1992R2137 — EN — 25.12.1997 — 001.001 — 1
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►B COUNCILREGULATION(EEC)No2137/92
of23July1992
concerning the Community scale for the classification of carcases of ovine animals and deter-
mining the Community standard quality of fresh or chilled sheep carcases and extending
Regulation(EEC)No338/91
(OJ L 214, 30.7.1992, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Council Regulation (EC) No 1278/94 of 30 May 1994 L 140 5 3.6.1994
►M2Council Regulation (EC) No 2536/97 of 16 December 1997 L 347 6 18.12.1997
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COUNCILREGULATION(EEC)No2137/92
of23July1992
concerningtheCommunityscalefortheclassificationofcarcasesof
ovineanimalsanddeterminingtheCommunitystandardqualityoffresh or chilled sheep carcases and extending Regulation (EEC)
No338/91
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European EconomicCommunity,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3013/89 of 25
September 1989 on the common organization of the market in thesheepmeat and goatmeat sector(
1), and in particular Article 4 (2)
thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,Whereas a carcase classification standard is necessary in order to
improve market transparency in this sector;
Whereas the classification must be made on the basis of conformation
and the degree of fat cover; whereas the combination of these two
criteria enables carcases of ovine animals to be divided into classes;
whereas classified carcases must be identified;
Whereas, however, other criteria, in particular weight, meat colour and
fat cover, may be used for the classification of carcases of lambs less
than 13 kg weight; whereas Member States wishing to use these criteriainform the Commission and other Member States;
Whereas, in order to ensure the uniform application of this Regulation
in the Community, provision should be made for on-the-spot checks bya Community inspection group;
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 338/91 of 5 February 1991
determining the Community standard quality of fresh or chilled sheep
carcases(
2) applied for the 1991 and 1992 marketing years pending the
setting up of Community carcase classification standards;
Whereas it is not appropriate to set up the standards in question at
present; whereas it is preferable to first gain some experience, acquiredover a sufficiently long period with regard to the application of theclassification scale as provided for under this Regulation; whereas it istherefore necessary to extend the application of Regulation (EEC)No 338/91 by a marketing year, with the exception of the measure
provided for in Article 7 in Regulation (EEC) No 3013/89, for which
the application should be extended until 30 June 1994;
Whereas it appears appropriate to set as an objective the compulsory
application of the Community scale after a sufficiently representative
transitional period for all the slaughterhouses approved for intra-Community trade; whereas, however, for reasons of sound administra-tion, this compulsory application need not concern smallslaugtherhouses situated in regions where the impact on the market
price produced by the volume slaughtered in such slaughterhouses is
negligible,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
This Regulation governs the provisions concerning the Community
scale for the classification of sheep carcases.1992R2137 — EN — 25.12.1997 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ No L 289, 7. 10. 1989, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation
(EEC) No 1741/91 (OJ No L 163, 13. 6. 1991, p. 41).
(2) OJ No L 41, 14. 2. 1991, p. 1.
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Article 2
For the purpose of carcase classification, the following presentations
shall apply:
(a)carcase: the whole body of a slaughter animal as presented after
bleeding, evisceration and skinning, presented without the head
(severed at the atlantooccipital joint), the feet (severed at the carpo-
metacarpal or tarso-metatarsal joints), the tail (severed between thesixth and seventh caudal vertebrae), the udder, the genitalia, theliver and the pluck. Kidneys and kidney fat are included in thecarcase;
(b)hall-carcase: (SIC!half-carcase: ) the product obtained by separ-
ating the carcase symmetrically through the middle of eachcervical, dorsal, lumbar and sacral vertebra and through the middle
of the sternum and the ischiopublic symphysis.
However, Member States shall be authorized to permit different presen-
tations when the reference presentation is not used. In such instances,the adjustments necessary to progress from those presentations to the
reference presentation shall be determined in accordance with the
procedure laid down in Article 30 of Regulation (EEC) No 3013/89.
Article 3
1. Carcases of ovine animals shall be divided into the following
categories:
— carcases of sheep under twelve months old,
— carcase of other sheep.
2. The carcases of ovine animals shall be classified by assessment
respectively of:
(a) conformation,
(b) fat cover,
as identified in Annexes I and II respectively.
The conformation class designated in Anenx (SIC! Annex) I by the
letter S may be used by the Member States optionally to encompassthe higher (‘double-muscled carcase type’) conformation class. Member
States intending to avail themselves of this option shall inform the
Commission and the other Member States thereof.
