1991R0344 — EN — 26.10.1991 — 001.001 — 1
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►B COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 344/91
of 13 February 1991
layingdowndetailedrulesforapplyingCouncilRegulation(EEC)No1186/90toextendthescope
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
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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 EconomicCommunity,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1186/90 of 7 May 1990
extending the scope of the Community scale for the classification ofcarcases of adultbovine 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 classi-fication of carcases of adult bovine animals introduced by CouncilRegulation (EEC) No 1208/81 at 28 April 1981 determining theCommunity scale for the classification of carcases of adult bovineanimals (
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 laiddown in Commission Regulation (EEC) No 859/89 of 29 March 1989laying down detailed rules for the application of intervention measuresin the beef and veal sector (
3), as lastamended by Regulat ion (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 markingslaid down therein;
Whereas according to the practices in certain Member States, on certain
conditions, labelling provides the same guarantees as marking asregards the reliability of identification and in addition allows moredetailed information; whereas it is therefore 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 particular Article3 (1) thereof;
Whereas, in view of the limited capacity of certain smallscale slaughter-
houses, recourse should be had to Article 2 (b) of Regulation (EEC) No1186/90 and provision should be made for the possibility of waiving, atthe request of a Member State, obligatory classification, where a smallaverage number of adult bovine animals is slaughtered; whereas theCommission must, when making its decision, take account of certaincircumstances, in particular the objective of gradual harmonization inthis area; whereas, however, in order to simplify application of theabovementioned provision to smaller-scale establishments, it is advis-able to authorize the Member States themselves to grant this waiver inthe case of establishments which slaughter no more than 75 adultbovine animals per week as an annual average and in the case 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;
(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.
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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
checks carried out by public or private bodies having no connectionwith the slaughterhouses they inspect; whereas it must be possible topenalize incorrect classification, in particular by revoking the licence ofthe 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 infringements of this Regulation in particular;
Whereas the Management Committee for beef and veal has not 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 thecategory and the class of conformation and fatness.
This marking shall be carried outby st amping, using an indelible and
non-toxic ink following a method approved by the competent nationalauthorities; the letters and figures must not be less than two centimetresin height. The marks shall be applied on the hindquarters on thestriploin at the level of the fourth lumbar vertebra and on the forequar-ters, on the brisket between 10 an 30 centimetres form the cut edge ofthe sternum. However, Member States may determine other positions oneach quarter provided they inform the Commission beforehand.
2. Without prejudice to Article 4 (3) (d) of Regulation (EEC) No
859/89 and Article 2 (2) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3445/90 (
1), Member States may authorize replacement 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 lessth a n5×1 0c m ;
— 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 theweightof t he carcase;
— the indications referred to in the second indent must be perfectly
legible and no alterations shall be permitted;
— the labels must be tamper-proof and firmly attached to each quarter
in the places defined in parargraph 1.
3. The marks and labels must not be removed before the quarters are
boned.
4. The category shall be indicated in accordance with Article 3 (1) of
Regulation (EEC) No 1208/81.
Article 2
1. At the request of a Member State, the Commission waive to the
obligations concerning the classification of carcases of adult bovineanimals set out in Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 1186/90 forapproved establishments which slaughter only a small number of adultbovine animals per week as an annual average; when making itsdecision, the Commission shall take account of the evolution of the
(1) OJ No L 333, 30. 11. 1990, p. 30.
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capacity of the slaughterhouses, the organization of classification opera-tions 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 adultbovine animals laid down in Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 1186/90shall notbe 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
adultbovine animals setoutin Art icle 1 shall notapply t o approvedslaughterhouses 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. Thelicence may be replaced by an approval granted by the Member Statewhere such approval corresponds to recognition of a qualification.
2. Classification in the establishments covered by Article 1 of Regu-
lation (EEC) No 1186/90 shall be checked on the spot without priorwarning by a body independent of the slaughterhouse. Checks must becarried out at least twice every three months in all approved establish-ments which operate classification and must relate to at least 30carcases selected at random. However, in the case of the approvedestablishments referred to in the first indent of Article 2 (2), frequencyof the checks may be reduced to once every three months only.
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Where the body responsible for checks is the same as that responsiblefor classification or where it does not fall under the authority of a publicbody, the checks provided for in the preceding subparagraph must becarried out under the physical supervision of a public body under thesame conditions and at least once a year. The public body shall beinformed regularly of the findings of the body responsible for checks.
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In cases where a significantnumber of incorrectclassificat ions oridentifications failing to comply with the rules is ascertained duringthese inspections, the number of carcases inspected and the frequency ofsport checks shall be increased and the licence provided for in thepreceding paragraph may be revoked.
3. Member States shall inform the Commission of the measures
taken for the application of Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 1186/90and of penalties for infringements such as, in particular, the falsificationand fraudulent use of stamps and labels, or classification carried out byunlicensed 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.