2005/308/EC: Commission Decision of 12 April 2005 authorising methods for grading pig carcases in Estonia (notified under document number C(2005) 1099)
Date: 2005-04-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Estonia, agricultural product nomenclature, carcase, measuring equipment, statistical method, swine

L 98/44

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

16.4.2005

COMMISSION DECISION

of 12 April 2005

authorising methods for grading pig carcases in Estonia

(notified under document number C(2005) 1099)

(Only the Estonian text is authentic)

(2005/308/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3220/84 of 13
November 1984 determining the Community scale for grading
pig carcases (1), and in particular Article 5(2) thereof,

Commission Decision adopted in the light of experience
gained; for this reason, the present authorisation may be
revoked.

(6)

The measures provided for
accordance with the opinion of
Committee for Pigmeat,

in this Decision are in
the Management

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Article 2(3) of Regulation (EEC) No 3220/84 provides
that the grading of pig carcases must be determined by
estimating the content of lean meat in accordance with
statistically proven assessment methods based on the
physical measurement of one or more anatomical parts
of the pig carcase; the authorisation of grading methods
is subject to compliance with a maximum tolerance for
statistical error in assessment; this tolerance was defined
in Article 3 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No
2967/85 of 24 October 1985 laying down detailed
rules for the application of the Community scale for
grading pig carcases (2).

of

has

The Government
the
Estonia
Commission to authorise two methods for grading pig
carcases and has submitted the results of its dissection
trial which was executed before the day of accession, by
presenting part
the protocol provided for in
two of
Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 2967/85.

requested

The evaluation of
the
conditions for authorising these grading methods are
fulfilled.

this request has revealed that

In Estonia commercial practice may require that the head,
the fore feet and the tail are removed from the pig
carcase; this should be taken into account in adjusting
the weight for standard presentation.

Article 1

The use of the following methods is hereby authorised for
grading pig
to Regulation (EEC) No
3220/84 in Estonia:

carcases pursuant

(a)

the apparatus termed ‘Intrascope (Optical Probe)’ and the
assessment methods related thereto, details of which are
given in Part 1 of the Annex;

(b) the apparatus termed ‘Ultra-FOM 300’ and the assessment
methods related thereto, details of which are given in Part 2
of the Annex.

As regards the apparatus ‘Ultra-FOM 300’, referred to in the first
paragraph, point (b), it is laid down that after the end of the
measurement procedure it must be possible to verify on the
carcase that the apparatus measured the values of measurement
X2 and X4 on the site provided for in the Annex, Part 2, point
3. The corresponding marking of the measurement site must be
made at the same time as the measurement procedure.

(5)

No modification of the apparata or the grading methods
a new
authorised except by means of
may be

(1) OJ L 301, 20.11.1984, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 3513/93 (OJ L 320, 22.12.1993, p. 5).

(2) OJ L 285, 25.10.1985, p. 39. Regulation as amended by Regulation

(EC) No 3127/94 (OJ L 330, 21.12.1994, p. 43).

Notwithstanding the standard presentation referred to in Article
2(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 3220/84, pig carcases may be
presented in Estonia without the head, the fore feet and the
In order to establish
tail before being weighed and graded.
quotations
the
recorded hot weight shall be multiplied by 1,07.

for pig carcases on a comparable basis,

Article 2

16.4.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 98/45

Modifications of the apparatus or the assessment method shall not be authorised.

Article 3

This Decision is addressed to the Republic of Estonia.

Article 4

Done at Brussels, 12 April 2005.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL
Member of the Commission

L 98/46

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

16.4.2005

ANNEX

METHODS FOR GRADING PIG CARCASES IN ESTONIA

Part 1

INTRASCOPE (OPTICAL PROBE)

1. Grading of pig carcases shall be carried out by means of the apparatus termed ‘Intrascope (Optical Probe)’.

2. The apparatus shall be equipped with a hexagonal-shaped probe of a maximum width of 12 millimetres (and of
19 millimetres at the blade at the top of the probe) containing a viewing window and a light source, a sliding barrel
calibrated in millimetres, and having an operating distance of between 3 and 45 millimetres.

3. The lean meat content of the carcase shall be calculated according to the following formula:

= 69,09083 – 0,74785X

Where:

= the estimated percentage of lean meat in the carcase,

X = the thickness of back-fat (including rind) in millimetres, measured at 7 centimetres off the midline of the carcase

at the last rib.

The formula shall be valid for carcases weighing between 60 and 120 kilograms.

Part 2

ULTRA-FOM 300

1. Grading of pig carcases shall be carried out by means of the apparatus termed ‘Ultra-FOM 300’.

2. The apparatus shall be equipped with an ultrasonic probe at 3,5 MHz (Krautkrämer MB 4 SE). The ultrasonic signal is

digitised, stored and processed by a microprocessor.

The results of the measurements shall be converted into estimated lean meat content by means of the Ultra-FOM
apparatus itself.

3. The lean meat content of the carcase should be calculated according to the following formula:
– 0,33910X4

= 64,19701 – 0,39379X2 + 0,08082X3

Where:

= the estimated percentage of lean meat in the carcase,

X2 = the thickness of back-fat (including rind) in millimetres, measured at 7 cm off the midline of the carcase, at the

last rib,

X3 = the thickness of muscle in millimetres, measured at the same time and in the same place as X2,

X4 = the thickness of back-fat (including rind) in millimetres, measured at 7 cm off the midline of the carcase,

between the third and the fourth last rib.

The formula shall be valid for carcases weighing between 60 and 120 kilograms.