2000R1760 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B REGULATION (EC) No 1760/2000 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE
COUNCIL
of17July2000
establishing a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and regarding the
labelling ofbeefandbeefproductsandrepealingCouncilRegulation(EC)No820/97
(OJ L 204, 11.8.2000, p. 1)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►A1Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the
Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia,
the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic ofMalta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the SlovakRepublic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the EuropeanUnion isfoundedL 236 33 23.9.2003
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REGULATION (EC) No 1760/2000 OF THE EUROPEAN
PARLIAMENTANDOFTHECOUNCIL
of17July2000
establishing a system for the identification and registration of
bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef
productsandrepealingCouncilRegulation(EC)No820/97
THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE
EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and
in particular Articles37 and 152 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social
Committee (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions(3),
Acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251 of
the Treaty (4),
Whereas:
(1)Article 19 of Council Regulation (EC) No 820/97 of 21 April
1997 establishing a system for the identification and registrationof bovine animalsand regarding the labelling of beef and beef
products(
5), states that a compulsory beef labelling system is to
be introduced and obligatory in all Member Statesfrom 1January 2000 onwards. The same Article also provides that, onthe basis of a Commission proposal, the general rules for thatcompulsory system are to be adopted before that date.
(2)Council Regulation (EC) No 2772/1999 of 21 December 1999providing for the general rulesfor a compuls ory beef labellingsystem (
6) providesfor thes e general rulesto apply only
temporarily for a maximum period of eight months, that is tosay from 1 February to 31 August 2000.
(3)For the sake of clarity Regulation (EC) No 820/97 should berepealed and replaced by thisRegulation.
(4)Following the instability in the market in beef and beef productscaused by the bovine spongiform encephalopathy crisis, theimprovement in the transparency of the conditions for theproduction and marketing of the productsconcerned, particularly
asregardstraceability, hasexerted a pos itive influence on
consumption of beef. In order to maintain and strengthen theconfidence of consumers in beef and to avoid misleading them,it is necessary to develop the framework in which the informa-tion is made available to consumers by sufficient and clear
labelling of the product.
(5)To that end it is essential to establish, on the one hand, an effi-
cient system for the identification and registration of bovineanimalsat the production s tage and to create, on the otherhand, a specific Community labelling system in the beef sectorbased on objective criteria at the marketing stage.2000R1760 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 2
(1) OJ C 376 E, 28.12.1999, p. 42.
(2) OJ C 117, 26.4.2000, p. 47.
(3) OJ C 226, 8.8.2000, p. 9.
(4) European Parliament opinion of 12 April 2000 (not yet published in the
Official Journal), Council Common Position of 6 June 2000 (not yet
published in the Official Journal) and European Parliament Decision of 6
July 2000 (not yet published in the Official Journal).
(5) OJ L 117, 7.5.1997, p. 1.
(6) OJ L 334, 28.12.1999, p. 1.
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(6)By virtue of the guaranteesprovided through thisimprovement,
certain public interest requirements will also be attained, in
particular the protection of human and animal health.
(7)As a result, consumer confidence in the quality of beef and beefproductswill be improved, a higher level of protection of public
health preserved and the lasting stability of the beef market will
be reinforced.
(8)Article 3(1)(c) of Council Directive 90/425/EEC of 26 June 1990concerning veterinary and zootechnical checksapplicable in
intra-Community trade in certain live animalsand productswith
a view to the completion of the internal market (
1) states that
animalsfor intra-Community trade mus t be identified in accor-dance with the requirementsof Community rulesand beregistered in such a way that the original or transit holding,centre or organisation can be traced, and that before 1 January
1993 these identification and registration systems are to be
extended to the movementsof animalswithin the territory ofeach Member State.
(9)Article 14 of Council Directive 91/496/EEC of 15 July 1991
laying down the principlesgoverning the organis ation of veter-
inary checkson animalsentering the Community from thirdcountriesand amending Directives89/662/EEC, 90/425/EECand 90/675/EEC (
2) states that the identification and registration
asprovided for in Article 3(1)(c) of Directive 90/425/EEC ofsuch animals must, except in the case of animals for slaughter
and registered equidae, be carried out after the said checks have
been made.
(10)The management of certain Community aid schemes in the fieldof agriculture requiresthe individual identification of certain
types of livestock. The identification and registration systems
must, therefore, be suitable for the application and control ofsuch individual identification measures.
