1989R2136 — EN — 01.07.2003 — 001.001 — 1
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►B COUNCILREGULATION(EEC)No2136/89
of21June1989
►M1 laying down common marketing standards for preserved sardines and trade descriptions
forpreservedsardinesandsardine-typeproducts ◄
(OJ L 212, 22.7.1989, p. 79)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1CommissionRegulation(EC) No 1181/2003 of 2 July 2003 L 165 17 3.7.2003
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COUNCILREGULATION(EEC)No2136/89
of21June1989
►M1 laying down common marketing standards for preserved
sardines and trade descriptions for preserved sardines and
sardine-typeproducts ◄
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3796/81 of 29
December 1981 onthe commonorgan izationof the market infisheryproducts (
5), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1495/89 (6), and
inparticular Article 2 (3) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas Regulation(EEC) No 3796/81 provides for the possibility of
adopting common marketing standards for fishery products in theCommunity, particularly in order to keep products of unsatisfactoryquality off the market and to facilitate trade relations based on faircompetition;
Whereas the adoption of such standards for preserved sardines is likely
to improve the profitability of sardine production in the Community,
and the market outlets therefor, and to facilitate disposal of theproducts;
Whereas it must be specified inthis con text, particularly inorder to
ensure market transparency, that the products concerned must beprepared exclusively with fish of the species ‘ Sardina pilchardus
Walbaum’ and must contain a minimum quantity of fish;
Whereas, in order to ensure good market presentation, the criteria for
the preparation of the fish prior to packaging, the presentations inwhich it may be marketed and the covering media and additional ingre-dients which may be used should be laid down; whereas these criteriamust not, however, be such as to preclude the introduction of new
products onto the market;
Whereas, to prevent the marketing of unsatisfactory products, certain
criteria which preserved sardines must satisfy in order to be marketedin the Community for human consumption should be defined;
Whereas Council Directive 79/112/EEC of 18 December 1978 on the
approximationof the laws of the Member States related to the label-
ling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs for sale to the ultimate
consumer (
3) as last amended by Directive 86/197/EEC (4) and Council
Directive 76/211/EEC of 20 January 1976 on the approximation of thelaws of the Member States relating to making-up by weight or byvolume of certainpre-packaged products (
5) as last amended by Direc-
tive 78/891/EEC (6), specify the particulars required for correct
information and protection of the consumer as regards the contents ofpackages; whereas, for preserved sardines, the trade description shouldbe determined according to the culinary preparation proposed, havingparticular regard to the ratio between the various ingredients in thefinished product; whereas, where the covering medium is oil, the way
inwhich the oil must be described should be specified;
Whereas the Commissionshould have respon sibility for the adoptionof
any technical implementing measures,1989R2136 — EN — 01.07.2003 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ No L 33, 8. 2. 1979, p. 1.
(2) OJ No L 144, 29. 5. 1986, p. 38.
(3) OJ No L 46, 21. 2. 1976, p. 1.
(4) OJ No L 311, 4. 11. 1978, p. 21.
(5) OJ No L 379, 31. 12. 1981, p. 1.
(6) OJ No L 148, 1. 6. 1989, p. 1.
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HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
This Regulation defines the standards governing the marketing of
preserved sardines and the trade descriptions for preserved sardinesand preserved sardine-type products marketed in the Community.
Article 1a
For the purposes of this Regulation:
1. ‘preserved sardines’ means products prepared from fish of the
speciesSardina pilchardus ;
2. ‘preserved sardine-type products’ means products marketed and
presented in the same way as preserved sardines and prepared from
fish of the following species:
(a)Sardinops melanosticus, S. neopilchardus, S. ocellatus, S. sagax,
S. caeryleus ;
(b)Sardinella aurita, S. brasiliensis, S. maderensis, S. longiceps, S.
gibbosa;
(c)Clupea harengus ;
(d)Sprattus sprattus ;
(e)Hyperlophus vittatus ;
(f)Nematalosa vlaminghi ;
(g)Etrumeus teres ;
(h)Ethmidium maculatum ;
(i)Engraulis anchoita, E. mordax, E. ringens ;
(j)Opisthonema oglinum .
Article 2
Only products meeting the following requirements may be marketed as
preserved sardines and under the trade description referred to in Article
7:
— they must be covered by CN codes 160413 11, 1604 13 19 and
ex 1604 2050;
— they must be prepared exclusively from fish of the species ‘ Sardina
pilchardus Walbaum’;
— they must be pre-packaged with any appropriate covering medium
in a hermetically sealed container;
— they must be sterilized by appropriate treatment.
Article 3
The sardines must, to the extent required for good market presentation,
be appropriately trimmed of the head, gills, caudal fin and internalorgans other than the ova, milt and kidneys, and, acccording to themarket presentation concerned, backbone and skin.
