CELEX: 51987PC0658
Language: en
Date: 1987-12-16
Title: PROPOSAL FOR A COUNCIL DIRECTIVE ON HEALTH PROBLEMS AFFECTING THE PRODUCTION, PLACING ON THE MARKET OF THE COMMUNITY AND IMPORTATION FROM THIRD COUNTRIES OF MINCED MEAT AND MEAT IN PIECES OF LESS THAN ONE HUNDRED GRAMS

No C 18/8                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                   23.1.88
                                                                II
                                                       (Preparatory Acts)
                                                COMMISSION
              Proposal for a Council Directive on health problems affecting the production, placing on the
              market of the Community and importation from third countries of minced meat and meat in
                                                 pieces of less than 100 grams
                                                      COM(87) 658 final
                             (Submitted by the Commission to the Council on 21 December 1987)
                                                         (88/C 18/10)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                            Whereas Council Directive 64/433/EEC of 26 June
                                                                    1964 on health problems affecting intra-Community
                                                                    trade in fresh meat (*), as last amended by Directive
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European               86/587/EEC (2), harmonized the health rules relating to
Economic Community, and in particular Article 43                    intra-Community trade in fresh meat;
thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,                  Whereas Council Directive 77/99/EEC on health
                                                                    problems affecting intra-Community trade in meat
                                                                    products (3), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No
Having regard to the opinion of the European Par-                   3768/85 ("), harmonized the health rules relating to
liament,                                                            intra-Community trade in meat products;
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,                                                   Whereas the Directives in force must be taken as a basis
                                                                    for laying down the rules relating to meat intended for
                                                                    use as a raw material and to the approval of
Whereas in order to ensure the smooth functioning of                establishments; whereas, moreover, certain provisions of
the common market and in particular of the common                   Directive 64/433/EEC on intra-Community trade may
organizations of the market in the meat sector the                  be applied to trade in minced meat and meat in pieces of
marketing of minced meat and meat in pieces of less                 less than 100 grams;
than 100 grams should no longer be impeded by
disparities between the Member States as regards health
requirements in this field; whereas this will make possible
                                                                    Whereas Council Directive 72/462/EEC of 12
greater    harmonization      of   production     and     fair
                                                                    December 1972 on health and veterinary inspection
competition while ensuring that consumers are offered
                                                                    problems upon importation of bovine animals and swine
high quality products;
                                                                    and fresh meat from third countries (5), as last amended
                                                                    by Directive 87/64/EEC (6), harmonized the health rules
Whereas in the framework of the internal market it is               relating to imports of meat from third countries; whereas
necessary, in order to ensure free movement within the              Directive 72/462/EEC must be taken as a basis for
Community, prevent distortions of competition and                   laying down the rules relating to meat intended for use
guarantee consumers         uniform    health     protection,       as a raw material and to the approval of establishments;
gradually to extend the rules on production and placing             whereas, moreover, certain provisions of that Directive
on the market to the whole of Community output;                     may be applied to imports of minced meat and meat in
                                                                    pieces of less than 100 grams;
Whereas provision should be made for Community
arrangements applicable to imports from third countries;
                                                                    (') OJ No  121, 29. 7. 1964, p. 2012/64.
Whereas health provisions relating to the preparation,              O   OJ No  L 339, 2. 12. 1986, p. 26.
packaging, storage and transport of minced meat and                 f)  OJNo   L26, 31. 1. 1977, p. 85.
meat in pieces of less than 100 grams should be laid                (4) OJ No  L 362, 31. 12. 1985, p. 8.
down; whereas the health requirements which such meat               0)  OJ No  L 302, 31. 12. 1972, p. 28.
must fulfil should also be laid down;                               (*) OJ No  L 34, 5. 2. 1987, p. 52.
 ---pagebreak--- 23.1.88                               Official Journal of the European Communities                                No C 18/9
Whereas minced meat and meat in pieces of less than                  (b) 'meat in pieces of less than 100 grams' means fresh
100 grams which is not the subject of commercial                         meat obtained from skeletal muscles which has
transactions or which is prepared on the spot for the                    been divided manually or mechanically into pieces
consumer must be excluded from the scope of the                          of less than 100 grams and to which seasonings
Directive;                                                               may have been added;
                                                                     (c) 'official service' means the veterinary service or
                                                                         any other service of an equivalent level appointed
Whereas the Commission should be entrusted with the
                                                                         by the Member State concerned to monitor the
task of adopting certain measures for implementing this
                                                                         implementation of this Directive.