(11)It is necessary to ensure the rapid and efficient exchange of
information between Member Statesfor the correct application
of thisRegulation. Community provis ionsrelating thereto havebeen established by Council Regulation (EEC) No 1468/81 of19 May 1981 on mutual assistance between the administrativeauthoritiesof the Member Statesand the cooperation between
the latter and the Commission to ensure the correct application
of the law on customs or agriculture matters (
3) and by Council
Directive 89/608/EEC of 21 November 1989 on mutual assis-tance between the administrative authorities of the MemberStates and cooperation between the latter and the Commissionto ensure the correct application of legislation on veterinary and
zootechnical matters(
4).
(12)The current rulesconcerning the identification and the regis tra-
tion of bovine animalshave been laid down in CouncilDirective 92/102/EEC of 27 November 1992 on the identifica-
tion and registration of animals (
5) and Regulation (EC) No
820/97. Experience hass hown that the implementation of Direc-tive 92/102/EEC for bovine animalshasnot been entirelysatisfactory and needs further improvement. It is therefore neces-sary to adopt specific rules for bovine animals in order toreinforce the provisions of the said Directive.2000R1760 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 3
(1) OJ L 224, 18.8.1990, p. 29. Directive aslas t amended by Directive 92/118/
EEC (OJ L 62, 15.3.1993, p. 49).
(2) OJ L 268, 24.9.1991, p. 56. Directive aslas t amended by Directive 96/43/
EC (OJ 162, 1.7.1996, p. 1).
(3) OJ L 144, 2.6.1981, p. 1. Regulation repealed by Regulation (EC) No 515/
97 (OJ L 82, 22.3.1997, p. 1).
(4) OJ L 351, 2.12.1989, p. 34.
(5) OJ L 355, 5.12.1992, p. 32. Directive aslas t amended by the 1994 Act of
Accession.
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(13)For the introduction of an improved identification system to be
accepted, it is essential not to impose excessive demands on the
producer in terms of administrative formalities. Feasible timelimitsfor itsimplementation mus t be laid down.
(14)For the purpose of rapid and accurate tracing of animals forreasons relating to the control of Community aid schemes, eachMember State should create a national computerised data basewhich will record the identity of the animal, all holdingson its
territory and the movementsof the animals , in accordance with
the provisions of Council Directive 97/12/EC of 17 March 1997amending and updating Directive 64/432/EEC on healthproblemsaffecting intra-Community trade in bovine animalsand swine (
1), which clarifiesthe health requirementsconcerning
thisdatabas e.
(15)It isimportant that each Member State take all meas uresthat
may still be necessary in order to ensure that the national
computerised database is fully operational as quickly as possible.
(16)Stepss hould be taken in order to create the technical conditionsguaranteeing the best communication possible by the producerwith the database and a comprehensive use of databases.
(17)In order to permit movementsof bovine animalsto be traced,animalss hould be identified by an ear tag applied in each earand in principle accompanied by a passport throughout anymovement. The characteristics of the ear tag and of the passport
should be determined on a Community basis. In principle a pass-
port should be issued for each animal to which an ear tag hasbeen allocated.
(18)Animalsimported from third countriespurs uant to Directive 91/496/EEC should be subject to the same identification require-ments.
(19)Every animal s hould keep itsear tag throughout itslife.
(20)The Commission is examining, on the basis of work performedby the Joint Research Centre, the feasibility of using electronicmeansfor the identification of animals .
(21)Keepers of animals, with the exception of transporters, should
maintain an up-to-date register of the animals on their holdings.
The characteristics of the register should be determined on aCommunity basis. The competent authority should have accessto these registers on request.
(22)Member States may spread the costs arising from the applicationof these measures over the entire beef sector.
(23)The authority or authorities responsible for the application ofeach title in this Regulation should be designated.
(24)A compulsory beef labelling system should be introduced whichis obligatory in all Member States. Under this compulsory
system, operators and organisations marketing beef should indi-
cate on the label information about the beef and the point ofslaughter of the animal or animals from which that beef wasderived.
(25)The compulsory beef labelling system should be reinforced from1 January 2002. Under this compulsory system, operators andorganisations marketing beef should, in addition, indicate on the
label information concerning origin, in particular where the
animal or animalsfrom which the beef wasderived were born,fattened and slaughtered.
(26)Information additional to the information concerning where theanimal or animalsfrom which the beef wasderived were born,fattened and slaughtered may be provided under the voluntarybeef labelling system.2000R1760 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 4
(1) OJ L 109, 25.4.1997, p. 1.
