Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

ANNEX II U.K. REQUIREMENTS CONCERNING SEVERAL PRODUCTS OF ANIMAL ORIGIN

SECTION I: IDENTIFICATION MARKING U.K.

When required in accordance with Article 5 or 6, and subject to the provisions of Annex III, food business operators must ensure that products of animal origin have an identification mark applied in compliance with the following provisions.

A. APPLICATION OF THE IDENTIFICATION MARK U.K.

1.

[X1 The identification mark must be applied before the product leaves the establishment of production.]

2.

[F1 However, when a product's packaging and/or wrapping is removed or it is further processed in another establishment, a new mark must be applied to the product. In such cases, the new mark must indicate the approval number of the establishment where these operations take place.]

3.

[X1 An identification mark is not necessary on packs of eggs when a packing centre code is applied in accordance with Part A of Annex XIV to Council Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 (1) .]

4.

Food business operators must, in accordance with Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, have in place systems and procedures to identify food business operators from whom they have received and to whom they have delivered products of animal origin.

Editorial Information

X1 Substituted by Corrigendum 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 (Official Journal of the European Union L 139 of 30 April 2004).

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1662/2006 of 6 November 2006 amending Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin (Text with EEA relevance).

B. FORM OF THE IDENTIFICATION MARK U.K.

5.

The mark must be legible and indelible, and the characters easily decipherable. It must be clearly displayed for the competent authorities.

6.

The mark must indicate the name of the country in which the establishment is located, which may be written out in full or shown as a two-letter code in accordance with the relevant ISO standard.

In the case of Member States, however, these codes are [F2 BE, [F3 BG,] CZ, DK, DE, EE, GR, ES, FR, IE, IT, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PL, PT, SI, SK, FI, [F3 RO,] SE and UK].

[ F4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .]

7.

The mark must indicate the approval number of the establishment. If an establishment manufactures both food to which this Regulation applies and food to which it does not, the food business operator may apply the same identification mark to both types of food.

8.

[F2 When applied in an establishment located within the Community, the mark must be oval in shape and include the abbreviation CE, EC, EF, EG, EK, [F3 EO,] EY, ES, EÜ, EK, EB or WE.]

Textual Amendments

F2 Substituted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2074/2005 of 5 December 2005 laying down implementing measures for certain products under Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council and for the organisation of official controls under Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council, derogating from Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council and amending Regulations (EC) No 853/2004 and (EC) No 854/2004 (Text with EEA relevance).

F3 Inserted by Council Regulation (EC) No 1791/2006 of 20 November 2006 adapting certain Regulations and Decisions in the fields of free movement of goods, freedom of movement of persons, company law, competition policy, agriculture (including veterinary and phytosanitary legislation), transport policy, taxation, statistics, energy, environment, cooperation in the fields of justice and home affairs, customs union, external relations, common foreign and security policy and institutions, by reason of the accession of Bulgaria and Romania.

F4 Deleted by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2076/2005 of 5 December 2005 laying down transitional arrangements for the implementation of Regulations (EC) No 853/2004, (EC) No 854/2004 and (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council and amending Regulations (EC) No 853/2004 and (EC) No 854/2004 (Text with EEA relevance).

C. METHOD OF MARKING U.K.

9.

The mark may, depending on the presentation of different products of animal origin, be applied directly to the product, the wrapping or the packaging, or be printed on a label affixed to the product, the wrapping or the packaging. The mark may also be an irremovable tag made of a resistant material.

10.

In the case of packaging containing cut meat or offal, the mark must be applied to a label fixed to the packaging, or printed on the packaging, in such a way that it is destroyed when the packaging is opened. This is not necessary, however, if the process of opening destroys the packaging. When wrapping provides the same protection as packaging, the label may be affixed to the wrapping.

11.

For products of animal origin that are placed in transport containers or large packages and are intended for further handling, processing, wrapping or packaging in another establishment, the mark may be applied to the external surface of the container or packaging.

12.

In the case of liquid, granulate and powdered products of animal origin carried in bulk, and fishery products carried in bulk, an identification mark is not necessary if accompanying documentation contains the information specified in points 6, 7 and, where appropriate, 8.

13.

When products of animal origin are placed in a package destined for direct supply to the final consumer, it is sufficient to apply the mark to the exterior of that package only.

14.

When the mark is applied directly to products of animal origin, the colours used must be authorised in accordance with Community rules on the use of colouring substances in foodstuffs.

SECTION II: OBJECTIVES OF HACCP-BASED PROCEDURES U.K.

1.