Directive; whereas, to that end, procedures should be
laid down introducing close and effective cooperation
between the Commission and the Member States within
                                                                                           CHAPTER I
the Standing Veterinary Committee,
                                                                           Rules relating to intra-Community trade
                                                                                            Article 3
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
                                                                 Each Member State shall ensure that meat as defined in
                                                                 Article 2 (2) is only dispatched from its territory to the
                                                                 territory of another Member State if it meets the
                          Article 1                              following conditions:
1.     This Directive lays down requirements concerning
health problems affecting the production, placing on the         1. It must have been prepared from fresh meat:
market and importation from third countries of minced
                                                                     (a) complying with Directive 64/433/EEC and
meat and meat in pieces of less than 100 grams.
                                                                         coming from the Member State in which
                                                                         preparation took place or any other Member
                                                                         State,
2.     This Directive does not apply:
                                                                     (b) complying with Directive 72/462/EEC and
                                                                         coming from a third country either directly or via
(a) to minced meat and meat in pieces of less than 100                   another Member State.
     grams prepared on the spot for the consumer;
                                                                 2. It must have been prepared:
(b) in so far as the rules relating to intra-Community               (a) either in a cutting plant approved and supervised
     trade are concerned, to minced meat and meat in                     in accordance with Article 8 of Directive 64/433/
     pieces of less than 100 grams:                                      EEC;
     — contained in travellers' personal          luggage,           (b) or in an establishment approved and supervised in
         provided that it is not subsequently used for                   accordance with Article 6 of Directive 77/99/
         commercial purposes,                                            EEC.
     — sent as small packages to private persons,
         provided that the consignments are not of a             3. In addition to paragraph 2 and for the purposes of
         commercial nature,                                          this Directive, it must have been prepared in an
     — carried, for consumption by the crew and pass-                establishment:
         engers, on board means of transport operating
         commercially between Member States.                         (a) meeting the conditions laid down in Chapter I of
                                                                         the Annex;
                                                                     (b) contained in a list drawn up in accordance with
                          Article 2                                      Article 4.
For the purposes of this Directive:                              4. It must have been prepared, packaged and stored in
                                                                     accordance with Chapters II and III of the Annex.
1. The definitions in Article 2 of Directive 64/433/EEC          5. It must have been inspected in accordance with
    and Article 2 of Directive 72/462/EEC shall apply;               Chapters IV and V of the Annex.
                                                                 6. It must be marked in accordance with Chapter VI of
2. (a) 'Minced meat' means fresh meat obtained from                  the Annex.
        skeletal muscles which has been divided
        mechanically into small fragments and to which           7. It must be transported in accordance with Chapter
        seasonings may have been added;                             VII of the Annex.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 18/10                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                  23.1.88
    During transport to the country of destination it must                                    Article 7
    be accompanied by a health certificate corresponding
    to the specimen in Chapter VIII of the Annex.                  Directive 64/433/EEC is hereby amended as follows:
                                                                   1. In Article 5, point (b) is replaced by:
                           Article 4                                   '(b) mechanically separated meat',
1.     Each Member State shall indicate specifically by the
words 'Approved — Directive . . . ' the establishments             2. In Article 5, point (1) is deleted,
which meet the conditions laid down in this Directive
and which are on the lists of establishments referred to in        3. In Article 6(1), point (iii) is replaced by:
Article 8 of Directive 64/433/EEC and Article 6 of
                                                                       '(iii) fresh meat referred to in Article 5 (b) and (i)
Directive 77/99/EEC. It shall notify this information to
                                                                       to (k)\
the Commission and to the other Member States.
                                                                                              Article 8
2.     A Member State shall not make the specific
indication referred to in paragraph 1 unless it is sure that       Trade in the meat defined in Article 2 (2) shall be subject
the establishment satisfies the conditions laid down in            to the animal health rules governing trade in fresh meat.
this Directive. The Member State shall withdraw the
specific indication if the conditions cease to be fulfilled.
