Proposal for a COUNCIL DIRECTIVE amending Council Directive 64/433/EEC on health conditions for the production and marketing of fresh meat
Date: 1994-07-15
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: fresh meat, health control, marketing, meat processing industry, transport document, veterinary inspection

COMMISSION  OF  THE  EUROPEAN  COMVIUNITIES 

C0M(94) 315 final 
Brussels,  15.07.1994 

94/ 0176(CNS) 

Proposal  for a 

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 

amending Council  Directive 64/433/EEC on health  conditions 

for the production and marketing of  fresh meat 

(presented  by the Commission) 

— I  -

EXPLANATORY  MEMORANDUM 

On  29  July  1991  the  Council  adopted  Directive  91/497/EEC  amending  and 

consolidating  Directive  64/433/EEC  on  health  conditions  for  the  production  and 

marketing  of  fresh  meat. 

On  17 December  1992  the  Council  adopted  Directive  92/120/EEC  on  the  conditions 

for  granting  temporary  and  limited  derogations  from  specific  Community  health 

rules  on  the  production  and  marketing  of  certain  products  of  animal  origin. 

When  adopting  this  Directive  the  Council  and  the  Commission  agreed  to 

reassess,  before  the  end  of  1993,  certain  problems  encountered  in  the 

application  of  health  rules  under  Directive  64/433/EEC,  particularly  as 

regards  the  time  limit  on  derogations  and  the  quantitative  ceiling  on  the 

production  of  undertakings  which  qualified  for  the  conditions  set  out  Article 

4  of  that  Direct ive. 

To  take  account  of  practical  difficulties  in  the  application  of  Directive 

64/433/EEC,  it  is  proposed  to  make  some  technical  modifications  to  Article  3 

to  allow  for  trade  in cuts  of  all  types  of  offal,  to  clarify  the  obligation  to 

indicate  the  code  number  of  the  official  veterinarian  on  the  commercial 

document  or  certificate  for  meat  coming  from  approved  cold-stores,  and  to 

clarify  the  provisions  relating  to  the  accompanying  document  or  certificate. 

In  the  light  of  the  application  of  the  throughput  ceilings  in Article  4,  it  is 

proposed  to  align  the  ceilings  with  those  adopted  by  Council  under  Directive 

92/120/EEC  for  small  slaughterhouses  and  cutting  plants,  and  to  extend  the 

scope 

for  small 

plants 

to 

cover 

small 

cold-stores.  Since 

small 

establishments  are  required  to  meet  the  same  hygiene  standards  as  other 

establishments,  they  should  be  allowed  to  market  their  product  throughout  the 

Community  and  mark  their  meat  with  the  oval  stamp.  It  is  also  proposed  to 

provide  that  Member  States  may  be  authorized,  on  the  basis  of  a  justified 

case,  to  exceed  the  weekly  throughput  limits  to  take  account  of  particular 

circumstances. 

Proposal  for a 

Council Directive 

amend i ng Counc11 DIrect i ve 64/433/EEC on hea11h cond i t ions 

for the production and marketing of fresh meat 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community,  and  in 

particular Article 43 there of; 

Having regard  to the proposal  from the Commission; 

Having  regard  to the opinion of  the European Parliament; 

Having regard  to the opinion of  the Economic and Social Committee; 

Whereas Council  Directive 64/433/EEC  (1) established  rules  for  the  production 

and  marketing  of  fresh  meat  from  bovine  animals, swine, sheep  and  goats  and 

domestic solipeds; 

(1)  O.J.  n'  L  121,  29.07.1964,  p.  2012/64.  Directive  last  amended  by 

Directive 91/497/EEC  (O.J. n* L 268, 24.09.1991, p. 69). 

-  3  -

Whereas  the  provisions  applicable  to  low capacity  establishments,  allowing  for 

their  approval  by  means  of  simplified  structure  and  infrastructure  criteria, 

should  be  simplified  to  take  account  of  particular  situations  and  to  reduce 

administrative  burdens; 

Whereas  satisfactory  health  conditions  can  be  established  for  the  production 

and  marketing  of  sliced  offals; 

Whereas,  to  ensure  conformity  with  health  conditions  and  for  efficient 

operation,  it  is  necessary  to  modify  the  provisions  relating  to  documentation 

accompanying  fresh  meat; 

Whereas  meat  from  low  capacity  establishments  must  meet  same  hygiene  standard 

as  meat  from  other  establishments;  whereas  the  restriction  on  marketing  meat 

from  low capacity  establishments on  the  local  market  should  be  deleted; 

Whereas  the  throughput  limits  for  low  capacity  slaughterhouses  and  cutting 

plants  should  be  aligned  with  those  established  by  Council  Directive 

92/120/EEC^2)  on 

the  conditions 

for 

granting 

temporary 

and 

limited 

derogations  from  specific  Community  health  rules  on  the  production  and 

marketing  of  certain  products  of  animal  origin; 

Whereas  for  health  reasons  it  is  essential  to  prevent  contamination  of  fresh 

meat  and  of  offal;  whereas  partitioning  of  closed-circuit  mechanical  equipment 

may  be  necessary  in some  cases  when  handling  pig  stomachs; 

HAS  ADOPTED  THIS  DIRECTIVE: 

Article 1 

Directive  64/433/EEC  is amended  as  follows: 

1.  In  Article  3  (1)  A  (f)  (ii)  the  words  "accompanying  commercial  document 

authorised  by  the  official  veterinarian"  are  replaced  by  "accompanying 

commercial  document  the  format  of  which  has  been  authorized  by  the  official 

veterinarian". 

