Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2024/1141 of 14 December 2023 amending Annexes II and III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards specific hygiene requirements for certain meat, fishery products, dairy products and eggs
Date: 2023-12-14
Institutions: Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, European Commission
Subjects: egg, fishery product, food inspection, food safety, health control, meat, meat processing industry, milk product, transport of animals, veterinary inspection




L_202401141EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
L series













2024/1141


19.4.2024







            COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2024/1141
of 14 December 2023
         
amending Annexes II and III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards specific hygiene requirements for certain meat, fishery products, dairy products and eggs
(Text with EEA relevance)


THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,


Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin (1), and in particular Article 10(1), second subparagraph, points (a), (c), (d), (e) and (f), thereof,

Whereas:







(1)


Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 lays down specific rules on the hygiene of food of animal origin for food business operators. In particular, Annex II to that Regulation lays down requirements concerning several products of animal origin, and Annex III thereto lays down specific requirements. Section I of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 lays down requirements on the application of an identification mark to products of animal origin. Part B of Section I of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 refers to the European Community, instead of the European Union. Abbreviations of the identification mark which refer to the ‘European Union’ should therefore replace references to the ‘European Community’. However, such replacement creates a substantial administrative burden. A transitional period should therefore be provided for during which the products bearing an identification mark with the abbreviation for the ‘European Community’ before the end of the transitional period may remain on the market.












(2)


In addition, clarification is needed on the link between the form of the identification mark required by Regulation (EC) No 853/2004, and the requirements for a special identification mark laid down for the control of certain animal diseases in Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2). Part B of Section I of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 should be amended to clarify which form should be applied in specific circumstances.












(3)


Annex II also requires food business operators operating slaughterhouses as appropriate, to request, receive, check and act upon food chain information in respect of all animals, other than wild game, sent or intended to be sent to the slaughterhouse. The same requirements should apply to food business operators operating game-handling establishments where farmed game slaughtered at the place of origin is sent to the game-handling establishment.












(4)


Mobile slaughterhouses are increasingly used to avoid possible animal welfare issues during transport, for example, due to long transport times of animals reared in remote areas. Mobile slaughterhouses are subject to approval like any other slaughterhouse in accordance with Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 in each Member State where they operate. There is, however, a need to clarify how this approval should be applied in the case of a combination of mobile and permanent facilities of the slaughterhouse. Approval of slaughterhouses is mainly based on compliance with requirements on the construction, layout and equipment of those slaughterhouses provided for in Chapter II of Sections I and II of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004.












(5)


Article 43(6) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/627 (3) allows, in exceptional circumstances, that live animals may be moved to another slaughterhouse. Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 does not provide for this possibility. For consistency of Union legislation, Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 should be aligned in this respect with Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/627. Chapter IV of Section I of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 should therefore be amended accordingly.












(6)


Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 allows the stunning and bleeding of a limited number of certain ungulates on the farm subject to specific requirements including that the animals cannot be transported to the slaughterhouse to avoid any risk to the handler and to prevent any injuries to the animals during transport. This requirement limits this possibility for stunning and bleeding on the farm largely to extensively reared animals and excludes most animals regularly handled by farmers and therefore easily transported without risk. Based on the experience gained by food business operators and competent authorities and taking into account the increasing demand to prevent any animal welfare issue during transport, it is appropriate to extend that possibility to stun and bleed ungulates on the farm in accordance with specific requirements to ovine and caprine animals and other ungulates reared under any condition of housing.












(7)


On 19 January 2023, the European Food Safety Authority published a Scientific Opinion on Microbiological Safety of Aged Meat (4) (‘the EFSA Opinion’). The EFSA Opinion indicates that aged meat does not create a higher public health risk than fresh meat if certain requirements are complied with. Taking into account the increasing consumption of aged meat, it is appropriate to lay down specific requirements recommended in the EFSA Opinion in Regulation (EC) No 853/2004, in particular as regards dry-aged meat from bovine animals. Such meat is placed on the market as fresh meat or, e.g. by the adding of ripening cultures during dry-ageing to fresh meat, as meat preparation. Both Sections I and V of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 should be amended accordingly.












