In addition to the general requirements of Article 4(4) concerning audits of good hygiene practices, the official veterinarian is to verify continuous compliance with food business operators' own procedures concerning any collection, transport, storage, handling, processing and use or disposal of animal by-products, including specified risk material, for which the food business operator is responsible.
In addition to the general requirements of Article 4(5) concerning audits of HACCP-based principles, the official veterinarian is to check that the operators' procedures guarantee, to the extent possible, that meat:
does not contain patho-physiological abnormalities or changes;
does not bear faecal or other contamination;
and
does not contain specified risk material, except as provided for under Community legislation, and has been produced in accordance with Community legislation on TSEs.
When carrying out inspection tasks in accordance with this Chapter, the official veterinarian is to take account of the results of the auditing tasks carried out in accordance with Article 4 and Chapter I of this Annex. Where appropriate he or she is to target inspection tasks accordingly.
The official veterinarian is to check and analyse relevant information from the records of the holding of provenance of animals intended for slaughter and to take account of the documented results of this check and analysis when carrying out ante- and post-mortem inspection.
When carrying out inspection tasks, the official veterinarian is to take account of official certificates accompanying animals, and any declarations made by veterinarians carrying out controls at the level of primary production, including official veterinarians and approved veterinarians.
When food business operators in the food chain take additional measures to guarantee food safety by implementing integrated systems, private control systems, independent third party certification or by other means, and when these measures are documented and animals covered by these schemes clearly identifiable, the official veterinarian may take this into account when carrying out inspection tasks and reviewing the HACCP-based procedures.
Subject to paragraphs 4 and 5:
the official veterinarian is to carry out an ante-mortem inspection of all animals before slaughter;
that inspection must take place within 24 hours of arrival at the slaughterhouse and less than 24 hours before slaughter.
In addition, the official veterinarian may require inspection at any other time.
Ante-mortem inspection must in particular determine whether, as regards the particular animal inspected, there is any sign:
that welfare has been compromised;
or
of any condition which might adversely affect human or animal health, paying particular attention to the detection of zoonotic diseases and diseases on List A or, where appropriate, List B of the Office International des Epizooties (World organisation for animal health, OIE).
In addition to routine ante-mortem inspection, the official veterinarian is to carry out a clinical inspection of all animals that the food business operator or an official auxiliary may have put aside.
In the case of emergency slaughter outside the slaughterhouse and of hunted wild game, the official veterinarian at the slaughterhouse or game handling establishment is to examine the declaration accompanying the body of the animal issued by the veterinarian or the trained person in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 853/2004.
Where provided for in Section III, Chapter II, or in Section IV, ante-mortem inspection may be carried out at the holding of provenance. In such cases, the official veterinarian at the slaughterhouse need carry out ante-mortem inspection only when and to the extent specified.
The official veterinarian is to verify compliance with relevant Community and national rules on animal welfare, such as rules concerning the protection of animals at the time of slaughter and during transport.
Carcases and accompanying offal are to be subjected without delay after slaughter to post-mortem inspection. All external surfaces are to be viewed. Minimal handling of the carcase and offal or special technical facilities may be required for that purpose. Particular attention is to be paid to the detection of zoonotic diseases and diseases on OIE List A and, where appropriate, OIE List B. The speed of the slaughter line and the number of inspection staff present are to be such as to allow for proper inspection.
Additional examinations are to take place, such as palpation and incision of parts of the carcase and offal and laboratory tests, whenever considered necessary:
to reach a definitive diagnosis;
or
to detect the presence of:
an animal disease,
residues or contaminants in excess of the levels laid down under Community legislation,
non-compliance with microbiological criteria,
or
other factors that might require the meat to be declared unfit for human consumption or restrictions to be placed on its use,
particularly in the case of animals having undergone emergency slaughter.
The official veterinarian is to require carcases of domestic solipeds, bovine animals over six months old, and domestic swine over four weeks old to be submitted for post-mortem inspection split lengthways into half carcases down the spinal column. If the inspection so necessitates, the official veterinarian may also require any head or any carcase to be split lengthways. However, to take account of particular eating habits, technological developments or specific sanitary situations, the competent authority may authorise the submission for inspection of carcases of domestic solipeds, bovine animals over six months old, and domestic swine over four weeks old, not split in half.
During the inspection, precautions must be taken to ensure that contamination of the meat by actions such as palpation, cutting or incision is kept to a minimum.
In the event of an emergency slaughter, the carcase shall be subjected to post-mortem examination as soon as possible in accordance with paragraphs 1 to 4 before it is released for human consumption.
In accordance with specific Community rules on specified risk material and other animal by-products, the official veterinarian is to check the removal, separation and, where appropriate, marking of such products. The official veterinarian is to ensure that the food business operator takes all necessary measures to avoid contaminating meat with specified risk material during slaughter (including stunning) and removal of specified risk material.
The official veterinarian is to ensure that sampling takes place and that samples are appropriately identified and handled and sent to the appropriate laboratory within the framework of:
the monitoring and control of zoonoses and zoonotic agents;
specific laboratory testing for the diagnosis of TSEs in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council(1);
the detection of unauthorised substances or products and the control of regulated substances, in particular within the framework of the National Residue Plans referred to in Council Directive 96/23/EC(2);
and
the detection of OIE List A and, where appropriate, OIE List B diseases.
The official veterinarian is also to ensure that any other necessary laboratory testing takes place.
The official veterinarian is to supervise health marking and the marks used.
The official veterinarian is to ensure, in particular, that:
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
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.
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:
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;]
the mark must indicate the approval number of the slaughterhouse;
and
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.
The colours used for health marking must be authorised in accordance with Community rules on the use of colouring substances in foodstuffs.
The health mark may also include an indication of the official veterinarian who carried out the health inspection of the meat. [F3Competent 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.]
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.
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.
This Chapter is to apply without prejudice to animal health rules on health marking.
Textual Amendments
F1 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).
F2 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.
F3 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).
OJ L 147, 31.5.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2245/2003 (OJ L 333, 20.12.2003, p. 28).
OJ L 125, 23.5.1996, p. 10. Directive as amended by Regulation (EC) No 806/2003 (OJ L 122, 16.5.2003, p. 1).