Food business operators operating slaughterhouses must ensure that the procedures that they have put in place in accordance with the general requirements of Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 meet the requirements that the hazard analysis shows to be necessary and the specific requirements listed in point 2.

2.

The procedures must guarantee that each animal or, where appropriate, each lot of animals accepted onto the slaughterhouse premises:

(a)

is properly identified;

(b)

is accompanied by the relevant information from the holding of provenance referred to in Section III;

(c)

does not come from a holding or an area subject to a movement prohibition or other restriction for reasons of animal or public health, except when the competent authority so permits;

(d)

is clean;

(e)

is healthy, as far as the food business operator can judge;

and

(f)

is in a satisfactory state as regards welfare on arrival at the slaughterhouse.

3.

In the event of failure to comply with any of the requirements listed under point 2, the food business operator must notify the official veterinarian and take appropriate measures.

SECTION III: FOOD CHAIN INFORMATION U.K.

Food business operators operating slaughterhouses 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.

1.

[X1 Slaughterhouse operators must not accept animals onto the slaughterhouse premises unless they have requested, and been provided with, relevant food chain information contained in the records kept at the holding of provenance in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 852/2004.]

2.

Slaughterhouse operators must be provided with the information no less than 24 hours before the arrival of animals at the slaughterhouse, except in the circumstances mentioned in point 7.

3.

[X1 The relevant food chain information referred to in point 1 is to cover, in particular:]

(a)

the status of the holding of provenance or the regional animal health status;

(b)

the animals' health status;

(c)

veterinary medicinal products or other treatments administered to the animals within a relevant period and with a withdrawal period greater than zero, together with their dates of administration and withdrawal periods;

(d)

the occurrence of diseases that may affect the safety of meat;

(e)

the results, if they are relevant to the protection of public health, of any analysis carried out on samples taken from the animals or other samples taken to diagnose diseases that may affect the safety of meat, including samples taken in the framework of the monitoring and control of zoonoses and residues;

(f)

relevant reports about previous ante- and post-mortem inspections of animals from the same holding of provenance including, in particular, reports from the official veterinarian;

(g)

production data, when this might indicate the presence of disease;

and

(h)

the name and address of the private veterinarian normally attending the holding of provenance.

4.

(a)

However, it is not necessary for the slaughterhouse operator to be provided with:

(i)

the information referred to in point 3(a), (b), (f) and (h), if the operator is already aware of this information (for example, through a standing arrangement or a quality assurance scheme);

or

(ii)

the information referred to in point 3(a), (b), (f) and (g), if the producer declares that there is no relevant information to report.

(b)

The information need not be provided as a verbatim extract from the records of the holding of provenance. It may be provided through electronic data exchange or in the form of a standardised declaration signed by the producer.

5.

Food business operators deciding to accept animals onto the slaughterhouse premises after evaluating the relevant food chain information must make it available to the official veterinarian without delay and, except in the circumstances mentioned in point 7, no less than 24 hours before the arrival of the animal or lot. The food business operator must notify the official veterinarian of any information that gives rise to health concerns before ante-mortem inspection of the animal concerned.

6.

If any animal arrives at the slaughterhouse without food chain information, the operator must immediately notify the official veterinarian. Slaughter of the animal may not take place until the official veterinarian so permits.

7.

If the competent authority so permits, food chain information may accompany the animals to which it relates to the slaughterhouse, rather than arriving at least 24 hours in advance, in the case of:

(a)

porcine animals, poultry or farmed game that have undergone ante-mortem inspection at the holding of provenance, if a certificate that the veterinarian has signed stating that he or she examined the animals at the holding and found them to be healthy accompanies them;

(b)

domestic solipeds;

(c)

animals that have undergone emergency slaughter, if a declaration, that the veterinarian has signed recording the favourable outcome of the ante-mortem inspection accompanies them;

and

(d)

animals that are not delivered directly from the holding of provenance to the slaughterhouse.

Slaughterhouse operators must evaluate the relevant information. If they accept the animals for slaughter, they must give the documents mentioned in subparagraphs (a) and (c) to the official veterinarian. Slaughter or dressing of the animals may not take place until the official veterinarian so permits.

8.

Food business operators must check passports accompanying domestic solipeds to ensure that the animal is intended for slaughter for human consumption. If they accept the animal for slaughter, they must give the passport to the official veterinarian.

(1)

[X1 OJ L 299, 16.11.2007, p. 1 .]

Editorial Information

X1 Substituted by Corrigendum 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 (Official Journal of the European Union L 139 of 30 April 2004).