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(27)The system of compulsory labelling based on origin should be in
force from 1 January 2002, it being understood that full informa-
tion on movementsmade by bovine animalsin the Communityisonly required for animalsborn after 31 December 1997.
(28)The compulsory beef labelling system should also apply to beefimported into the Community. However, provision should bemade for the fact that not all the information which isrequired
for labelling beef produced in the Community may be available
to a third-country operator or organisation. It is therefore neces-sary to state the minimum information that third countries mustensure is indicated on the label.
(29)For operatorsor organis ationsproducing and marketing mincedbeef who may not be in a position to provide all the information
required under the compulsory beef labelling system, exceptions
ensuring a certain minimum number of indications must beprovided.
(30)The objective of labelling isto give maximum trans parency inthe marketing of beef.
(31)The provisions of this Regulation must not affect Council Regu-
lation (EEC) No 2081/92 of 14 July 1992 on the protection of
geographical indicationsand des ignationsof origin for agricul-tural productsand foods tuffs(
1).
(32)For all indications other than those falling under the compulsorybeef labelling system, a Community framework for labelling ofbeef should also be provided and, in view of the diversity of
descriptions of beef marketed in the Community, the establish-
ment of a voluntary beef labelling system is the mostappropriate solution. The effectiveness of such a voluntary label-ling system depends on the possibility of tracing any labelledbeef back to the animal or animalsof origin. The labellingarrangements of an operator or organisation should be subject
to a specification to be submitted to the competent authority for
approval. Operators and organisations should be entitled to labelbeef only if the label containstheir name or their identifyinglogo. The competent authoritiesof the Member Statess hould beauthorised to withdraw their approval of any specification in the
event of irregularities. In order to ensure that labelling specifica-
tions may be recognised across the Community, it is necessary toprovide for the exchange of information between Member States.
(33)Operatorsand organis ationsimporting into the Community beeffrom third countries may also wish to label their productsaccording to the voluntary labelling system. Provisions should
be laid down to ensure as far as possible that labelling arrange-
mentsrelating to imported beef are of equivalent reliability tothose set up for Community beef.
(34)The change from the arrangementsin Title II of Regulation (EC)No 820/97 to those in this Regulation can give rise to difficultiesthat are not dealt with in thisRegulation. In order to deal with
that possibility, provision should be made for the Commission
to adopt the necessary transitional measures. The Commissionshould also be authorised to solve specific practical problemswhere justified.
(35)With a view to guaranteeing the reliability of the arrangementsprovided for by this Regulation, it is necessary to oblige the
Member Statesto carry out adequate and efficient control
measures. These controls should be without prejudice to anycontrolsthat the Commis s ion may carry out by analogy withArticle 9 of Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 2988/95 of18 December 1995 on the protection of the European Commu-nities' financial interests (
2).2000R1760 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 5
(1) OJ L 208, 24.7.1992, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 312, 23.12.1995, p. 1. Regulation aslas t amended by Regulation (EC)
No 1036/1999 (OJ L 127, 21.5.1999, p. 4).
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(36)Appropriate penaltiess hould be laid down in the event of a
breach of the provisions of this Regulation.
(37)The measures necessary for the implementation of this Regula-tion should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision
1999/468/EC of 28 June 1999 laying down the proceduresforthe exercise of implementing powers conferred on the Commis-sion (
1),
HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
TITLE I
Identificationandregistrationofbovineanimals
Article 1
1. Each Member State shall establish a system for the identification
and registration of bovine animals, in accordance with this Title.
2. The provisions of this title shall apply without prejudice to
Community rules which may be established for disease eradication orcontrol purposes and without prejudice to Directive 91/496/EEC andRegulation (EEC) No 3508/92 (
2). However, the provisions of Directive
92/102/EEC which relate specifically to bovine animals shall no longer
apply from the date on which those animals must be identified inaccordance with thistitle.
Article 2
For the purposes of this title:
— ‘animal’ meansa bovine animal within the meaning of Article
2(2)(b) and (c) of Directive 64/432/EEC (
3),
— ‘holding’ means any establishment, construction or, in the case of
an open-air farm, any place situated within the territory of thesame Member State, in which animals covered by this Regulationare held, kept or handled,
— ‘keeper’ means any natural or legal person responsible for animals,
whether on a permanent or on a temporary basis, including duringtransportation or at a market,
— ‘competent authority’ meansthe central authority or authoritiesin a
Member State responsible for, or entrusted with, carrying out veter-
inary checksand implementing thistitle or, in the cas e of the
monitoring of premiums, the authorities entrusted with imple-menting Regulation (EC) No 3508/92.