                                                                                           CHAPTER II
3.     The Member State shall take account of the results          Extension of Community rules to the whole of national
of any checks performed in accordance with Article 9 of                                     production
Directive 64/433/EEC. The other Member States and
the Commission shall be informed of the withdrawal of
the specific indication provided for in paragraph 1.                                          Article 9
                                                                   From 1 January 1990 Member States shall ensure that
                                                                   meat defined in Article 2 (2) intended for marketing
                           Article 5                               solely on their national market is:
 1.    Without prejudice to Article 8 (2) of Directive
                                                                    1. prepared, packaged and stored in accordance with
64/433/EEC and Article 6 (2) of Directive 77/99/EEC,
                                                                       Chapters II and III of the Annex,
the inspection and supervision of establishments for the
purposes of this Directive shall be performed by the
official service.                                                  2. inspected in accordance with Chapters IV and V of
                                                                       the Annex,
2.     The staff of the official service may be assisted by        3. transported in accordance with Chapter VII of the
staff specially trained for the purpose. The staff of the              Annex.
official service must have free access at all times to all
parts of the establishments involved in the preparation of
the meat defined in Article 2 (2) in order to check                                          Article 10
compliance with this Directive.
                                                                   From 1 January 1992 and without prejudice to the
                                                                   horizontal Community rules adopted with a view to the
                                                                   establishment of the internal market, the meat defined in
                           Article 6                               Article 2 (2) must be placed on the market in accordance
 1.    Article 8(3) of Directive 64/433/EEC shall apply            with Chapter I.
in the event of disputes concerning compliance in an
establishment with the conditions laid down in this
Directive.                                                                                 CHAPTER III
                                                                                    Imports from third countries
 2.    Article 9 of Directive 64/433/EEC shall apply to
the on-the-spot inspection necessary for the uniform
                                                                                             Article 11
 application of this Directive.
                                                                    1.     Member States shall not authorize imports from a
                                                                   third country of the meat defined in Article 2 (2) unless
 3.    Articles 10 and 11 of Directive 64/433/EEC shall             it meets the health and animal health conditions adopted
 apply to trade in the meat defined in Article 2 (2) of this        by the Commission in accordance with the procedure
 Directive.                                                         laid down in Article 15.
 ---pagebreak--- ^P88                                                       COfficial Journal of the European communities                                                      ^o(St8BM
^.    ^ h e n t h e d e c i s i o n s r e f e r r e d t o i n p a r a g r a p h t are  standing Veterinary Committee set up by the council
adopted, account shall he taken of the guarantees                                      Decision of t^ October t9D8 thereinafter called ^the
furnished hy the third country, particularly as regards                                Committees by its chairman on his initiative or a t t h e
the origin of the meat intended for the preparation of                                 request o f a ^ i e m b e r ^ t a t e .
the meat defined in A r t i c l e ^ ^ , and ineach individual
case account shall he taken of compliance with this                                    ^         ^ i t h i n t h e o e o m m i t t e e , ^viember^tates^votes shall
Annexe                                                                                 be weighted as provided for in Article t ^ O ^ of the
                                                                                       f r e a t y . T h e Chairman shall not vote.
                                                                                       ^.        The commission representative shall submitadraft
t     A r t i c l e ^ o f Directive ^B^D^BEEC shall apply to                           of the measures to be adopted. The committee shall
the    on-the-spot           inspections               necessary            for   the  deliver its opinion on such measures within two years.
implementation of this Directive.                                                      Opinions shall be delivered byamajority of ^^ votes.
                                                                                       ^t. ^ h e r e the measures are in accordance with the
^     A r t i c l e s ^ t o ^ o f D i r e c t i v e ^ B ^ ^ B E E C shall
                                                                                       opinion of the committee the Commission shall adopt
apply to imports of the meat defined in A r t i c l e ^ ^ .
                                                                                       and implement them immediately.^here they are not in
                                                                                       a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e o p i n i o n o f t h e C o m m i t t e e , o r i f no
                                                                                       opinion is delivered,the Commission shall without delay
Directive ^ B ^ B E E C ^ is hereby amended as follows^                                propose t o t h e Council themeasures to be adopted.L^he
                                                                                       Council shall adopt the measures byaqualified majority.
P In Article ^ 0 , p o i n t ^ i s replaced by the following^
                                                                                       lf,within three months from the date on w h i c h a m a t t e r
    ^   mechanically separated meatE                                                   is referred to it, the Council has not adopted any
^. In Article ^ 0 , p o i n t ^ i s replaced by the following^                         measures, the Commission shall adopt the proposed
                                                                                       measures and implement them immediately.
    ^   minced meat, fresh meat comminuted inasimilar
        manner and fresh meat in pieces of less than tOO
        grams, other than that authorised in accordance
        with A r t i c l e l ^ o f Directive                   A BEECC^^n              without prejudice to the Community rules in force on
        health problems affecting the production, placing                              the additives which may be used in foodstuffs, the use of
        on the market and importation from third                                       additives with t h e m e a t d e f i n e d i n A r t i c l e ^ ^ a n d t h e
        countries of minced meat and meat in pieces of                                 details of such use shall remain subjectto national law
        less thantOO grams!                                                            until the entry into force of Community provisions on
                                                                                       the subject.