(2) 

O.J.  No.  L62,  15.03.1993,  p.86 

_ 4 -

2. The second subparagraph of Article 3, paragraph  1.C  is deleted. 

3.  In Article 3, paragraph  1.D  (b) the following sentence  is added: 

"In this case the code number of  the official  veterinarian  responsible 

for  the  cold  store  shall  be  indicated  on  the  commercial  document  or 

cert ificate." 

4.  In Article  4, point A, the numbers  "12" and  "600" are  replaced  by "20" 

and  "1000". 

5. The  second  subparagraph  of  Article  4  A  1  (e)  is  replaced  by  the 

fo11ow i ng : 

"Member  States  shall  draw  up  a  list  of  establishments  benefiting  from 

these  provisions.  They  shall  inform  the  Commission  of  the  number  of 

establishments  on  the  list  and  any  amendments  thereto,  and  shall 

communicate  the  list  of  establishments  to  the  Commission  at  its 

request." 

6.  In Article  4 A  (2) first  subparagraph  the  word  "three"  is replaced  by 

"five". 

7. Article 4 A (3) is replaced by the following : 

"3.  Member  States  may  grant  derogations  from  the  structural 

requirements provided  for  in Chapter  I  of Annex  I for  low-capacity 

cold  stores  in which  only  packaged  meat  and  other  foodstuffs  are 

stored". 

8. Article 4 A (4) is replaced by the following : 

"4.  Meat  from establishments referred  to  in this Article  that  has been 

judged  to  comply  with  the  hygiene  and  health  inspection 

requirements  laid down by this Directive must  bear  a health mark  in 

accordance  with  Chapter  XI  of  Annex  I  and  be  transported  under 

satisfactory  hygiene  conditions  in  accordance  with  Chapter  XV  of 

Annex  I. " 

- 5 -

9. The following paragraph  is added  to Article 4 A : 

"5.  Member  States may  be authorized  by  the Commission,  on  the  basis of 

a  justified  request,  to exceed  the  throughput  limits  in paragraphs 

1 and  2 or  to permit  a seasonal  increase, within  the overall  annual 

ceiling,  in  the  number  of  livestock  units  slaughtered  per  week, 

provided  that  the owner  of  the establishment  has  received  specific 

training,  recognized  by  the  competent  authority,  in  production 

hygiene and  that  the provisions of paragraphs  1 and  2 are otherwise 

respected. 

In addition, the establishments concerned must  meet  at  least one of 

the following conditions: 

(a)  be  situated  in  regions  suffering  from  special  geographical 

constraints; 

(b)  be affected  by supply difficulties; 

(c)  that  the  animals  to  be  slaughtered  are  the  property  of  the 

owner of  the establishment, and  that  the meat  produced  is used 

solely  to  supply  the  establishment  or  sold  directly  to  the 

consumer  on the spot." 

10.  A new point  "C"  is added  to Article 4 as follows : 

"C.  The  Commission  shall  establish  criteria  for  the  possibility  of 

exceeding  the throughput  limits established  in point  A  in the  light 

of  experience  of  the  application  of  the  throughput  limits  by  the 

Member  States." 

11. 

In Article 4, points  "C", "D" and  "E" are renumbered  "D", "E" and  "F". 

12.  Article  13(1)  is deleted. 

13.  At  Annex  I, Chapter  II, point  14 (c) (i) a  further  sentence  is added  as 

fol lows: 

"In  the case of  pigs  this shall  be  required  to  the extent  necessary  to 

prevent  contamination of  fresh meats or offal;" 

-  6  -

Article  2 

Member  States  shall  bring  into  force  the  laws,  regulations  and  administrative 

provisions  necessary  to  comply  with  this  Directive  not  later  than  1  January 

1995.  They  shall  forthwith  inform  the Commission  thereof. 

When  Member  States  adopt  these  measures,  they  shall  contain  a  reference  to 

this  Directive  or  shall  be  accompanied  by  such  reference  on  the  occasion  of 

their  official  publication.  The  methods  of  making  such  a  reference  shall  be 

laid  down  by  the Member  States. 

Ar t i c I e  3 

This  Directive  shall  enter  into  force  20  days  after  its  publication  in  the 

Official  Journal  of  the  European  Communities. 

Article  4 

This  Directive  is addressed  to  the Member  States. 

Done  at  Brussels, 

For  the  Council 

The  President 

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