(8)


Chapter VII of Section I of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 provides for alternative transport conditions for carcases, half carcases, quarters or half carcases cut into three wholesale cuts of ovine, caprine animals, bovine and porcine animals. These transport conditions are based on the control of the surface temperature of the meat instead of its core temperature and need to comply with specific requirements.












(9)


Based on the experience gained by food business operators and competent authorities, it is appropriate to amend those specific requirements laid down in Chapter VII of Section I of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 in particular to allow the collection of the meat from a cold store and a limited number of slaughterhouses, to allow the transport in the same compartment with more kinds of meat complying with final temperature requirements of such meat, and to provide additional temperature and time conditions for transport of carcases, half carcases, quarters or half carcases cut into three wholesale cuts of ovine, caprine animals and bovine animals during a maximum transport time on 30 hours.












(10)


Different outcomes have been signalled by competent authorities on the measurement of the surface temperature when using different methods. It is therefore appropriate to lay down a reference method based on the experience gained by food business operators and technological developments while maintaining the possibility to use alternative methods.












(11)


Section III of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 requires that farmed ratites and farmed ungulates slaughtered on the farm are to be transported to the slaughterhouse for further handling. As game-handling establishments have appropriate facilities to hygienically handle such farmed game slaughtered on the farm they should also be authorised to receive and handle farmed ratites and farmed ungulates.












(12)


Point (3)(i) of Section III of Annex III also requires a declaration by the food business operator who reared the animals to accompany farmed ratites and farmed ungulates slaughtered on the farm to the slaughterhouse. The information provided on that declaration is similar to the food chain information. To reduce administrative burden by this duplication of information, this requirement for declaration should be deleted. References to point 3(i) should be replaced by references to the food chain information.












(13)


Farmed game slaughtered at the holding of provenance must be accompanied by a certificate attesting compliance with the requirements set out in Section III, point 3 of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004, using the model health certificate set out in Chapter 3 of Annex IV to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2235 (5). To avoid any ambiguity between the legal requirement laid down in Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 and the model health certificate set out in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2235, the wording of the health certificate in both Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2235 should be fully consistent.












(14)


Annex III, Section VIII, Chapter VII, points 1 and 2 to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 provide that fresh fishery products and thawed unprocessed fishery products, are to be maintained at a temperature approaching that of melting ice and that frozen fishery products are to be kept at a temperature of not more than – 18 °C in all parts of the products. The fishery product sector sometimes needs to deploy machines that slice fresh, thawed unprocessed fishery products or processed fishery products and can build the slices again by using automatically placed interleaving sheets. In this case, those fishery products are placed in a cold room to decrease their initial temperature or, in the case of already frozen products, increase their temperature to higher than – 18 °C to permit the cutting or the slicing. It is therefore appropriate to authorise, where it is necessary for technologically required temperature, that the temperature of fishery products submitted to that practice differs from the temperatures required in points 1 and 2 of Chapter VII of Section VIII of Annex III for a limited amount of time. However, storage and transport at that temperature should not be allowed.












(15)


Part I of Chapter I of Section IX of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 lays down health requirements for raw milk and colostrum production in herds of farmed animals from which the milk and colostrum are collected with a view to placing them on the market. Point 3 of that Part I provides that raw milk from cows, buffaloes, sheep or goats that do not come from herds free or officially free of brucellosis and tuberculosis is to undergo a heat treatment such as one to show a negative reaction to the alkaline phosphatase test. However, alkaline phosphatase testing is not a suitable method to verify heat treatment of raw milk from non-bovine species or raw milk separated in different fractions before being heat-treated in modern processing plants. Alternative options based on hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) principles laid down in Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6) should therefore be offered to food business operators to demonstrate the effectiveness of the heat treatment applied.