    ^(OJ^DL
                                                                                                                               A^AA^B
                                                                                       Until the entry intoforce of any Community provisions,
                                                                                       thisDirectiveshallnot affect ^iember^tates^provisions
                           C^er^e^^rov^sions                                           concerning treatment of the meat defined in A r t i c l e ^ ^
                                                                                       with ionizing or ultraviolet radiation.
The Anne^ to this Directive shall be amended by the
commission, in accordance with the procedure laid                                      member states shall bring into force the laws, regu
down in Article t^, in order in particular to bring it into                            lations and administrative provisions necessary to comply
line with technological progress.                                                      w i t h t h i s D i r e c t i v e n o t later than t January t 9 8 9 . T h e y
                                                                                       shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.
                                                                                                                               A^AAD^
1.    ^ h e r e the procedure laid down in this Article is to
be followed, the matter shall be referred forthwith to the                             Lhis Directive is addressed to the member states.
 ---pagebreak--- NoC 18/12                                 Official Journal of the European Communities                               23.1.88
                                                               ANNEX
                                                             CHAPTER I
          SPECIAL C O N D I T I O N S FOR T H E APPROVAL O F ESTABLISHMENTS P R O D U C I N G                   THE
                                                 MEAT DEFINED IN ARTICLE 2 (2)
           1. Irrespective of the conditions laid down in, respectively, Chapter II of Annex I to Directive
              64/433/EEC and Chapter I of Annex A of Directive 77/99/EEC, establishments producing the meat
              defined in Article 2 (2) must have at least:
              (a) a room for cutting, mincing and wrapping, equipped with a recording thermometer or recording
                   telethermometer. The temperature of this room must no be more than + 12 °C. However, if the
                   minced meat is not obtained by means of a mechanical process which is continuous and closed
                   until wrapping, the temperature of the room must not be more than 7 °C;
              (b) a room for packaging, unless the conditions laid down in point 62 of Chapter XI of Annex I to
                   Directive 64/433/EEC are fulfilled;
              (c) a room for storing seasonings;
              (d) refrigeration equipment enabling the temperatures laid down in this Directive to be adhered to.
           2. The rules laid down in Chapter IV of Annex I to Directive 64/433/EEC shall apply as regards the
              hygiene of the staff, premises and equiment in the establishments.
                                                             CHAPTER II
            C O N D I T I O N S FOR T H E P R O D U C T I O N OF MEAT IN PIECES OF LESS T H A N 100 GRAMS
           3. Before cutting, meat to be cut into pieces of less than 100 grams is to be examined to detect any
              contamination. All contaminated parts are to be removed and condemned before the meat is cut up.
           4. Meat in pieces of less than one hundred grams may not be obtained from waste or trimmings.
           5. All operations carried out from the time when the meat enters the room referred to in Chapter I, point
               1 (a) to the time when the finished product undergoes the chilling or freezing process must be
              performed within one hour.
           6. Immediately after production, meat in pieces of less than 100 grams must be stored at a temperature of
              not more than + 3 °C in the case of chilled meat and not more than — 18 °C in the case of frozen
              meat.
           7. Immediately after production, meat in pieces of less than 100 grams must be hygienically wrapped and
              packaged.
                                                            CHAPTER III
                                C O N D I T I O N S FOR T H E P R O D U C T I O N OF MINCED MEAT
           8. Before cutting, the minced meat is to be examined to detect any contamination. All contaminated parts
              are to be removed and condemned before the meat is minced.
           9. Minced meat may not be obtained from waste or trimmings.
 ---pagebreak--- 23.1.88                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                  No C 18/13
        10. All operations carried out from the time when the meat enters the room referred to in Chapter I, point
            1 (a) to the time when the finished product undergoes the freezing process must be performed whithin
            one hour. During mincing the meat must be kept at an internal temperature of not more than + 4 °C.
        11. Immediately after production the minced meat must be stored at a temperature of not more than
            — 18 °C. However, by decision of the official service, the minced meat may be stored at a higher
            temperature.
