No C 53/20 Official Journal of the European Communities 3. 3. 80 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 71/118/EEC on 
health problems affecting trade in fresh poultrymeat 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in Official Journal of the Euro­
pean Communities No C 177 of 14 July 1979, page 3. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 11 July 1979 the Council referred the abovementioned proposal to the Economic 
and Social Committee in accordance with Articles 47 and 198 of the Treaty establish­
ing the European Economic Community. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 
172nd plenary session held in Brussels on 24 and 25 October 1979. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the Euro­
pean Economic Community, and in particular Art­
icles 47 and 198 thereof, 
Having regard to the request made by the Council 
of the European Communities on 11 July 1979 for 
an opinion, 
Having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau 
on 16 July 1979 instructing the Section for Agricul­
ture to prepare the Committee's work on the matter, 
Having regard to its earlier work on the matter, 
Having regard to the opinion issued by the Section 
for Agriculture at its meeting on 4 October 1979, 
Having regard to the report submitted by the rappor­
teur, Mr Clavel, 
Having regard to the discussions at its 172nd plen­
ary session held on 24 and 25 October 1979 (meeting 
of 24 October 1979), areas. It endorses the proposal, subject to the fol­
lowing comments. 
2. General comments 
In the light of (i) the general provisions of the par­
ent Directive, (ii) the changes made to date and (iii) 
those currently proposed, the Committee is con­
cerned that: 
— conditions for production, slaughter, transport 
(where appropriate), processing and packaging 
should make for the greatest possible safety of 
the product from the health point of view, while 
preserving taste and lending themselves to practi­
cal implementation and supervision, 
— it should be possible to maintain traditional 
practices and products that are consistent with 
such safety from the health point of view, 
— the implementation of Directives geared to this 
end should be aligned as far as possible, particu­
larly the checks referred to in the third subpara­
graph of Article 3 (5) of Directive 71/118/EEC. 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
with no dissenting votes and one abstention: 
1. The Committee is pleased that the Commission 
has finally decided to seek solutions in keeping with 
the conditions prevailing in the main production 3. Specific comments 
3.1. Paragraph 3: to exclude any risk of misinter­
pretation, the French text should be amended to 
read: 
3. 3. 80 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 53/21 
'... saignes et plumes a la ferme'. 
(This does not affect the English version). 
This comment also applies to the third and fifth 
lines of paragraph 8 of the French text. A corres­
ponding unequivocal German rendering should also 
be found. 
3.2. Paragraph 5: the words 'on the farm' should 
be added at the end of the third line. 
3.3. The Committee considers that the 24-hour 
deadline set by the Commission will be inadequate 
on Saturdays if the needs of poultry farmers are to 
Done at Brussels, 24 October 1979. be met, if administrative requirements are to be ful­
filled and if acceptable working conditions in the 
centres are to prevail. The Committee considers that 
a 48-hour deadline for poultry slaughtered on a 
Saturday and immediately taken into cold storage 
will provide consumers with excellent hygiene guar­
antees. 
3.4. Paragraph 8: The Committee would prefer the 
footnote reference (*) in the first line for the model 
health certificate contained in Annex III to be de­
leted. An identification and classification number is 
the only way of establishing the origin of the docu­
ment, where necessary, and thus preventing mal­
practices. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
R. VANNI 
Opinion on 
the proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 72/461/EEC on health prob­
lems affecting infra-Community trade in fresh meat 
the proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 77/79/EEC on health prob­
lems affecting intra-Community trade in meat products 
The texts referred to the Committee have been published in Official Journal of the 
European Communities No C 196 of 3 September 1979, pages 4 and 8. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 30 and 31 July 1979 the Council referred the abovementioned proposals to the 
Economic and Social Committee in accordance with Articles 47 and 198 of the Treaty 
establishing the European Economic Community. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 
172nd plenary session held in Brussels on 24 and 25 October 1979.