ANNEX IVF1... SCALES FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF CARCASSES REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 10

Annotations:

A.F2... scale for the classification of carcasses of bovine animals aged eight months or more

I.Definitions

The following definitions shall apply:

  1. 1.

    "carcass" means the whole body of a slaughtered animal as presented after bleeding, evisceration and skinning;

  2. 2.

    "half-carcass" means the product obtained by separating the carcass symmetrically through the middle of each cervical, dorsal, lumbar and sacral vertebra and through the middle of the sternum and the ischiopubic symphysis.

II.Categories

The bovine carcasses shall be divided into the following categories:

Z

carcasses of animals aged from 8 months to less than 12 months;

A

carcasses of uncastrated male animals aged from 12 months to less than 24 months;

B

carcasses of uncastrated male animals aged from 24 months;

C

carcasses of castrated male animals aged from 12 months;

D

carcasses of female animals that have calved;

E

carcasses of other female animals aged from 12 months.

III.Classification

The carcasses shall be classified by successive assessment of:

  1. 1.

    Conformation, defined as follows:

    Development of carcass profiles, in particular the essential parts (round, back, shoulder)

    Conformation class

    Description

    S

    Superior

    All profiles extremely convex; exceptional muscle development (double muscled carcass type)

    E

    Excellent

    All profiles convex to super-convex; exceptional muscle development

    U

    Very good

    Profiles on the whole convex, very good muscle development

    R

    Good

    Profiles on the whole straight; good muscle development

    O

    Fair

    Profiles straight to concave; average muscle development

    P

    Poor

    All profiles concave to very concave; poor muscle development

  2. 2.

    Fat cover, defined as follows:

    • Amount of fat on the outside of the carcass and in the thoracic cavity

      Class of fat cover

      Description

      1

      low

      None up to low fat cover

      2

      slight

      Slight fat cover, flesh visible almost everywhere

      3

      average

      Flesh with the exception of the round and shoulder, almost everywhere covered with fat, slight deposits of fat in the thoracic cavity

      4

      high

      Flesh covered with fat, but on the round and shoulder still partly visible, some distinctive fat deposits in the thoracic cavity

      5

      very high

      Entire carcass covered with fat; heavy deposits in the thoracic cavity

F3The appropriate authority may subdivide each of the classes provided for in points 1 and 2 into a maximum of three subclasses.

IV.Presentation

Carcasses and half-carcasses shall be presented:

  1. (a)

    without the head and without the feet; the head shall be separated from the carcass at the atloido-occipital joint and the feet shall be severed at the carpametacarpal or tarsometatarsal joints;

  2. (b)

    without the organs contained in the thoracic and abdominal cavities with or without the kidneys, the kidney fat and the pelvic fat;

  3. (c)

    without the sexual organs and the attached muscles and without the udder or the mammary fat.

V.Classification and identification

Slaughterhouses approved under Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council59 shall take measures to ensure that all carcasses or half-carcasses bovine animals aged eight months or more slaughtered in such slaughterhouses and bearing a health mark provided for Article 5(2) in conjunction with Chapter III of Section I of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council60 are classified and identified in accordance with the F4... scale.

Before identification by marking, F5the appropriate authority may grant authorisation to have the external fat removed from the carcasses or half-carcasses if this is justified by the fat cover.

B.F8... scale for the classification of pig carcasses

I.Definition

"Carcass" means the body of a slaughtered pig, bled and eviscerated, whole or divided down the mid-line.

II.Classification

Carcasses shall be divided into classes according to their estimated lean-meat content and classified accordingly:

Classes

Lean meat as percentage of carcass weight

S

60 or more

E

55 or more but less than 60

U

50 or more but less than 55

R

45 or more but less than 50

O

40 or more but less than 45

P

less than 40

III.Presentation

Carcasses shall be presented without tongue, bristles, hooves, genital organs, flare fat, kidneys and diaphragm.

IV.Lean-meat content

1.

The lean-meat content shall be assessed by means grading methods authorised by the F9appropriate authority. Only statistically proven assessment methods based on the physical measurement of one or more anatomical parts of the pig carcass may be authorised. Authorisation of grading methods shall be subject to compliance with a maximum tolerance for statistical error in assessment.

2.

However, the commercial value of the carcasses shall not be determined solely by their estimated lean-meat content.

V.Identification of carcasses

Unless otherwise provided for F6in retained EU law, classified carcasses shall be identified by marking in accordance with the F7... scale.

C.F11... Scale for the classification of sheep carcasses

I.Definition

The definitions of "carcass" and "half-carcass" laid down in point A.I shall apply.

II.Categories

The carcasses shall be divided into the following categories:

A

carcasses of sheep under 12 months old,

B

carcasses of other sheep.

III.Classification

The carcasses shall be classified by way of application of the provisions in point A.III. mutatis mutandis. However, the term "round" in point A.III.1 and in rows 3 and 4 of the table under point A.III.2. shall be replaced by the term "hindquarter".

IV.Presentation

Carcasses and half-carcasses shall be presented without the head (severed at the atlantooccipital joint), the feet (severed at the carpometacarpal or tarso-metatarsal joints), the tail (severed between the sixth and seventh caudal vertebrae), the udder, the genitalia, the liver and the pluck. Kidneys and kidney fat are included in the carcass.

F12The appropriate authority may permit different presentations when the F13reference presentation is not used.

V.Identification of carcasses

Classified carcasses and half-carcasses shall be identified by marking in accordance with the F10... scale.