Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2025/241 of 7 February 2025 authorising grading methods for the classification of pig carcasses in Czechia and repealing Decision 2005/1/EC (notified under document C(2025) 745)
Date: 2025-02-07
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: Czechia, agricultural product nomenclature, carcase, common organisation of markets, marketing standard, pigmeat








L_202500241EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
L series













2025/241


10.2.2025







            COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2025/241
of 7 February 2025
         
authorising grading methods for the classification of pig carcasses in Czechia and repealing Decision 2005/1/EC


(notified under document C(2025) 745)


(Only the Czech text is authentic)


THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

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


Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007 (1), and in particular Article 20, first paragraph, points (p) and (t), thereof,

Whereas:







(1)


Article 10 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 provides that Union scales for the classification of pig carcasses are to apply in accordance with point B of Annex IV to that Regulation. Section B.IV, point 1, of Annex IV to that Regulation provides that, for the classification of pig carcasses, the lean meat content is to be assessed by means of grading methods authorised by the Commission, that only statistically proven assessment methods based on the physical measurement of one or more anatomical parts of the pig carcass may be authorised and that grading methods are subject to compliance with a maximum tolerance rate for statistical error in assessment. That tolerance is defined in Part A, point 1, second paragraph, of Annex V to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1182 (2).












(2)


Commission Decision 2005/1/EC (3) authorised the use of six methods for grading pig carcasses in Czechia.












(3)


Czechia has requested the Commission to authorise the following new method: ‘Fat-O-Meater II (FOM II)’. For that purpose, Czechia has presented a detailed description of the dissection trial, indicating the principles on which this new method is based, the results of the dissection trial and the equations used for assessing the percentage of lean meat in the protocol referred to in Article 11(3) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1182.












(4)


Czechia has also requested the Commission to authorise an updated formula for three methods (‘Zwei-Punkte-Messverfahren’, ‘Ultra-sound IS-D-05’ and ‘Needle IS-D-15’) already authorised by Decision 2005/1/EC for grading pig carcasses on its territory.












(5)


The examination of those requests has revealed that the conditions and minimum requirements for authorising the new grading methods and updating the equations for the authorised methods as laid down in Part A of Annex V to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1182 are fulfilled. The new grading method and the new formulas should therefore be authorised in Czechia.












(6)


Czechia has requested the Commission to be authorised to provide for a different way of presenting pig carcases than the standard presentation laid down in Section B.III of Annex IV to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.












(7)


Unless explicitly authorised by a Commission implementing decision, modifications of the grading methods or apparatuses thereof should not be allowed.












(8)


For reasons of clarity and legal certainty, Decision 2005/1/EC should be repealed.












(9)


The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for the Common Organisation of the Agricultural Markets,





HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:



Article 1
The use of the following grading methods is authorised for the assessment of the lean meat content of pig carcasses pursuant to Section B.IV, point 1, of Annex IV to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 in Czechia:






(a)


the grading method ‘Zwei-Punkte-Messverfahren’ and the assessment methods related thereto, details of which are set out in Part I of the Annex;










(b)


the ‘Fat-O-Meater (FOM)’ apparatus and the assessment methods related thereto, details of which are set out in Part II of the Annex;










(c)


the ‘Hennessy Grading Probe (HGP 4)’ apparatus and the assessment methods related thereto, details of which are set out in Part III of the Annex;










(d)


the ‘Ultra FOM 300’ apparatus and the assessment methods related thereto, details of which are set out in Part IV of the Annex;










(e)


the ‘Ultra-sound IS-D-05’ apparatus and the assessment methods related thereto, details of which are set out in Part V of the Annex;










(f)


the ‘Needle IS-D-15’ apparatus and the assessment methods related thereto, details of which are set out in Part VI of the Annex;










(g)


the ‘Fat-O-Meater II (FOM II)’ apparatus and the assessment methods related thereto, details of which are set out in Part VII of the Annex.




The grading method ‘Zwei-Punkte-Messverfahren’ may be applied only in slaughterhouses which do not exceed a weekly slaughtering of 200 pigs in annual average.