Article 3
The system for the identification and registration of bovine animals
shall comprise the following elements:
(a) ear tagsto identify animalsindividually;
(b) computerised databases;
(c) animal passports;
(d) individual registers kept on each holding.
The Commission and the competent authority of the Member State
concerned shall have access to all the information covered by this title.
The Member States and the Commission shall take the measures neces-
sary to ensure access to these data for all parties concerned, includingconsumer organisations having an interest which are recognised by the2000R1760 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 6
(1) OJ L 184, 17.7.1999, p. 23.
(2) OJ L 355, 5.12.1992, p. 1. Regulation aslas t amended by Regulation (EC)
No 1036/1999 (OJ L 127, 21.5.1999, p. 4).
(3) OJ 121, 29.7.1964, p. 1977/64. Directive updated by Directive 97/12/EC (OJ
L 109, 25.4.1997, p. 1 ) and last amended by Directive 98/99/EC (OJ L 358,
31.12.1998, p. 107).
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Member State, provided that the data confidentiality and protection
prescribed by national law are ensured.
Article 4
1. All animalson a holding born after 31 December 1997 or
intended for intra-Community trade after 1 January 1998 shall be iden-tified by an ear tag approved by the competent authority, applied toeach ear. ►
A1All animalson a holding in the Czech Republic,
Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Sloveniaor Slovakia born by the date of accession or intended for intra-Commu-
nity trade after that date shall be identified by an ear tag approved by
the competent authority, applied to each ear. ◄Both ear tagss hall
bear the same unique identification code, which makes it possible toidentify each animal individually together with the holding on whichit wasborn. By way of derogation from the above requirement, animals
born before 1 January 1998 which are intended for intra-Community
trade after that date may be identified in accordance with Directive92/102/EEC until 1 September 1998.
By way of derogation from the first subparagraph, animals born before
1 January 1998 which are intended for intra-Community trade after thatdate with a view to immediate slaughter may be identified in accor-
dance with Directive 92/102/EEC until 1 September 1999.
Bovine animalsintended for cultural and s porting events(with the
exception of fairs and exhibitions) may, instead of by an ear tag, beidentified by an identification system offering equivalent guaranteesand authorised by the Commission.
2. The ear tag shall be applied within a period to be determined by
the Member State asfrom the birth of the animal and in any cas ebefore the animal leavesthe holding on which it wasborn. The periodmay not be longer than 30 daysup to and including 31 December1999, and not longer than 20 daysthereafter.
However, at the request of a Member State and in accordance with the
procedure referred to in Article 23(2), the Commission may determinethe circumstances in which Member States may extend the maximumperiod.
No animal born after 31 December 1997 may be moved from a holding
unless it is identified in accordance with the provisions of this Article.
No animal born in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia,
Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia or Slovakia after the dateof accession may be moved from a holding unless it is identified in
accordance with the provisions of this Article.
3. Any animal imported from a third country which has passed the
checkslaid down in Directive 91/496/EEC and which remainswithin
Community territory shall be identified on the holding of destination
by an ear tag complying with the requirementsof thisArticle, withina period to be determined by the Member State but not exceeding 20days following the aforesaid checks, and in any event before leavingthe holding.
However, it is not necessary to identify the animal if the holding of
destination is a slaughterhouse situated in the Member State wheresuch checks are carried out and the animal is slaughtered within 20daysof undergoing the checks .
The original identification established by the third country shall be
recorded in the computerised database provided for in Article 5 or, if
thisisnot yet fully operational, in the regis tersprovided for in Article
3, together with the identification code allocated to it by the MemberState of destination.
4. Any animal from another Member State shall retain its original
ear tag.2000R1760 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 7
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5. No ear tag may be removed or replaced without the permission of
the competent authority.
6. The ear tags shall be allocated to the holding, distributed and
applied to the animalsin a manner determined by the competent
authority.
7. Not later than 31 December 2001 the European Parliament and
the Council, acting on the basis of a report from the Commissionaccompanied by any proposals and in accordance with the procedure
provided for in Article 95 of the Treaty, shall decide on the possibility
of introducing electronic identification arrangementsin the light ofprogress achieved in this field.
Article 5
The competent authority of the Member States shall set up a compu-
terised database in accordance with Articles 14 and 18 of Directive64/432/EC.
The computerised databases shall become fully operational no later
than 31 December 1999, after which they shall store all data requiredpursuant to the said Directive.
