TITLE IIISPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF OFFICIAL CONTROLS AND THE UNIFORM MINIMUM FREQUENCY FOR OFFICIAL CONTROLS ON FRESH MEAT
CHAPTER II Official controls on fresh meat
Article 25Practical arrangements for post-mortem inspection of poultry
1.
All poultry shall undergo post-mortem inspection which may include the assistance of slaughterhouse staff in accordance with Article 18(3) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625. The official veterinarian or official auxiliary, in accordance with Article 18(2)(c) of that Regulation shall personally carry out the following checks:
(a)
daily inspection of the viscera and body cavities of a representative sample of each flock;
(b)
a detailed inspection of a random sample of parts of birds or entire birds declared unfit for human consumption following post-mortem inspection from each flock;
(c)
any further investigations necessary where there is reason to suspect that the meat from the birds concerned could be unfit for human consumption.
2.
By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the competent authorities may decide that only a representative sample of poultry from each flock undergoes post-mortem inspection if:
(a)
food business operators have a system in place to the satisfaction of the official veterinarian, that allows the detection and the separation of birds with abnormalities, contamination or defects;
(b)
the slaughterhouse has a longstanding history of compliance with the requirements as regards:
- (i)
general and specific requirements in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004, including the microbiological criteria applicable to Point 1.28 and 2.1.5 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005;
- (ii)
procedures based on the HACCP principles in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 852/2004; and
- (iii)
specific hygiene rules in accordance with Article 5 and Section II of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004;
(c)
no abnormalities that may indicate a serious problem for human or animal health that may indicate the need for measures laid down in Articles 40 to 44, have been found during ante-mortem inspection or verification of food chain information.
3.
In case of poultry reared for the production of foie gras and delayed eviscerated poultry obtained at the holding of provenance in accordance with Points 8 and 9 of Chapter VI to Section II of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004, post-mortem inspection shall take place at the cutting plant where such carcases are transported directly from the holding of provenance.