Article 4
Preserved sardines may be marketed in any of the following presenta-
tions:
1. sardines: the basic product, fish from which the head, gills, internal
organs and caudal fin have been appropriately removed. The headmust be removed by making a cut perpendicular to the backbone,
close to the gills;
2. sardines without bones: as the basic product referred to in point 1,
but with the additional removal of backbone;1989R2136 — EN — 01.07.2003 — 001.001 — 3
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3. sardines without skin or bones: as the basic product referred to in
point 1, but with the additional removal of the backbone and skin;
4. sardine fillets: portions of flesh obtained by cuts parallel to the
backbone, along the entire length of the fish, or a part thereof, afterremoval of the backbone, fins and edge of the stomach lining. Filletsmay be presented with or without skin;
5. sardine trunks: sardine portions adjacent to the head, measuring at
least 3 cm in length, obtained from the basic product referred to in
point 1 by making transverse cuts across the backbone;
6. any other form of presentation, on condition that it is clearly distin-
guished from the presentations defined in points 1 to 5.
Article 5
For the purposes of the trade descriptionlaid downinArticle 7, a
distinction shall be drawn between the following covering media, withor without the addition of other ingredients:
1. olive oil;
2. other refined vegetable oils, including olive-residue oil used singly
or inmixtures;
3. tomato sauce;
4. natural juice (liquid exuding from the fish during cooking), saline
solutionor water;
5. marinade, with or without wine;6. any other covering medium, on condition that it is clearly distin-
guished from the other covering media defined in points 1 to 5.
These covering media may be mixed, but olive oil may not be mixed
with other oils.
Article 6
1. After sterilization, the products in the container must satisfy the
following minimum criteria:
(a) for the presentations defined in points 1 to 5 of Article 4, the
sardines or parts of sardine must:
— be reasonably uniform in size and arranged in an orderly
manner in the container,
— be readily separable from each other,
— present no significant breaks in the abdominal wall,
— present no breaks or tears in the flesh,
— present no yellowing of tissues, with the exception of slight
traces,
— comprise flesh of normal consistency. The flesh must not be
excessively fibrous, soft or spongy,
— comprise flesh of a light or pinkish colour, with no reddening
round the backbone, with the exception of slight traces;
(b) the covering medium must have the colour and consistency charac-
teristic of its description and the ingredients used. In the case of anoil medium, the oil may not contain aqueous exudate in excess of
8 % of net weight;
(c) the product must retainthe odour an d flavour characteristics of the
species ‘Sardina pilchardus Walbaum’ and the type of covering
medium, and must be free of any disagreeable odour or taste, inparticular bitterness, or taste of oxidation or rancidity;
(c) the product must be free of any foreign bodies;
(e) in the case of products with bones, the backbone must be readily
separable from the flesh and friable;
(f) products without skin and without bones must present no signifi-
cant residues thereof.1989R2136 — EN — 01.07.2003 — 001.001 — 4
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2. The container may not present external oxidation or deformation
affecting good commerical presentation.
Article 7
Without prejudice to Directives 79/112/EEC and 76/211/EEC, the trade
description on the pre-packaging of preserved sardines must correspondto the ratio between the weight of sardines in the container after steri-lization and the net weight, both expressed in grams.
(a) For the presentations defined in points 1 to 5 of Article 4, the ratio
shall be not less than the following values:
— 70 % for the covering media listed in points 1, 2, 4 and 5 of
Article 5,
— 65 % for the covering medium described in point 3 of Article 5;
— 50 % for the covering media referred to in point 6 of Article 5.
Where these values are complied with, the trade descriptionmust
correspond to the presentation of the sardine on the basis of the
corresponding designation referred to in Article 4. The designationof the covering medium must form an integral part of the tradedescription.
Inthe case of products inoil, the coverin g medium must be desig-
nated by one of the following expressions:
— ‘inolive oil’, where that oil is used,
or
— ‘in vegetable oil’, where other refined vegetable oils, including
olive-residue oil, or mixtures thereof are used,
or
— ‘in … oil’, indicating the specific nature of the oil.
(b) For the presentations referred to in point 6 of Article 4, the ratio
referred to inthe first subparagraph must be at least 35 %.
(c) In the case of culinary preparations other than those defined in (a),
the trade description must indicate the specific nature of the
culinary preparation.
By way of derogation from Article 2, second indent at point (b) of
this Article, preparations using homogenized sardine flesh, invol-ving the disappearance of its muscular structure, may contain theflesh of other fish which have undergone the same treatmentprovided that the proportionof sardin es is at least 25 %.
(d) The trade description, as defined in this Article, shall be reserved
for the products referred to inArticle 2.
Article 7a
1. Without prejudice to Directive 2000/13/EC of the European
Parliament and of the Council (
1), preserved sardine-type products may
be marketed in the Community under a trade description consisting ofthe word ‘sardines’ joined together with the scientific name of the
species.
2. Wherever the trade descriptionprovided for inparagraph 1 is
marked on the container of a preserved sardine-type product, it shall
be displayed in a clear and distinct manner.
3. The scientific name shall include in all cases the generic and the
specific Latinn ames.
4. Only one species shall be marketed under a single trade descrip-
tion.1989R2136 — EN — 01.07.2003 — 001.001 — 5
(1) OJ L 109, 6.5.2000, p. 29.▼M1
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Article 8
Where necessary, the Commission shall adopt, in accordance with the
procedure laid downinArticle 33 of Regulation(EEC) No 3796/81,
the measures necessary to apply this Regulation, in particular the
sampling plan for assessing conformity of manufacturing batches withthe requirements of this Regulation.
Article 9
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its
publicationinthe Official Journal of the European Communities .
It shall apply as from 1 January 1990.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
inall Member States.1989R2136 — EN — 01.07.2003 — 001.001 — 6