Article 6
1. Asfrom 1 January 1998, the competent authority s hall, for each
animal which has to be identified in accordance with Article 4, issue apassport within 14 days of the notification of its birth, or, in the case of
animalsimported from third countries , within 14 daysof the notifica-
tion of itsre-identification by the Member State concerned inaccordance with Article 4(3). The competent authority may issue apassport for animals from another Member State under the same condi-tions. In such cases, the passport accompanying the animal on its
arrival shall be surrendered to the competent authority, which shall
return it to the issuing Member State.
The competent authority in the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus,
Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia shall, as of
the date of accession, for each animal which has to be identified in
accordance with Article 4, issue a passport within 14 days of the noti-fication of itsbirth, or, in the cas e of animalsimported from thirdcountries, within 14 days of the notification of its re-identification bythe Member State concerned in accordance with Article 4(3).
However, at the request of a Member State and in accordance with the
procedure referred to in Article 23(2), the Commission may determinethe circumstances under which the maximum period may be extended.
2. Whenever an animal ismoved, it s hall be accompanied by its
passport.
3. By way of derogation from the first sentence of paragraph 1 and
from paragraph 2, Member States:
— which have a computerised database which the Commission deems
to be fully operational in accordance with Article 5 may determine
that a passport is to be issued only for animals intended for intra-Community trade and that those animals shall be accompanied bytheir passports only when they are moved from the territory of theMember State concerned to the territory of another Member State,in which case the passport shall contain information based on the
computerised database.
In these Member States, the passport accompanying an animal
imported from another Member State shall be surrendered to thecompetent authority on itsarrival;
— may until 1 January 2000 authorise the issue of collective animal
passports for herds moved within the Member State concernedprovided that such herds have the same origin and destination andare accompanied by a veterinary certificate.2000R1760 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 8
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4. In the case of the death of an animal, the passport shall be
returned by the keeper to the competent authority within seven daysafter the death of the animal. If the animal is sent to the slaughter-
house, the operator of the slaughterhouse shall be responsible for
returning the passport to the competent authority.
5. In the case of animals exported to third countries, the passport
shall be surrendered by the last keeper to the competent authority atthe place where the animal isexported.
Article 7
1. With the exception of transporters, each keeper of animals shall:
— keep an up-to-date register,
— once the computerised database is fully operational, report to the
competent authority all movementsto and from the holding and all
birthsand deathsof animalson the holding, along with the datesof
these events, within a period fixed by the Member State of betweenthree and seven days of the event occurring. However, at therequest of a Member State and in accordance with the procedurereferred to in Article 23(2), the Commission may determine the
circumstances in which Member States may extend the maximum
period and provide for special rules applicable to movements ofbovine animalswhen put out to s ummer grazing in different moun-tain areas.
2. Where applicable and having regard to Article 6, each animal
keeper shall complete the passport immediately on arrival and prior todeparture of each animal from the holding and ensure that the passport
accompaniesthe animal.
3. Each keeper shall supply the competent authority, upon request,
with all information concerning the origin, identification and, whereappropriate, destination of animals, which he has owned, kept, trans-ported, marketed or slaughtered.
4. The register shall be in a format approved by the competent
authority, kept in manual or computerised form, and be available atall timesto the competent authority, upon reques t, for a minimum
period to be determined by the competent authority but which may
not be less than three years.
Article 8
Member States shall designate the authority responsible for ensuring
compliance with thistitle. They s hall inform each other and theCommission of the identity of this authority.
Article 9
Member States may charge to keepers the costs of the systems referred
to in Article 3 and of the controlsreferred to in thistitle.
Article 10
The measures necessary for the implementation of this Title shall be
adopted in accordance with the management procedure referred to inArticle 23(2). These measures concern in particular:
(a) provisions concerning ear tags;
(b) provisions concerning the passport;
(c) provisions concerning the register;
(d) minimum level of controlsto be carried out;
(e) application of administrative sanctions;
(f) transitional measures required to facilitate the application of this
title.2000R1760 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 9
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TITLE II
Labellingofbeefandbeefproducts
Article 11
An operator or an organisation, as defined in Article 12, which:
— isrequired, by virtue of Section I of thistitle, to label beef at all
stages of marketing,
— wishes, by virtue of Section II of this title, to label beef at the point
of sale in such a way as to provide information, other than that laiddown by Article 13, concerning certain characteristics or production
conditionsof the labelled meat or of the animal from which it
derives,
shall do so in accordance with this title.This title shall apply without prejudice to relevant Community legisla-
tion, in particular on beef.