(16)


Part II of Chapter II of Section IX of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 lays down the requirements for heat treatment for raw milk, colostrum, dairy or colostrum-based products. Point 1(a) of that Part II provides that pasteurised products must show, where applicable, a negative reaction to an alkaline phosphatase test immediately after such treatment. Owing to the unsuitability of alkaline phosphatase testing to verify heat treatment of raw milk from non-bovine species or raw milk separated in different fractions before being heat-treated, alternative options based on HACCP principles should also be offered to food business operators to demonstrate the effectiveness of the pasteurisation.












(17)


Chapter I of Section X of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 lays down hygiene rules for the production of eggs and in particular provides that, at the producer’s premises until sale to the consumer, eggs must be kept free of extraneous odour as such an odour may be indicative of an alteration of eggs which would render them unsuitable for direct consumption by the final consumer. However, where an extraneous odour has been intentionally applied to eggs by a food business operator in order to flavour them with particular tastes, the presence of such an odour does not mean that the eggs present a risk to the consumer. The placing on the market of eggs to which an odour has been applied intentionally should therefore be permitted, provided that such practice is not intended to hide the pre-existence of any foreign odour of the eggs.












(18)


It is appropriate to provide food business operators with sufficient time to adapt to the new requirements on the dry-ageing of beef or to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the competent authorities the safety of alternative approaches. Therefore, these new requirements laid down in Chapter VII of Section I of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004, as amended by this Regulation, should apply 6 months from the date of entry into force of this Regulation.












(19)


Therefore, Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 should be amended accordingly,





HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:



Article 1
Annexes II and III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 are amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.


Article 2
The identification mark on products of animal origin may continue to include the abbreviations of ‘European Community’ set out in Annex II, Section I, Part B, point 8, of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 as it stood in the version before the amendments made by this Regulation, until 31 December 2028, and the products of animal origin with such identification marks applied before that date may remain on the market.


Article 3
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Point (3)(a)(iv)(1) of the Annex, shall apply from 9 November 2024.




This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 14 December 2023.


For the Commission


The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN
            





(1)  
            OJ L 139, 30.4.2004, p. 55.

(2)  Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on transmissible animal diseases and amending and repealing certain acts in the area of animal health (‘Animal Health Law’) (OJ L 84, 31.3.2016, p. 1).

(3)  Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/627 of 15 March 2019 laying down uniform practical arrangements for the performance of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council and amending Commission Regulation (EC) No 2074/2005 as regards official controls (OJ L 131, 17.5.2019, p. 51).

(4)  
            EFSA Journal 2023;21(1):7745.

(5)  Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2235 of 16 December 2020 laying down rules for the application of Regulations (EU) 2016/429 and (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards model animal health certificates, model official certificates and model animal health/official certificates, for the entry into the Union and movements within the Union of consignments of certain categories of animals and goods, official certification regarding such certificates and repealing Regulation (EC) No 599/2004, Implementing Regulations (EU) No 636/2014 and (EU) 2019/628, Directive 98/68/EC and Decisions 2000/572/EC, 2003/779/EC and 2007/240/EC (OJ L 442, 30.12.2020, p. 1).

(6)  Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and the Council of 29 April 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs (OJ L 139, 30.4.2004, p. 1).




ANNEX
Annexes II and III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 are amended as follows:






(1)


In Annex II, in Section I, Part B is amended as follows:






(a)


point 8 is replaced by the following:






‘8.


When applied in an establishment located within the Union, the mark must be oval in shape and include the abbreviation of European Union (“EU”) in one of the official languages of the Union as follows: EC, EU, EL, UE, EE, AE, ES, EÚ.;
Those abbreviations must not be included in marks applied by establishments located outside the Union on products imported into the Union.’;














(b)


the following point is added:






‘8a.


The requirements on the form of the identification mark in this Part B may be replaced by the requirements for a special identification mark in accordance with Article 65(1), point (h), of Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council (*1), and the rules adopted in accordance with Article 67, point (a), Article 71(3) or (4), or Article 259(1) or (2) of that Regulation.





