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

SECTION I: IDENTIFICATION MARKING

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

1. The identification mark must be applied before the product leaves the establishment.

2. However, a new mark need not be applied to a product unless its packaging and/or wrapping is removed or it is further processed in another establishment, in which case the new mark must indicate the approval number of the establishment where these operations take place.

3. An identification mark is not necessary for eggs in respect of which Regulation (EC) No 1907/90(1) lays down requirements concerning labelling or marking.

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.

B. FORM OF THE IDENTIFICATION MARK

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 AT, BE, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GR, IE, IT, LU, NL, PT, SE and UK.

Food business operators may continue to use stocks and equipment that they ordered before the entry into force of this Regulation until they are exhausted or require replacement.

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. 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 or EY.

C. METHOD OF MARKING

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 paragraphs 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.

(1)

Council Regulation (EEC) No 1907/90 of 26 June 1990 on certain marketing standards for eggs (OJ L 173, 6.7.1990, p. 5). Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2052/2003 (OJ L 305, 22.11.2003, p. 1).