Boning may only be carried out in cutting plants registered or approved in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 and with one or more adjoining blast freezers.

At the request of a Member State, the Commission may grant a derogation for a limited period from the obligations covered by the first subparagraph. When making its decision, the Commission shall take account of current developments in plant and equipment, health and control requirements and the objective of gradual harmonisation in this field.

Boned cuts must meet the conditions laid down in Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 and the requirements in Annex V to this Regulation.

Boning may not commence before takeover of the consignment concerned has been completed.

No other meat may be present in the cutting room when intervention beef is being boned, trimmed or packed.

However, pigmeat may be present in the cutting room at the same time as beef, provided that it is processed on a separate production line.

All boning activities shall take place between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.; boning shall not take place on Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays. Those hours may be extended by up to two hours, provided that the inspection authorities are present.

If boning cannot be completed on the day of takeover, seals shall be affixed by the competent authorities to the refrigeration rooms where the products are stored and may only be broken by the same authorities when boning resumes.

Boning shall be carried out under contract on terms laid down by the intervention agencies and in accordance with their specifications.

The specifications of the intervention agencies shall lay down the requirements to be met by cutting plants, shall specify the plant and equipment required and shall ensure that the Community rules on the preparation of cuts are adhered to.

They shall in particular lay down detailed conditions covering boning, specifying the method of preparation, trimming, packing, freezing and preservation of cuts with a view to their takeover by the intervention agency.

The specifications of the intervention agencies may be obtained by interested parties from the addresses in Annex VI.

The intervention agencies shall ensure that continuous physical monitoring is carried out of all boning operations.

Such monitoring may be delegated to bodies which are wholly independent of the traders, slaughterers and storers in question. In such cases, the intervention agencies shall ensure that their officials conduct an unannounced inspection of boning of meat covered by each bid. During such inspections, random checks shall be carried out of cartons of cuts before and after freezing and the quantities used shall be compared with the quantities produced on the one hand and with the bones, fat and trimmings on the other hand. Such checks shall cover at least 5 % of cartons filled during the day with a particular cut and, where there are sufficient cartons, a minimum of five cartons per cut.

During boning, trimming and packing prior to freezing, the internal temperature of the beef must at no time rise above + 7 °C. Cuts may not be transported before they have been blastfrozen, except under the derogations provided for in Article 18(1).

All labels and foreign matter must be totally removed immediately prior to boning.

All bones, tendons, cartilage, neckstrap and backstrap (paddywack) (ligamentum nuchae) and coarse connective tissues must be cleanly removed. Trimming of cuts must be confined to the removal of fat, cartilage, tendons, joint capsules and other specified trim. All obvious nervous and lymphatic tissues must be removed.

Large blood vessels and clots and soiled areas must be removed carefully with as little trimming as possible.

Cuts shall be packed immediately after boning in such a way that no part of the meat comes into direct contact with the carton, in accordance with the requirements laid down in Annex V.

Polyethylene used to line cartons and polyethylene sheet or bags used to wrap cuts must be at least 0,05 mm thick and suitable for wrapping foodstuffs.

Cartons, pallets and cages used must meet the conditions laid down in Annex VII.

Where the checks specified in Article 20(1) show breaches by the boning plant of Articles 17 to 25 in respect of a particular cut, those checks shall be extended to cover a further 5 % of the cartons filled during the day in question. Where further breaches are discovered, additional samples amounting to 5 % of the total number of cartons of the relevant cut shall be checked. When, at the fourth 5 % check, at least 50 % of the cartons are found to be in breach of those articles, the whole day's production of that cut shall be checked. However, checking of the whole day's production shall not be required once at least 20 % of the cartons of a particular cut has been found to be in breach.

When, on the basis of paragraph 1, less than 20 % of the cartons of a particular cut are found to be in breach, the entire contents of those cartons shall be rejected and no payment shall be made in respect of them. The boning plant shall pay the intervention agency an amount equal to the price shown in Annex VIII for the cuts that have been rejected.

If at least 20 % of the cartons of a particular cut are found to be in breach, the whole day's production of that particular cut shall be rejected by the intervention agency and no payment shall be due. The boning plant shall pay the intervention agency an amount equal to the price shown in Annex VIII for the cuts that have been rejected.

If at least 20 % of the cartons of various cuts produced during the day are found to be in breach, the whole day's production shall be rejected by the intervention agency and no payment shall be due. The boning plant shall pay the intervention agency an amount equal to the price to be paid by the agency to the successful tenderer in accordance with Article 15 for the original bone-in products bought in and which, after boning, have been rejected, that price being increased by 20 %.

Where the third subparagraph is applicable, the first and second subparagraphs shall not apply.