        12. Immediately after production the minced meat must be hygienically wrapped and packaged.
                                                        CHAPTER IV
             INSPECTION OF MINCED MEAT AND MEAT IN PIECES OF LESS T H A N 100 GRAMS
        13. Establishments which produce meat defined in Article 2 (2) are subject to supervision by the official
            service.
        14. Supervision by the official service includes the following tasks:
            — supervision of the entry of fresh meat;
            — supervision of the exit of the meat defined in Article 2 (2);
            — supervision of the hygiene of the premises, facilities and instruments;
            — taking of any necessary samples and in particular those required for the microbiological tests
                referred to in Chapter V.
                                                         CHAPTER V
                                   MICROBIOLOGICAL TESTS O N MINCED MEAT
        15. The production of minced meat must be monitored by means of daily microbiological tests in the
            production establishment.
        16. The sample taken for analysis must comprise five units weighing 100 grams each. Where minced meat
            is being produced in portions intended for the final consumer the sample must be taken from wrapped
            products. The samples must be representative for daily production.
        17. Samples must be examined every day for aerobic mesophile bacteria and every week for salmonella,
            staphylococci, Escherichia coli and sulphite-reducing anaerobes.
        18. The analysis methods are adopted in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 15.
        19. The guidelines for interpreting the results of the microbiological tests are as follows:
               Aerobic mesophile                           Sulphite-reducing
                                       Escherichia coli                          Staphylococci         Salmonella
                     bacteria                                  anaerobes
                    5-lOVg                 100/g                 30/g                100/g           absence/25 g
        20. The results of the microbiological tests are made available to the official service.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 18/14                             Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t i e s              23.1.88
                                                               CHAPTER VI
                                                                MARKING
            21. Meat defined in Article 2 (2) produced in the cutting plants referred to in Article 3 (2) (a) must be
                marked on the packaging with the health mark of the establishment as defined in Chapter X of Annex
                I to Directive 64/433/EEC.
                Meat defined in Article 2 (2) produced in the establishments referred to in Article 3 (2) (b) must be
                marked on the packaging with the health mark of the establishment as defined in Chapter VIII of
                Annex A to Directive 77/99/EEC.
            22. The following must also be given on the packaging:
                — the species from which the meat was obtained;
                — the date of preparation;
                — the list of seasonings.
            23. Without prejudice to points 21 and 22, where the meat defined in Article 2 (2) is wrapped in
                commercial portions intended for direct sale to the consumer a printed reproduction of the stamp
                provided for in point 21 must appear on the wrapping or on a label applied to the wrapping. The
                stamp must include the establishment's approval number. The dimensions laid down in Directives
                64/433/EEC and 77/99/EEC do not apply to the marking referred to in this point.
                                                               CHAPTER VII
                                                               TRANSPORT
            24. The meat defined in Article 2 (2) must be dispatched in such a way that during transport it is protected
                from anything liable to contaminate it or to affect it unfavourably, having regard to the duration and
                conditions of transport and to the means of transport employed. In particular, vehicles used to
                transport the meat defined in Article 2 (2) must be equipped in such a way as to ensure that the
                temperatures laid down in this Directive are not exceeded.
 ---pagebreak--- 2 3 . 1 . 88                                   Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t i e s                             N o C 18/15
                                                                     CHAPTER VIII
                                                                          MODEL
                                                               HEALTH CERTIFICATE
             for: — minced meat
                     — meat in pieces of less than one hundred grams ('), intended for a Member State of the EEC
                                                                                                                             Nof)
             Exporting country
             Official service
             Ref.:
                                                                               (optional)
                I. Identification of meat:
                    Meat of              •.
                                                                                 (animal species)
                    Nature of packaging
                    Number of cuts or packages
                    Date of production
                    Net weight
               II. Origin of meat
                   Address(es) and approval number(s) of the production establishment(s)
             III. Destination of meat
                    The meat will be sent from
                                                                                              (place of dispatch)
                                                   to
                                                                                      (country and place of destination)
                    by the following means of transport (3):
                    Name and address of consignor
                    Name and address of consignee
             IV. Health attestation
                    The undersigned hereby certifies that the meat described above was obtained under the conditions
                    governing production and control laid down in Directive . . . on health problems affecting the produc-
                    tion, placing on the market and importation from third countries of minced meat and meat in pieces of
                    less than one hundred grams.
             Done at                                                                   on
                                                                                                  (Signature of the official service)
              (') Delete as appropriate.
              O Optional.
              (5) In the case of rail trucks and lorries, state the registration number, in the case of aircraft, the flight number and in the
                   case of boats, the name and where necessary the number of the container.