(*1)  Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on transmissible animal diseases and amending and repealing certain acts in the area of animal health (“Animal Health Law”) (OJ L 84, 31.3.2016, p. 1).’."
                        














(2)


In Annex II, Section III is amended as follows:






(a)


the introductory paragraph is replaced by:

                                    ‘Food business operators operating slaughterhouses or game-handling establishments must, as appropriate, request, receive, check and act upon food chain information as set out in this Section in respect of all animals, other than wild game, sent or intended to be sent to the slaughterhouse or game-handling establishment.’
                                 ;









(b)


in points 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 7 the word ‘slaughterhouse’ is replaced by the words ‘slaughterhouse or game-handling establishment’.














(3)


Annex III is amended as follows:






(a)


Section I is amended as follows:






(i)


in Chapter II, the introductory phrase is replaced by the following:

                                                ‘Food business operators must ensure that the construction, layout and equipment of slaughterhouses in which domestic ungulates are slaughtered meet the requirements laid down in the following points 1 to 9. Mobile partial slaughterhouses must operate in cooperation with complementary permanent slaughtering facilities in order to constitute a complete slaughterhouse complying with the requirements laid down in the following points 1 to 9. Mobile partial slaughterhouses may operate with several complementary slaughtering facilities, thus constituting several slaughterhouses.’;










(ii)


in Chapter IV, point 1 is replaced by the following:






‘1.


After arrival at the slaughterhouse, the slaughter of the animals must not be unduly delayed. However, where required for welfare reasons, animals must be given a resting period before slaughter. Animals that are presented at a slaughterhouse for slaughter shall be slaughtered there and direct movements to another slaughterhouse may be allowed only in exceptional cases in accordance with Article 43(6), second subparagraph of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/627.’;














(iii)


Chapter VIa is amended as follows:






(1)


the heading is replaced by the following:






‘Chapter VIa:


SLAUGHTER AT THE HOLDING OF PROVENANCE OF DOMESTIC BOVINE ANIMALS, OTHERS THAN BISONS, AND OVINE, CAPRINE AND PORCINE ANIMALS AND DOMESTIC SOLIPEDS OTHER THAN EMERGENCY SLAUGHTER’;














(2)


the introductory phrase is replaced by the following:

                                                            ‘Up to three domestic bovine animals, other than bisons, up to three domestic solipeds, up to six domestic porcine animals or up to nine ovine or caprine animals may be slaughtered at the same occasion at the holding of provenance, when authorised by the competent authority in accordance with the following requirements:’;










(3)


point (a) is deleted;














(iv)


Chapter VII is amended as follows:






(1)


the following point is inserted after point 2:






‘2a.


For the purposes of this point, “dry-ageing” means the storage of fresh meat in aerobic conditions of hanging carcasses or cuts either unpacked or packed in bags permeable to water vapour in a refrigerated room or cabinet and left to age for several weeks at controlled environmental conditions of temperature, relative humidity and airflow.
Before placing on the market or freezing, bovine meat subject to dry-ageing must be stored at a surface temperature of – 0,5 to 3,0 °C, with a relative humidity of a maximum of 85 % and an airflow of 0,2 to 0,5 m/s in a dedicated room or cabinet for a maximum of 35 days starting at the end of the stabilisation period upon slaughter. However, food business operators may apply other combinations of surface temperature, relative humidity, airflow and time, or do dry-ageing of meat of other species, if they demonstrate to the satisfaction of the competent authority that equivalent guarantees are provided on the safety of the meat.
In addition, the following specific measures shall be applied:






(i)


the dry-ageing shall start immediately after the stabilisation period upon slaughter and unduly delayed cutting and/or transport to an establishment carrying out the dry-ageing;










(ii)


the meat shall not be loaded into the room or the cabinet until the temperature and relative humidity referred to in the second subparagraph have been achieved;










(iii)


the meat shall be hanged from the bone or, if using a shelf, sufficient perforation to facilitate air flow with regular turning using hygienic methods must be ensured;










(iv)


a higher airflow may be applied at the start of the dry-ageing process to facilitate early crust development and reduce the surface water activity;










(v)


thermometers, relative humidity probes and other equipment to accurately monitor and facilitate control of room or cabinet conditions must be used;










