No C 64/26 Official Journal of the European Communities 15. 3. 82 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive on health problems affecting intra-
Community trade in fresh meat 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in Official Journal of the 
European Communities No C 255 of 7 October 1981, page 2. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 5 October 1981 the Council referred the abovementioned proposal to the Economic 
and Social Committee in accordance with Article 43 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 
193rd plenary session held in Brussels on 15 and 16 December 1981. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the 
European Economic Community, and in particular 
Article 43 thereof, 
Having regard to the request made by the Council of 
the European Communities on 5 October 1981 for an 
opinion on the proposal for a Directive on health 
problems affecting intra-Community trade in fresh 
meat, 
Having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 
27 October 1981, instructing the Section for 
Agriculture to prepare an opinion on the matter, 
Having regard to the opinion issued by the 
abovementioned Section on 3 December 1981, 
Having regard to the oral report made by the 
rapporteur, Mr Wick, 
Having regard to its previous work on the matter, 
Having regard to the discussions at its 193rd plenary 
session on 15 and 16 December 1981 (meeting of 
15 December), 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
by 68 votes to 5, with 2 abstentions: The Committee approves the draft Directive subject 
to the comments set out below. 
1. General comments 
1.1. The Committee would first of all refer to the 
basic comments set out in its opinion on the draft 
Directive amending and supplementing EC 
provisions governing animal health and veterinary 
inspections. 
1.2. The Committee holds the view that the draft 
Directive under consideration contains provisions 
which are fundamentally appropriate for facilitating 
intra-Community trade. The Committee therefore 
welcomes this sequel to the 1964 Directive. 
1.3. The Committee would draw attention to the 
view which it has expressed on several occasions in 
other documents that such EC provisions must 
always be in line with the latest developments in 
medical and technical science so that the interest of 
producers, the protection of persons working with 
animals, and the rights of consumers may all be taken 
into consideration. 
1.4. The Committee would stress the need to avoid 
carrying out more than the necessary amount of 
checks in connection with the implementation of the 
provisions, given the cost involved. 
15. 3. 82 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 64/27 
1.5. The Committee calls upon the Commission to 
consider the advisability of submitting horizontal 
provisions in the field covered by this draft 
Directive. 
2. Specific comments 
2.1. Article 1, second sentence 
The Committee does not consider it to be advisable 
to issue a specific Directive to cover fresh meat in 
pieces less than 100 grams in weight. 
In the Committee's view fresh meat in small pieces 
and minced fresh meat should also come within the 
field of application of the present draft Directive in 
the interests of obtaining maximum transparency in 
the legal provisions. The Committee suggests that the 
draft Directive contain a special annex to cover the 
specific hygienic requirements in respect of minced 
meat, ground meat, bone trimmings etc. 
2.2 Article 3 (4) (a) 
The Committee notes that under the proposed 
provisions fresh meat from male pigs which have not 
been used for breeding purposes may be traded 
between Member States. 
In the Committee's view there is a need to exclude 
such meat from trade until such time as reliable 
methods of examination are available for testing 
whether sexual odours are present in the meat of 
boars, hermaphrodite pigs and cryptorchid pigs. The 
Committee would therefore propose that the words 
'male pigs which have been used for breeding' be 
replaced by the word 'boar'. 
2.3. Article 3 (4) (c) 
The Committee is in principle in favour of this 
proposal. It assumes that the ban on tenderizers also 
covers the mechanical treatment of meat. The term 
'substances' should, however, be clarified in order to 
prevent misleading interpretations. 
2.4. Article 4 (2) (b) 
The Committee suggests that the words 'in particular' 
be inserted between 'may relate' and 'to' in the fifth 
line, in order to avoid limiting the provision to the 
measures listed. 
2.5. Article 5, first sentence 
The Committee suggests that the words 'from a 
veterinary viewpoint' be deleted so as to avoid 
restricting the checks to the veterinary field. 2.6. Article 6 (1) 
The Committee wonders whether the proposed 
authorization of the Member States to carry out 
random health inspections of fresh meat between the 
production and consumption stages may not bring 
about on overlap with the duties of the official bodies 
responsible for health matters and for inspecting 
foodstuffs to ensure that they are suitable for human 
consumption. 
2.7. Article 7 
The Committee shares the Commission's view that 
the type of meat described in this Article needs to be 
covered by EC provisions. It would not, however, 
appear to be appropriate for this type of meat to 
come within the scope of the present draft Directive. 
The Committee therefore proposes that this category 
of meat comes under the Council Directive on health 
problems affecting intra-Community trade in meat 
products. 
2.8. Article 9, line 1 
In the German version of the draft Directive the word 
'Betriebskontrollen' (inspections of establishments) 
should be replaced by the words 'Kontrollen in den 
Betrieben' (inspections in establishments) as the 
existing wording is misleading. 
2.9. Article 14 (1) 
The proposed repeal of the existing Directive once 
the present draft Directive is adopted is not in 
conformity with the provision in Article 15 whereby 
the draft Directive is to come into effect after a 
transitional period. The Committee draws attention 
to the fact that this would lead to a legal vacuum and 
it therefore proposes that Article 14 be aligned on 
Article 15. 
2.10. Article 15 
The Committee notes that the proposed transitional 
period between the adoption of the draft Directive 
and its coming into force is too short in view of the 
adjustments which will have to be made in the social 
and technical fields in some areas of the Community. 
The Committee therefore calls for an appropriate 
extension of the proposed transitional period. 
Annex 1. The Committee has not considered this 
Annex in detail in view of its specific technical 
nature. In the Committee's view, however, it is 
essential that the provisions set out in Annex 1 — 
No C 64/28 Official Journal of the European Communities 15.3.82 
which are already contained in existing Directives — temperature (point 2), the ban on the use of wood 
be in line with the latest state of scientific knowledge. (point 4) and the lack of objectives on health grounds 
This applies for example, in respect of water to the use of colouring (point 57). 
Done at Brussels, 15 December 1981. 
The Chairman 
of the Economic and Social Committee 
Tomas ROSEINGRAVE