Article 12
For the purposes of this title, the following definitions shall apply:
— ‘beef’ meansall productsfalling within CN codes0201, 0202,
0206 10 95 and 0206 29 91,
— ‘labelling’ meansthe attachment of a label to an individual piece or
piecesof meat or to their packaging material, or in the cas e of non-prewrapped productsthe s upply of appropriate information inwritten and visible form to the consumer at the point of sale,
— ‘organisation’ means a group of operators from the same or
different partsof the beef trade.
SECTION I
CompulsoryCommunitybeeflabelling system
Article 13
General rules
1. Operatorsand organis ationsmarketing beef in the Community
shall label it in accordance with this Article.
The compulsory labelling system shall ensure a link between, on the
one hand, the identification of the carcass, quarter or pieces of meatand, on the other hand, the individual animal or, where thisiss ufficientto enable the accuracy of the information on the label to be checked,the group of animalsconcerned.
2. The label shall contain the following indications:
(a) a reference number or reference code ensuring the link between the
meat and the animal or animals. This number may be the identifi-
cation number of the individual animal from which the beef was
derived or the identification number relating to a group of animals;
(b) the approval number of the slaughterhouse at which the animal or
group of animalswass laughtered and the Member State or third
country in which the slaughterhouse is established. The indication
shall read: ‘Slaughtered in (name of the Member State or thirdcountry) (approval number)’;
(c) the approval number of the cutting hall which performed the
cutting operation on the carcass or group of carcases and the
Member State or third country in which the hall is established.
The indication shall read: ‘Cutting in: (name of the Member Stateor third country) (approval number)’.
3. However, up until 31 December 2001, Member Stateswhere
sufficient details are available in the identification and registrationsystem for bovine animals, provided for in Title I, may decide that,for beef from animals born, raised and slaughtered in the same Member2000R1760 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 10
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State, supplementary items of information must also be indicated on
labels.
4. A compulsory system as provided for in paragraph 3 must not
lead to any disruption of trade between the Member States.
The implementation arrangementsapplicable in thos e Member States
intending to apply paragraph 3 shall require prior approval from the
Commission.
5. (a) As from 1 January 2002, operators and organisations shall also
indicate on the labels:
(i) Member State or third country of birth;
(ii) all Member Statesor third countrieswhere fattening took
place;
(iii) Member State or third country where slaughter took place;
(b) However, where the beef isderived from animalsborn, rais ed
and slaughtered:
(i) in the same Member State, the indication may be given as
‘Origin: (name of Member State)’;
(ii) in the same third country, the indication may be given as
‘Origin: (name of third country)’.
Article 14
Derogationsfromthecompulsorylabelling system
By way of derogation from Article 13(2)(b) and (c) and from Article
13(5)(a)(i) and (ii), an operator or organisation preparing minced beef
shall indicate on the label the words ‘prepared (name of the MemberState or third country)’, depending on where the meat wasprepared,and ‘origin’ where the State or Statesinvolved are not the State ofpreparation.
The obligation provided for in Article 13(5)(a)(iii) shall be applicable
to such meat as from the date of application of this Regulation.
However, such operator or organisation may add to the label of the
minced beef:
— one or more of the indicationsprovided for in Article 13, and/or
— the date on which the meat wasprepared.
On the basis of experience, and in the light of requirements, similar
provisions may be adopted for cut meat and for beef trimmings inaccordance with the procedure referred to in Article 23(2).
Article 15
Compulsorylabelling ofbeeffromthirdcountries
By way of derogation from Article 13, beef imported into the Commu-
nity for which not all the information provided for in Article 13 isavailable, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 17,shall be labelled with the indication: ‘Origin: non-EC’ and ‘Slaughtered
in: (name of third country)’.
SECTION II
Voluntarylabelling system
Article 16
General rules
1. For labelscontaining indicationsother than thos e provided for in
Section I of this title, each operator or organisation shall send a speci-
fication for approval to the competent authority of the Member State inwhich production or sale of the beef in question takes place. Thecompetent authority may also establish specifications to be used in theMember State concerned, provided that use thereof is not compulsory.2000R1760 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 11
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Voluntary labelling specifications shall indicate:
— the information to be included on the label,
— the measures to be taken to ensure the accuracy of the information,
— the control system which will be applied at all stages of production
and sale, including the controls to be carried out by an independent
body recognised by the competent authority and designated by theoperator or the organisation. These bodies shall comply with thecriteria set out in European Standard EN/45011,
— in the case of an organisation, the measures to be taken in relation
to any member which fails to comply with the specifications.