(vi)


air leaving the evaporator, returning to the evaporator and coming in contact with the beef must be filtered or UV treated;










(vii)


when the crust is trimmed, such trimming shall be carried out in a hygienic manner.’;


















(2)


in point 3(b), (iv) to (viii) are replaced by the following:






‘(iv)


per transport, the vehicle transporting the carcases, half carcases, quarters, or half carcases cut into three wholesale cuts collects meat from a maximum of three slaughterhouses or from one cold store collecting directly from slaughterhouses; all the requirements laid down in this point (b) shall apply to all loads of carcases, half carcases, quarters, or half carcases cut into three wholesale cuts dispatched from the slaughterhouse and cold store collecting from the above mentioned slaughterhouse;










(v)


carcases, half carcases, quarters, or half carcases cut into three wholesale cuts must have a core temperature of 15 °C at the start of the transport if they are to be transported in the same compartment as meat which meets the temperature requirement set out in point 1 for offal and 7 °C for other meat;










(vi)


a declaration by the food business operator accompanies the consignment; that declaration must state the duration of chilling before the first loading, the time at which the first loading of the carcases, half carcases, quarters, or half carcases cut into three wholesale cuts was started, the surface temperature at that time, the maximum transportation air temperature to which the carcases, half carcases, quarters, or half carcases cut into three wholesale cuts may be subjected, the maximum transport time permitted, the date of authorisation and the name of the competent authority authorising the transport in accordance with point (ii);










(vii)


the food business operator of destination must notify the competent authority before receiving for the first time carcases, half carcases, quarters, or half carcases cut into three wholesale cuts, not attaining the temperature referred to in point 1 before the start of transport;










(viii)


the meat must be transported in accordance with the following parameters:






—


For a maximum transport time (*2) of six hours:









Species


Surface temperature (1)



Maximum time to chill to surface temperature (2)



Maximum transportation air temperature (3)



Maximum daily mean carcase aerobic colony count (4)





Ovine and caprine animals


7 °C


8 hours


6 °C


log10 3,5 cfu/cm2





Bovine animals


20 hours


log10 3,5 cfu/cm2





Porcine animals


16 hours


log10 4 cfu/cm2





The maximum transport time may be extended to 30 hours if a core temperature below 15 °C is reached before the start of the transport.










—


For a maximum transport time (*3) of 60 hours:










Species


Surface temperature (5)



Maximum time to chill to surface temperature (6)



Core temperature (7)



Maximum transportation air temperature (8)



Maximum daily mean carcase aerobic colony count (9)





Ovine and caprine animals


4 °C


12 hours


15 °C


3 °C


log10 3 cfu/cm2





Bovine animals


24 hours


















(ix)


methods for measuring the surface temperature shall be validated and the following method shall be used as reference method:






—


a thermometer calibrated in accordance with the latest version of ISO 13485 shall be used;










—


the sensor shall be penetrated perpendicularly in the thickest part at a depth of 0,5 to 1 cm of the external part of either:






(a)


the shoulder; or










(b)


the leg for bovine, ovine and caprine animals or of the ham, or the internal surface of the ham in the middle upper part for porcine animals;














—


five temperature measurements shall be carried out as follows:















—


at least one of the five measurements must be below the surface temperature requirements laid down in point (viii).









(*2)  Maximum time allowed from the start of loading of meat into the vehicle until the completion of the final delivery. Loading of the meat into the vehicle may be postponed beyond the maximum time allowed for chilling of the meat to its specified surface temperature. If this happens, then the maximum transport time allowed must be shortened by the same length of time by which the loading was postponed. The competent authority of the Member State of destination may limit the number of delivery points."
                        

