COUNCIL DIRECTIVE of 15 February 1971 on health problems affecting trade in
fresh poultrymeat (71/118/EEC)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,
and in particular Articles 43 and 100 thereof;
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission;
Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament 1;
Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee;
Whereas Council Regulation No 123/67/EEC 2 of 13 June 1967 on the common
organisation of the market in poultrymeat established a single market for that
sector;
Whereas, so long as trade is hindered by differences between the health
requirements of Member States concerning poultrymeat, the implementation of that
Regulation will not have the desired effect;
Whereas to eliminate those differences the health provisions of the
Member States must be approximated;
Whereas Community provisions should be adopted which, after a
transitional period during which they will concern only intra-Community trade,
will apply also to poultrymeat marketed within the Member States ; whereas,
however, this Directive should not apply to poultrymeat which, subject to
certain conditions, is delivered direct to the consumer by the producer;
Whereas the object of the proposed approximation must be in particular to
standardise hygiene requirements in respect of poultrymeat in slaughterhouses
and during storage and transportation ; whereas the competent authorities of the
Member States should remain responsible for approving slaughterhouses which meet
the hygiene requirements laid down in this Directive and for ensuring that the
conditions governing such approval are observed ; whereas provision should also
be made for approval or cold stores by Member States;
Whereas in order to ensure satisfactory health inspection, taking into
account the particular conditions under which it is carried out, certain tasks
must be entrusted to qualified assistants acting under the responsibility and
supervision of the official veterinarian;
Whereas minimum standard requirements for the theoretical and practical
level of training of those assistants and the other conditions which are
essential to ensure their competence, honesty and impartiality should be laid
down for all the Member States, but so as not to exclude the possibility of
progressive standardisation of regulations and programmes relating to their
training;
Whereas, as regards intra-Community trade, the issue of a health
certificate drafted by an official veterinarian of the exporting country is
considered to be the best way of assuring the competent authorities of the
country of destination that a consignment of poultrymeat complies with the
provisions of this Directive ; whereas this certificate must accompany the
consignment of poultrymeat to the place of destination;
Whereas Member States must have the right to prohibit the introduction
into their territory from another Member State of poultrymeat which proves unfit
for human consumption or does not comply with Community health provisions; 1OJ
No 109, 9.7.1964, p. 1721/64. 2OJ No 117, 19.6.1967, p. 2301/67.
Whereas, in such cases, the consignor should at his own request or upon
request of his representative be allowed to have the meat returned to him unless
there are reasons on health grounds to the contrary;
Whereas, in case of prohibition or restriction, the reasons therefor
should be made known to the consignor or his agent and also, in certain cases,
to the competent authorities of the exporting country;
Whereas, in the event of dispute between himself and the authorities of
the Member State of destination as to the justification for prohibition or
restriction, the consignor should be enabled to obtain the opinion of a
veterinary expert whom he may select from a panel drawn up by the
Commission;
Whereas disputes between Member States as to whether approval of a
slaughterhouse was justified should be settled under the emergency procedure
within the Standing Veterinary Committee set up by the Council on 15 October
1968;
Whereas, in certain fields presenting special problems, the provisions in
Member States cannot be approximated until a more thorough study has been
made;
Whereas animal health provisions relating to trade in live poultry and
fresh poultrymeat will be the subject of other Community directives ; whereas it
has become apparent that the first steps should now be taken towards
approximating national provisions in this field by laying down certain
conditions under which Member States may prohibit or restrict the introduction
of poultrymeat into their territory for animal health reasons and by providing
for a Community emergency procedure within the Standing Veterinary Committee
under which measures taken by a Member State could be examined in close
co-operation by Member States and the Commission and, where appropriate, amended
or repealed;
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
TITLE I General provisions
Article 1
1. This Directive shall apply to trade in fresh meat of domestic animals
of the following species : hens, turkeys, guinea-fowls, ducks and geese.
2. All parts of those animals which are fit for human consumption shall
be considered to be poultrymeat.
3. All poultrymeat which has not undergone any preserving process shall
be considered to be fresh meat ; however, for the purposes of this Directive,
chilled and frozen poultrymeat shall be considered to be fresh meat.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Directive: (a) carcase means the whole body of a
fowl after bleeding, plucking and evisceration ; however, removal of the
kidneys, legs at the tarsus or of the head shall be optional;
(b) Parts of carcase means parts of the carcase as defined under
(a);
(c) offal means fresh meat other than that of the carcase as defined
under (a), even it naturally connected to the carcase;
(d) viscera means offal from the thoracic, abdominal and pelvic cavities,
including the trachea and oesophagus and, where appropriate, the crop;