Member Statesmay decide that controlsby an independent body may
be replaced by controlsby a competent authority. The competent
authority shall in that case have at its disposal the qualified staff and
resources necessary to carry out the requisite controls.
The costs of controls provided for in this section shall be borne by the
operator or organisation using the labelling system.
2. The approval of any specification shall be subject to the assur-
ance of the competent authority, obtained on the basis of a thorough
examination of itscomponentsasreferred to in paragraph 1, of the
proper and reliable functioning of the labelling system envisaged and,in particular, of any specification which does not ensure a linkbetween, on the one hand, the identification of the carcass, quarter orpiecesof meat and, on the other hand, the individual animal or, wherethisiss ufficient to enable the accuracy of the information on the label
to be checked, the animalsconcerned.
Specifications which provide for labels containing misleading or insuf-
ficiently clear information shall also be refused.
3. Where the production and/or sale of beef takes place in two or
more Member States, the competent authorities of the Member Statesconcerned shall examine and approve the specifications submitted in
so far as the elements contained therein relate to operations taking
place within their respective territories. In such case, each MemberState concerned shall recognise the approvals granted by any otherMember State concerned.
If, within a period to be fixed in accordance with the procedure
referred to in Article 23(2), counting from the day following the date
of submission of the application, approval has not been refused or
given, or supplementary information has not been asked for, the speci-fication shall be considered to be approved by the competent authority.
4. Where the competent authoritiesof all the Member States
concerned approve the specification submitted, the operator or organi-sation concerned shall be entitled to label beef, provided that the label
containsitsname or logo.
5. By way of derogation from paragraphs 1 to 4, the Commission, in
accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 23(2), may providefor an accelerated or simplified procedure for approval in specificcases, in particular for beef in small retail packages or prime beef cutsin individual packages, labelled in a Member State according to an
approved specification and introduced into the territory of another
Member State, provided that no information isadded to the initiallabel.
6. A Member State may decide that the name of one or more of its
regionsmay not be us ed, in particular where the name of a region:
— could give rise to confusion or difficulties in checking,
— isres erved for beef in the framework of Regulation (EEC) No
2081/92.
Where authorisation is given, the name of the Member State shall
appear alongside the name of the region.
7. Member States shall inform the Commission of the implementa-
tion of thisArticle and in particular of the indicationss et out on thelabels. The Commission shall inform the other Member States within2000R1760 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 12
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the Management Committee for Beef and Veal referred to in Article
23(1)(b) and, where necessary, in accordance with the procedurereferred to in Article 23(2), rulesrelating to thos e indicationsmay be
laid down and, in particular, limitsmay be impos ed.
Article 17
Voluntarylabellingsystemforbeeffromthirdcountries
1. Where the production of beef takesplace, in full or in part, in a
third country, operators and organisations shall be entitled to label beefaccording to thiss ection if, in addition to complying with Article 16,they have obtained for their specifications the approval of the compe-
tent authority designated for that purpose by each of the third countries
concerned.
2. The validity within the Community of an approval granted by a
third country shall be subject to prior notification by the third country
to the Commission of:
— the competent authority which hasbeen des ignated,
— the proceduresand criteria to be followed by the competent
authority when examining the specification,
— each operator and organisation whose specification was accepted by
the competent authority.
The Commission shall transmit these notifications to the Member
States.
Where, on the basis of the above notifications, the Commission reaches
the conclusion that the procedures and/or criteria applied in a third
country are not equivalent to the standards set out in this Regulation,the Commission shall, after consultation with the third countryconcerned, decide that approvalsgranted by that third country s hallnot be valid within the Community.
Article 18
Sanctions
Without prejudice to any action taken by the organisation itself or the
independent control body provided for in Article 16, where it iss hown
that an operator or organisation has failed to comply with the specifica-tion referred to in Article 16(1), the Member State may withdraw theapproval provided for in Article 16(2) or impose supplementary condi-tionsto be res pected if itsapproval isto be maintained.