(*3)  Maximum time allowed from the start of loading of meat into the vehicle until the completion of the final delivery. Loading of the meat into the vehicle may be postponed beyond the maximum time allowed for chilling of the meat to its specified surface temperature. If this happens, then the maximum transport time allowed must be shortened by the same length of time by which the loading was postponed. The competent authority of the Member State of destination may limit the number of delivery points.’;"
                        


















(b)


in Section II, in Chapter II, the introductory phrase is replaced by the following:

                                    ‘Food business operators must ensure that the construction, layout and equipment of slaughterhouses in which poultry or lagomorphs are slaughtered meet the requirements laid down in the following points 1 to 7. Mobile partial slaughterhouses must operate in cooperation with complementary permanent slaughtering facilities in order to constitute a complete slaughterhouse complying with the requirements laid down in the following points 1 to 7. Mobile partial slaughterhouses may operate with several complementary slaughtering facilities, thus constituting several slaughterhouses.’
                                 ;









(c)


Section III is amended as follows:






(1)


Point 3 is amended as follows:






(i)


Point (h) is replaced by the following:






‘(h)


slaughtered and bled animals are transported to the slaughterhouse or to a game-handling establishment, as appropriate, hygienically and without undue delay. If transport takes more than two hours, the animals must be refrigerated; where climatic conditions so permit, active chilling shall not be required. Evisceration may take place on the spot, under the supervision of the official veterinarian;’




;










(ii)


Point (i) is deleted;
and,










(iii)


Point (j) is replaced by the following:






‘(j)


the health certificate set out in Chapter 3 of Annex IV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2235, issued and signed by the official veterinarian, attesting to a favourable result of the ante-mortem inspection, correct slaughter and bleeding and the date and time of slaughter, must accompany the slaughtered animal to the slaughterhouse or to a game-handling establishment, as appropriate, or must be sent in advance in any format.’;


















(2)


Point 3a is replaced by:






‘3a


By way of derogation from point 3(j), the competent authority may authorise that the attestation of the correct slaughter and bleeding and of the date and time of slaughter be included only in the food chain information in accordance with Section III to Annex II of this Regulation provided that:






(a)


the holding is not situated in a restricted zone defined in Article 4(41) of Regulation (EU) 2016/429;










(b)


the food business operator has demonstrated the appropriate level of competence to slaughter animals without causing the animals any avoidable pain, distress or suffering in accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 and without prejudice to Article 12 of that Regulation.’;






















(d)


in Section V, in Chapter III, the following point is added:






‘6.


Meat preparations subjected to dry-ageing, shall comply with the requirements laid down in Section I, Chapter VII, point 2a of this Annex III.’;














(e)


in Section VIII, in Chapter VII, the following point is added:






‘4.


Where fresh fishery products, thawed unprocessed fishery products, or processed fishery products need to be at a temperature lower than that of melting ice to permit the use of machines that slice or cut fishery products, they may be maintained at such technologically required temperature for a period of time as short as possible and in any case not exceeding 96 hours. Storage and transport at that temperature shall not be allowed.
Where frozen fishery products need to be at a temperature higher than – 18 °C to permit the use of machines that slice or cut fishery products, they may be maintained at such technologically required temperature for a period of time as short as possible and in any case not exceeding 96 hours. Storage and transport at that temperature shall not be allowed.’;














(f)


Section IX is amended as follows:






(i)


in Chapter I, in Part I, point 3 is replaced by the following:






‘3.


However, raw milk or colostrum from animals that does not meet the requirements set out in point 2 may be used with the authorisation of the competent authority:






(a)


in the case of cows, buffaloes, sheep or goats or females from other species that do not show a positive reaction to tests for tuberculosis or brucellosis, nor any symptoms of these diseases, and in the case of sheep or goats which have been vaccinated against brucellosis as part of an approved eradication programme and do not show any symptom of that disease, after having undergone a heat treatment such as to show, where applicable, a negative reaction to the alkaline phosphatase test. When the alkaline phosphatase test is not suitable to demonstrate the effectiveness of the heat treatment applied, such as situations where raw milk is produced from non-bovine species or separated in different fractions before being heat-treated, food business operators shall be permitted to provide the competent authority with the necessary assurances and keep associated records as part of their procedures based on hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) principles in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004;










(b)


in the case of sheep or goats that do not show a positive reaction to tests for brucellosis, or which have been vaccinated against brucellosis as part of an approved eradication programme, and which do not show any symptom of that disease, for the manufacture of cheese with a maturation period of at least two months.’;


















(ii)


in Chapter II, in Part II, point 1(a) is replaced by the following:






‘(a)


Pasteurisation is achieved by a treatment involving:






(i)


a high temperature for a short time: at least 72 °C for 15 seconds;










(ii)


a low temperature for a long time: at least 63 °C for 30 minutes; or










(iii)


any other combination of time-temperature conditions to obtain an equivalent effect.




