[X1ANNEX I U.K. FRESH MEAT

Editorial Information

SECTION I: TASKS OF THE OFFICIAL VETERINARIAN U.K.

CHAPTER III: HEALTH MARKING U.K.

1.

The official veterinarian is to supervise health marking and the marks used.

2.

The official veterinarian is to ensure, in particular, that:

(a)

the health mark is applied only to animals (domestic ungulates, farmed game mammals other than lagomorphs, and large wild game) having undergone ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection in accordance with this Regulation and when there are no grounds for declaring the meat unfit for human consumption. However, the health mark may be applied before the results of any examination for trichinosis is available, if the official veterinarian is satisfied that meat from the animal concerned will be placed on the market only if the results are satisfactory;

and

(b)

health-marking takes place on the external surface of the carcase, by stamping the mark in ink or hot branding, and in such a manner that, if carcases are cut into half carcases or quarters, or half carcases are cut into three pieces, each piece bears a health mark.

3.

The health mark must be an oval mark at least 6,5 cm wide by 4,5 cm high bearing the following information in perfectly legible characters:

(a)

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

In the case of Member States, however, these codes are [F1BE, [F2BG,] CZ, DK, DE, EE, GR, ES, FR, IE, IT, CY, LV, LT, LU, HU, MT, NL, AT, PL, PT, [F2RO,] SI, SK, FI, SE and UK;]

(b)

the mark must indicate the approval number of the slaughterhouse;

and

(c)

[F3when applied in a slaughterhouse located within the Community, the mark must include the abbreviation CE, EB, EC, EF, EG, EK, EO, EY, ES, EÜ, EK or WE.

Those abbreviations must not be included in marks applied on meat imported into the Community from slaughterhouses located outside the Community.]

4.

Letters must be at least 0,8 cm high and figures at least 1 cm high. The dimensions and characters of the mark may be reduced for health marking of lamb, kids and piglets.

5.

The colours used for health marking must be authorised in accordance with Community rules on the use of colouring substances in foodstuffs.

6.

The health mark may also include an indication of the official veterinarian who carried out the health inspection of the meat. [F4Competent authorities and food business operators may continue to use equipment that they ordered before entry into force of this Regulation until it is exhausted or requires replacement.]

7.

Meat from animals having undergone emergency slaughter outside the slaughterhouse must bear a special health mark, which cannot be confused either with the health mark provided for in this Chapter or with the identification mark provided for in Annex II, Section I, to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004.

8.

Meat from unskinned wild game cannot bear a health mark unless, after skinning in a game handling establishment, it has undergone post-mortem inspection and been declared fit for human consumption.

9.

This Chapter is to apply without prejudice to animal health rules on health marking.]

Textual Amendments