SECTION III
General provisions
Article 19
Detailedrules
The measures necessary for the implementation of this title shall be
adopted in accordance with the management procedure referred to in
Article 23(2). These measures concern in particular:
(a) definition of the size of the group of animals, referred to in Article
13(2)(a);
(b) definition of the minced beef, beef trimmingsor cut beef referred
to in Article 14;
(c) definition of specific indications that may be put on labels;
(d) measures required to facilitate the transition from the application of
Regulation (EC) No 820/97 to application of thistitle;
(e) measures required to resolve specific practical problems. Such
measures, if duly justified, may derogate from certain parts of thistitle.2000R1760 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 13
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Article 20
Designationofcompetentauthorities
Member States shall designate the competent authority or authorities
responsible for implementing this title, no later than 14 October 2000.►
A1The Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania,
Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, and Slovakia shall do so no laterthan three months after the date of accession. ◄
Article 21
At the latest by 14 August 2003, the Commission shall submit a report
to the European Parliament and the Council, together, if necessary,with appropriate proposals regarding extending the scope of this Regu-lation to processed products containing beef and beef-based products.
TITLE III
Commonprovisions
Article 22
1. Member States shall take all the necessary measures to ensure
compliance with the provisions of this Regulation. The controlsprovided for shall be without prejudice to any controls which theCommission may carry out pursuant to Article 9 of Regulation (EC,Euratom) No 2988/95.
Any sanctions imposed by the Member State on a holder shall be
proportionate to the gravity of the breach. The sanctions may involve,
where justified, a restriction on movement of animals to or from the
holding of the keeper concerned.
2. Experts from the Commission, in conjunction with the competent
authorities:
(a) shall verify that the Member States are complying with the require-
mentsof thisRegulation;
(b) shall make on-the-spot checks to ensure that the checks are carried
out in accordance with thisRegulation.
3. A Member State in whose territory an on-the-spot check is made
shall provide the experts from the Commission with any assistance theymay require in the performance of their tasks.
The outcome of the checks made must be discussed with the competent
authority of the Member State concerned before a final report isdrawn
up and circulated.
4. Where the Commission deems that the outcome of checks so
justifies, it shall review the situation within the Standing Veterinary
Committee referred to in Article 23(1)(c). It may adopt the necessarydecisions in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 23(3).
5. The Commission shall monitor developments in the situation: in
the light of such developments and in accordance with the procedurelaid down in Article 23(3) it may amend or repeal the decisionsreferred to in paragraph 4.
6. Detailed rulesfor the application of thisArticle s hall be adopted,
where necessary, in accordance with the procedure referred to inArticle 23(3).2000R1760 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 14
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Article 23
1. The Commission shall be assisted:
(a) for the implementation of Article 10, by the European Agricultural
Guidance and Guarantee Fund Committee referred to in Article 11
of Council Regulation (EC) No 1258/1999 (1);
(b) for the implementation of Article 19 by the Management
Committee for Beef and Veal set up by Article 42 of CouncilRegulation (EC) No 1254/1999 (
2);
(c) for the implementation of Article 22 by the Standing Veterinary
Committee set up by Council Decision 68/361/EEC (3).
2. Where reference ismade to thisparagraph, Articles4 and 7 of
Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions ofArticle 8 thereof.
The period referred to in Article 4(3) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be
set at one month.
3. Where reference ismade to thisparagraph, Articles5 and 7 of
Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of
Article 8 thereof.
The period referred to in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be
set at three months.
4. The Committeess hall adopt their rulesof procedure.
Article 24
1. Regulation (EC) No 820/97 shall be repealed.2. References to Regulation (EC) No 820/97 shall be construed as
referencesto thisRegulation and s hall be read in accordance with thecorrelation table set out in the Annex.
Article 25
ThisRegulation s hall enter into force on the third day following the
day of itspublication in the Official Journal of the European Commu-
nities.
It shall be applicable to beef from animals slaughtered on or after 1
September 2000.
ThisRegulation s hall be binding in itsentirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.2000R1760 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 15
(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 103.
(2) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 21.
(3) OJ L 255, 18.10.1968, p. 23.
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ANNEX
Correlation table
Regulation (EC) No 820/97 ThisRegulation
Article 1 Article 1
Article 2 Article 2
Article 3 Article 3Article 4 Article 4Article 5 Article 5
Article 6 Article 6
Article 7 Article 7Article 8 Article 8Article 9 Article 9
Article 10 Article 10
Article 11 —Article 12 Article 11Article 13 Article 12
Article 14(1) Article 16(1)
Article 14(2) Article 16(2)Article 14(3) Article 16(5)Article 14(4) Article 16(4)Article 15 Article 17
Article 16(1) Article 16(3)
Article 16(2) Article 16(3)Article 16(3) Article 13(2) (a)Article 17 Article 18
Article 18 Article 19
Article 19 —Article 20 Article 20Article 21 Article 22
Article 22 Article 252000R1760 — EN — 01.05.2004 — 001.001 — 16