The treatment referred to in (i), (ii) and (iii) shall ensure that the products show, where applicable, a negative reaction to an alkaline phosphatase test immediately after such treatment. When the alkaline phosphatase test is not suitable to demonstrate the effectiveness of the pasteurisation, such as situations where products are derived from non-bovine species or separated in different fractions before being pasteurised, food business operators shall be permitted to provide the competent authority with the necessary assurances and keep associated records as part of their procedures based on hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) principles in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004.’;


















(g)


in Section X, in Chapter I, point 1 is replaced by the following:






‘1.


At the producer’s premises, and until sale to the consumer, eggs must be kept clean, dry, free of unintended extraneous odour, effectively protected from shocks and out of direct sunshine. Any intentional application of extraneous odour to eggs must not be aimed at hiding a pre-existing odour.’.














(*1)  Regulation (EU) 2016/429 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2016 on transmissible animal diseases and amending and repealing certain acts in the area of animal health (“Animal Health Law”) (OJ L 84, 31.3.2016, p. 1).’.

(*2)  Maximum time allowed from the start of loading of meat into the vehicle until the completion of the final delivery. Loading of the meat into the vehicle may be postponed beyond the maximum time allowed for chilling of the meat to its specified surface temperature. If this happens, then the maximum transport time allowed must be shortened by the same length of time by which the loading was postponed. The competent authority of the Member State of destination may limit the number of delivery points.

(*3)  Maximum time allowed from the start of loading of meat into the vehicle until the completion of the final delivery. Loading of the meat into the vehicle may be postponed beyond the maximum time allowed for chilling of the meat to its specified surface temperature. If this happens, then the maximum transport time allowed must be shortened by the same length of time by which the loading was postponed. The competent authority of the Member State of destination may limit the number of delivery points.’;”


(1)  Maximum surface temperature allowed at loading and thereafter measures at the thickest part of the carcase, half carcases, quarters, or half carcases cut into three wholesale cuts.

(2)  Maximum time allowed from the moment of killing until the reaching of the maximum surface temperature allowed at loading.

(3)  The maximum air temperature to which the meat is allowed to be subjected from the moment loading begins, and throughout the whole duration of the transport.

(4)  Slaughterhouse maximum daily mean carcase aerobic colony count using a rolling window of 10 weeks, allowed for carcases of the relevant species, as assessed by the operator to the satisfaction of the competent authority, according to the sampling and testing procedures laid out in points 2.1.1, 2.1.2 of Chapter 2, and point 3.2 of Chapter 3, of Annex I to Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 of 15 November 2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs (OJ L 338, 22.12.2005, p. 1).

(5)  Maximum surface temperature allowed at loading and thereafter measures at the thickest part of the carcase, half carcases, quarters, or half carcases cut into three wholesale cuts.

(6)  Maximum time allowed from the moment of killing until the reaching of the maximum surface temperature allowed at loading.

(7)  The maximum core temperature of the meat allowed at the time of loading, and thereafter.

(8)  The maximum air temperature to which the meat is allowed to be subjected from the moment loading begins, and throughout the whole duration of the transport.

(9)  Slaughterhouse maximum daily mean carcase aerobic colony count using a rolling window of 10 weeks, allowed for carcases of the relevant species, as assessed by the operator to the satisfaction of the competent authority, according to the sampling and testing procedures laid out in points 2.1.1, 2.1.2 of Chapter 2, and point 3.2 of Chapter 3, of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005.



ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2024/1141/oj
ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)