However, for lambs of less than 13 kg carcase weight, Member States
may be authorized to use the following criteria for classification:
(a) carcase weight,
(b) colour of meat,
(c) fat cover,
as defined in Annex III. Member States intending to make use of this
authorization shall notify the Commission and the other Member Statesthereof by 5 April 1993.
3. Member States shall authorized to subdivide each of the classes
provided for in Annexes I and II into a maximum of three sub-classes.
Member States making use of the classification system provided for in
Annex III shall be authorized to subdivide category C into two subca-tegories.
Article 4
1. Classification of carcases or half-carcases shall take place as soon
as possible after slaughter and be carried out in the slaughterhouseitself.
2. The classified carcases or half-carcases shall be identified.1992R2137 — EN — 25.12.1997 — 001.001 — 3
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3. The detailed rules for applying this Article shall be adopted by 31
December 1992 in accordance withth e procedure laid down in Article30 of Regulation (EEC) No 3013/89.
Article 5
On-the-spot inspection shall be carried out, in collaboration with the
competent national authorities, by a Community inspection group
composed of experts from the Commission and experts appointed bythe Member States. This group shall report back to the Commissionand the other Member States on the checks carried out.
If appropriate, the measures necessary for the purpose of classification
shall be taken in accordance with the procedures laid down in Article30 of Regulation (EEC) No 3013/89.
The inspections shall be carried out on behalf of the Community,
which shall bear the resulting costs.
The detailed rules for applying this Article shall be adopted in accor-
dance withth e procedure laid down in Article 30 of Regulation (EEC)No 3013/89.
Article 6
Additional provisions specifying the definition of the classes of confor-
mation, fat cover, carcase weight and colour of meat shall be adoptednot later than 31 December 1992 in accordance with the procedure laiddown in Article 30 of Regulation (EEC) No 3013/89.
Article 7
1. From 5 April 1993 and until a new standard quality definition has
been introduced, Member States shall on a weekly basis notify the
Commission of the market prices recorded for the different classes in
the classification scale.
2. The detailed rules for implementing this Article, and in particular
the frequency and extent of the recordings, shall be adopted in accor-dance withth e procedure laid down in Article 30 of Regulation (EEC)No 3013/89.
3. The information notified to the Commission by the Member
States shall be used for preparing the report and the proposals provided
for in Article 8 (2).
Article 9
The Commission shall submit a report to the Council, by 31 July 2002
at the latest, on the operation of these arrangements, together with,
where necessary, appropriate proposals, in particular with regard to
the classification scale for carcases, with the aim of making the appli-cation, if possible, compulsory.
Article 10
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
It shall apply from the 1993 marketing year.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.1992R2137 — EN — 25.12.1997 — 001.001 — 4
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ANNEX I
CONFORMATION
Developmentofcarcaseprofiles,inparticulartheessentialparts(hindquarter,back,shoulder)
Conformation class Description
S
SuperiorAll profiles extremely convex; exceptional muscle development
(double-muscled carcase type)
E
excellentAll profiles convex to extremely convex; exceptional muscle
development
U
very goodProfiles on the whole convex; very good muscle development
R
goodProfiles on the whole straight; good muscle development
O
fairProfiles straight to concave; average muscle development
P
poorProfiles concave to very concave; poor muscle development1992R2137 — EN — 25.12.1997 — 001.001 — 5
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ANNEX II
DEGREEOFFATCOVER
Amountoffatontheoutsideofthecarcase andinthethoracic cavity
Class of fat cover Description
1
lowNone up to low fat cover
2
slightSlight fat cover, flesh visible almost everywhere
3
averageFlesh, with exception of the hindquarter and shoulder, almost
everywhere covered with fat; slight deposits of fat in the thoracic
cavity
4
highFlesh covered with fat, but on the hindquarter and should still
partly visible; some distinctive fat deposits in the thoracic cavity
5
very highCarcase thickly covered with fat; heavy fat deposits in the thoracic
cavity1992R2137 — EN — 25.12.1997 — 001.001 — 6
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ANNEX III
CarcaseclassificationgridunderArticle 3(2),thirdsubparagraph
Category A B C
Weight ≤7 kg 7,1 — 10 kg 10,1 — 13 kg
Quality 1st 2nd 1st 2nd 1st 2ndMeat colour clear pink other
colour or
other fat
levelclear pink
or pinkother
colour or
other fat
levelclear pink
or pinkother colour
or other fat
level
Fat class(*) (2) (3) (2) (3) (2) (3)
(*) As defined in Annex II.1992R2137 — EN — 25.12.1997 — 001.001 — 7