modifications
for which they have given their approval.
2. Classification and identification of the carcases in the establish-
mentscovered by Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 1186/90 s hall bechecked on the spot without prior warning of a body independent of the
slaughterhouse.
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 thecase of the approved establishments referred to in the first indent ofArticle 2 (2) and of approved establishments where only one classifierregularly operates, frequency of the checks may be reduced to onceevery three monthsonly.1991R0344 — EN — 11.07.2003 — 004.001 — 5
▼M4
▼M3
▼M4
In all approved establishments operating classification by using auto-
mated grading techniques, at least six checks must be carried outevery three monthsduring the firs t 12 monthsafter the licence referred
to in paragraph 1a wasgranted. Thereafter checksmus t be carried out
at least twice every three months in all approved establishments oper-ating classification by using automated grading techniques. Each checkmust relate to at least 40 carcasses, selected at random. The checksshall in particular verify:
— the category of the carcass,
— the accuracy of the automated grading techniquesby us ing the
system of points and limits referred to in Annex I(3),
— the carcass presentation,
— the daily calibration aswell asany other technical as pectsof the
automated grading techniques, that are relevant for ensuring that
the level of accuracy obtained by using automated grading techni-quesisat leas t asgood asthe one achieved during thecertification test,
— the daily control reportsreferred to in paragraph 1b.
Where the body responsible for checks is the same as that responsible
for classification and identification of the carcasses or where it doesnot fall under the authority of a public body, the checksprovided forin the second and third subparagraphs 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 ofthe findings of the body responsible for checks.
In cases where a significant number of incorrect classifications or of
identificationsfailing to comply with the rulesisas certained during
these inspections:
(a) the number of carcases inspected and the frequency of spot checks
shall be increased; and
(b) the licencesprovided for in paragraphs1 and 1a 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 dressingsused, 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 falsifica-
tion and fraudulent use of stamps and labels, or classification carriedout by unlicensed personnel.
Article 4
ThisRegulation s hall enter into force on 1 June 1991.
ThisRegulation s hall be binding in itsentirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.1991R0344 — EN — 11.07.2003 — 004.001 — 6
▼M3
▼M4
▼M3
▼B
▼M4
ANNEX I
Conditions and minimum requirements for authorisation of automated
gradingtechniques
1. The Member State concerned shall organise a certification test for a jury
composed of at least five licensed experts in classification of carcases of
adult bovine animals. Two members of the jury will come from the Member
State performing the test. The other members of the jury will each come
from another Member State. The jury shall comprise an uneven number of
experts. The Commission services and other Member States' experts may
attend the certification test as observers.
The membersof the jury will work in an independent and anonymousway.
The Member State concerned will nominate a coordinator of the certification
test who shall:
— not be part of the jury,
— have satisfactory technical knowledge and be fully independent,
— monitor the independent and anonymousfunctioning of the membersof
the jury,
— collect the classification results of the members of the jury and those
obtained by using the automated grading techniques,
— ensure that, during the entire duration of the certification test, the classi-
fication results obtained by using the automated grading techniques shall
not be available to any of the membersof the jury and vice vers a nor to
any other interested party,
— validate the classifications for each carcase and may decide, for objective
reasons to be specified, to reject carcases from the sample to be used for
the analysis.
2. For the certification test:
— each of the classes of conformation and of fat cover shall be subdivided
into three subclasses,
— a sample of at minimum 600 validated carcases shall be required,
— the percentage of failures shall be no more than 5 % of the carcases that
are fit for classification by using automated grading techniques.
3. For each validated carcase, the median of the results of the members of the
jury shall be considered as the correct grade of that carcase.
To estimate the performance of the automated grading techniques, the results
of the automated classification machine shall, for each validated carcase, be
compared to the median of the results of the jury. The resulting accuracy of
the grading by automated grading techniques is established by using a system
of pointsthat are attributed asfollows :
Conformation Fat cover
No error 10 10
Error of 1 unit (i.e. 1 subclass up
or down)69
Error of 2 units (i.e. 2 subclasses
up or down)–9 0
Error of 3 units (i.e. 3 subclasses
up or down)–2 7 –1 3
Error of more than 3 units(i.e.
more than 3 subclasses up or
down)–4 8 –3 0
With a view to authorisation, the automated grading techniques should
achieve at least 60 % of the maximum number of points for both conforma-
tion and fat cover.
In addition, the classification by using the automated grading techniques
must be within the following limits:1991R0344 — EN — 11.07.2003 — 004.001 — 7
▼M4
Conformation Fat cover
Bias± 0,30 ± 0,60
Slope of the regression line 1 ± 0,15 1 ± 0,301991R0344 — EN — 11.07.2003 — 004.001 — 8
▼M4
ANNEX II
A.Information to be provided by Member States as regards the organisa-
tionofacertification testforauthorisingautomatedgradingtechniques
— the dates on which the certification test shall take place,
— a detailed description of the carcasses of adult bovine animals classified
in the Member State concerned or a part thereof,
— the statistical methods used for selecting the sample of carcasses that
shall be representative, in terms of category, classes of conformation
and of fat cover, of the adult bovine animalss laughtered in the Member
State concerned or a part thereof,
— the name and address of the abattoir(s) where the certification test shall
take place, an explanation of the organisation and performance of the
processing line(s), including the speed per hour,
— the carcass presentation(s) that shall be used during the certification test,
— a description of the automated grading machine and its technical func-
tions, in particular the security concept of the machine against any type
of manipulation,
— the licensed experts nominated by the Member State concerned to take
part in the certification test as members of the jury,
— the coordinator of the certification test, proving his satisfactory technical
knowledge and full independence,
— the name and address of the independent body designated by the Member
State concerned that shall analyse the results of the certification test.
B.InformationtobeprovidedbyMemberStatesasregardstheresultsofa
certification testforauthorisingautomatedgradingtechniques
— a copy of the classification sheets completed and signed by the members
of the jury and by the coordinator during the certification test,
— a copy of the classification results obtained by using automated grading
techniques signed by the coordinator during the certification test,
— a report of the coordinator on the organisation of the certification test in
view of the conditionsand minimum requirementss et out in Annex I,
— a quantitative analysis, according to a methodology to be agreed upon by
the Commission, of the results of the certification test indicating the clas-
sification results of each expert classifier and those obtained by using the
automated grading techniques. The data used for the analysis must be
provided in an electronic format to be agreed upon by the Commission,
— the accuracy of the automated grading techniques established in accor-
dance with the provisions in Annex I(3).1991R0344 — EN — 11.07.2003 — 004.001 — 9