Article 2
Notwithstanding the standard presentation referred to in Section B.III of Annex IV to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, pig carcasses in Czechia may be presented:






(a)


without ears, ears having been removed before the carcass is being weighed and graded. In the case of such presentation the recorded hot carcass weight shall be adjusted in accordance with the following formula:
hot carcass weight = weight of hot carcass without ears + 0,274 kg;










(b)


without the flare fat having been removed before being weighed and graded. In the case of such presentation the recorded hot carcass weight shall be adjusted in accordance with the following formula:
hot carcass weight = 1,65651 + 0,96139 × weight of the hot carcass with the flare fat;










(c)


without the flare fat having been removed and without ears, ears having been removed before the carcass is being weighed and graded. In the case of such presentation the recorded hot carcass weight shall be adjusted in accordance with the following formula:
hot carcass weight = 1,65651 + 0,96139 × (weight of the hot carcass with the flare fat and without ears + 0,274 kg).






Article 3
Modifications of the authorised grading methods or apparatuses thereof referred to in Article 1 shall be authorised by Commission Implementing Decision.


Article 4
Decision 2005/1/EC is repealed.


Article 5
This Decision is addressed to the Czech Republic.




Done at Brussels, 7 February 2025.


For the Commission

Christophe HANSEN
            

Member of the Commission






(1)  
            OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 671, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2013/1308/oj.

(2)  Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1182 of 20 April 2017 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the Union scales for the classification of beef, pig and sheep carcasses and as regards the reporting of market prices of certain categories of carcasses and live animals (OJ L 171, 4.7.2017, p. 74, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2017/1182/oj).

(3)  Commission Decision 2005/1/EC of 27 December 2004 authorising methods for grading pig carcases in the Czech Republic (OJ L 1, 4.1.2005, p. 8, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec/2005/1(1)/oj).




ANNEX
GRADING METHODS FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF PIG CARCASSES IN CZECHIA
PART I

Zwei-Punkte-Messverfahren (ZP)









(1)


The rules provided for in this Part shall apply when the grading of pig carcasses is carried out by means of the method known as ‘Zwei-Punkte-Messverfahren (ZP)’.












(2)


This method may be implemented using a ruler, with the grading determined by a prediction equation. It is based on the manual measurement of the midline of the split carcass.












(3)


The lean meat content of the carcass shall be calculated in accordance with the following formula:
Y = 61,84184 – 0,46816 × BF + 0,07998 × MD
Where:







Y


=


the estimated lean meat percentage,




BF


=


the minimum thickness in millimetres of visible fat (including rind) covering the muscle gluteus medius on the midline of the split carcass,




MD


=


the thickness of muscle in millimetres measured as the shortest connecting line of the cranial edge of the gluteus medius muscle and the dorsal edge of the vertebral canal.




This formula shall be valid for carcasses weighing between 60 and 120 kg.




PART II

Fat-O-Meater (FOM)









(1)


The rules provided for in this Part shall apply when the grading of pig carcasses is carried out by means of the method known as ‘Fat-O-Meater (FOM)’.












(2)


The apparatus is equipped with a probe of 6 millimetres diameter containing a photodiode of the Siemens SFH 950/960 type and having an operating distance of between 3 and 103 millimetres. The results of the measurements are converted into estimated lean meat content by means of a computer.












(3)


The lean meat content of the carcass shall be calculated in accordance with the following formula:
Y = 70,28164 – 0,75376 × S + 0,00270 × M
Where:







Y


=


the estimated lean meat percentage,




S


=


the thickness of back-fat (including rind) in millimetres, measured at 6,5 centimetres off the midline of the carcass, between the second and third last ribs,




M


=


the thickness of muscle in millimetres, measured at the same time and in the same place as S.




This formula shall be valid for carcasses weighing between 60 and 120 kg.




PART III

Hennessy Grading Probe (HGP 4)









(1)


The rules provided for in this Part shall apply when the grading of pig carcasses is carried out by means of the method known as ‘Hennessy Grading Probe (HGP 4)’.












(2)


The apparatus is equipped with a probe of 5,95 millimetres diameter (and of 6,3 millimetres at the blade on top of the probe) containing a photodiode (Siemens LED of the type LYU 260-EO) and photodetector of the type 58 MR and having an operating distance of between 0 and 120 millimetres. The results of the measurements shall be converted into estimated lean meat content by means of the HGP 4 itself or a computer linked to it.












(3)


The lean meat content of the carcass shall be calculated in accordance with the following formula:
Y = 69,11354 – 0,67804 × S + 0,00432 × M
Where:







Y


=


the estimated lean meat percentage,




S


=


the thickness of back-fat (including rind) in millimetres, measured at 7 centimetres from the midline of the carcass, between the third and fourth last ribs,




M


=


the thickness of muscle in millimetres, measured at the same time and in the same place as S.




This formula shall be valid for carcasses weighing between 60 and 120 kg.




PART IV

Ultra FOM 300









(1)


The rules provided for in this Part shall apply when the grading of pig carcasses is carried out by means of the method known as ‘Ultra FOM 300’.












(2)


The apparatus shall be equipped with an ultrasonic probe at 3,5 MHz. 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 carcass shall be calculated in accordance with the following formula:
Y = 66,78382 – 0,80922 × S + 0,04746 × M
Where:







Y


=


the estimated lean meat percentage,




S


=


the thickness of back-fat (including rind) in millimetres, measured at 7 centimetres off the midline of the carcass between the second and third last ribs (measurement known as ‘P2’),




M


=


the thickness of muscle in millimetres, measured at the same time and in the same place as S.




This formula shall be valid for carcasses weighing between 60 and 120 kg.




PART V

Ultra-sound IS-D-05









(1)


The rules provided for in this Part shall apply when the grading of pig carcasses is carried out by means of the apparatus known as ‘Ultra-sound IS-D-05’.












(2)


The grading apparatus IS-D-05 is a device for measuring the lean meat and fat thickness based on response analysis of the range of ultrasonic impulses, which are transmitted sequentially into the carcass in the specified place. Ultrasonic probe scans treated carcasses with a set of 3 × 100 ultrasonic impulses at a frequency of 4 MHz at the time of scanning.












(3)


The lean meat content of the carcass shall be calculated in accordance with the following formula:
Y = 69,17386 – 0,83174 × BF + 0,03530 × MD
Where:







Y


=


the estimated lean meat percentage,




BF


=


the thickness of the back-fat (including rind) in millimetres between the second and third to last ribs, 7 centimetres from the dorsal midline perpendicularly to the skin,




MD


=


the thickness of muscle in millimetres between the second and third to last ribs, 7 centimetres from the dorsal midline perpendicularly to the carcass.




This formula shall be valid for carcasses weighing between 60 and 120 kg.




PART VI

Needle IS-D-15









(1)


The rules provided for in this Part shall apply when the grading of pig carcasses is carried out by means of the apparatus known as ‘Needle IS-D-15’.












(2)


The grading apparatus IS-D-15 uses a needle probe inserted into a given place of the carcass; the insertion depth is about 140 millimetres. An optical set is located behind the needle that, utilizing an optical channel, enlightens the surrounding tissue or area and scans the amount of reflected light energy with the defined wavelength. The terminal is also equipped with a precise contactless measuring device, which determines the actual insertion depth with 46 micrometre precision.












(3)


The lean meat content of the carcass shall be calculated in accordance with the following formula:
Y = 67,86508 – 0,74820 × BF + 0,04786 × MD
Where:







Y


=


the estimated lean meat percentage,




BF


=


the thickness of back-fat (including rind) in millimetres between the second and third to last ribs, 7,5 centimetres from the dorsal midline, perpendicularly to the skin.




MD


=


the thickness of muscle in millimetres between the second and third to last ribs, 7,5 centimetres from the dorsal midline perpendicularly to the carcass.




This formula shall be valid for carcasses weighing between 60 and 120 kg.




PART VII

Fat-O-Meater II (FOM II)









(1)


The rules provided for in this Part shall apply when the classification of pig carcasses is carried out by means of the apparatus ‘Fat-O-Meater II (FOM II)’.












(2)


The apparatus consists of an optical probe with a knife, a depth measurement device with an operating distance of between 0 and 125 millimetres, and a data acquisition and analysis board.












(3)


The lean meat content of the carcass shall be calculated in accordance with the following formula:
Y = 65,73183 – 0,75225 × BF + 0,07957 × MD
Where:







Y


=


the estimated lean meat percentage,




BF


=


the the thickness of back-fat (including rind) in millimetres between the second and third to last ribs, 6,5 centimetres from the dorsal midline perpendicularly to the skin,




MD


=


the thickness of muscle in millimetres between the second and third to last ribs, 6,5 centimetres from the dorsal midline perpendicularly to the carcass.




This formula shall be valid for carcasses weighing between 60 and 120 kg.







ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dec_impl/2025/241/oj
ISSN 1977-0677 (electronic edition)