COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 94/65/EC of 14 December 1994 laying down the requirements for the production and placing on the market of minced meat and meat preparations
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 43 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),
Whereas minced meat and meat preparations are included in the list of products in Annex II to the Treaty; whereas the production of and trade in minced meat and meat preparations constitute an important source of income for part of the farming population;
Whereas in order to ensure the rational development of the industry producing such meat and to increase productivity, public health rules for the production and placing on the market of such meat must be laid down at Community level;
Whereas the laying down of such rules improves the protection of public health and consequently facilitates the completion of the internal market;
Whereas, to achieve this purpose, it is necessary to repeal Council Directive 88/657/EEC of 14 December 1988 laying down the requirements for the production of, and trade in, minced meat, meat in pieces of less than 100 grams and meat preparations and amending Directives 64/433/EEC, 71/118/EEC and 72/462/EEC (4), and to replace it by this Directive;
Whereas meat which has not undergone any treatment - other than cold treatment - is subject to the requirements of Directives 64/433/EEC (5) and 71/118/EEC (6); whereas products which have undergone treatment modifying the characteristics of fresh meat are regulated by Directive 77/99/EEC (7); whereas the production of other products, whether they are presented in the form of minced meat or meat preparations, should as a result be subject to the requirements of this Directive;
Whereas to take account of consumption habits in some Member States, and of the risk presented by some of those products if they are eaten lightly cooked, very strict requirements should be maintained for minced meat and preparations which may be traded;
Whereas the fundamental criterion which the Community must adopt as regards the functioning of the internal market is that of a high standard of consumer protection;
Whereas Council Directive 79/112/EEC of 18 December 1978 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertising of foodstuffs (8) and Council Directive 89/396/EEC of 14 June 1989 on indications or marks identifying the lot to which a foodstuff belongs (9) are applicable;
Whereas a system of approval should be introduced for the establishments which meet the health requirements laid down by this Directive, together with a Community inspection procedure to ensure that the conditions for such approval are observed;
Whereas that system should be based on the principle of self-monitoring by the establishments;
Whereas health marking of meat products is the best way of satisfying the competent authority of the place of destination that a consignment complies with the provisions of this Directive; whereas the health certificate should be maintained for the purposes of verifying the destination of certain products;
Whereas the rules, principles and safeguard measures established by Council Directive 90/675/EEC of 10 December 1990 laying down the principles governing the organization of veterinary checks on products entering the Community from third countries (10) should apply here;
Whereas, in the context of intra-Community trade, the rules laid down in Directive 89/662/EEC (11) should also be applied;
Whereas the rules applicable to imports from third countries should be defined;
Whereas the Commission should be entrusted with the task of adopting certain measures for implementing this Directive; whereas, to that end, procedures should be laid down establishing close and effective cooperation between the Commission and the Member States within the Standing Veterinary Committee,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:
CHAPTER I
Article 1
1. This Directive lays down rules for the production, placing on the market in the Union and importing of meat preparations and minced meat.
2. This Directive shall not apply to meat preparations and minced meat which are produced in retail shops or in premises adjacent to sales points, with a view to sale there directly to the final consumer, such operations remaining subject to the health checks required by national rules governing supervision of the retail trade.
3. This Directive shall not apply to mechanically recovered meat for industrial use which undergoes heat treatment in establishments approved in accordance with Directive 77/99/EEC.
4. National rules applicable to the production and placing on the market of minced meat intended for use as raw material for the manufacture of the products referred to in Article 21 (a) shall be unaffected by this Directive.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Directive:
1. the definitions contained in Article 2 of Directives 64/433/EEC, 71/118/EEC and 72/462/EEC (12) shall apply as necessary;
2. the following definitions shall apply;
(a) minced meat: meat which has been minced into fragments or passed through a spiral-screw mincer;
(b) meat preparations: meat within the meaning of Article 2 of Directives 64/433/EEC, 71/118/EEC and 92/45/EEC (13), and meat satisfying the requirements of Articles 3, 6 and 8 of Directive 91/495/EEC (14) which has had foodstuffs, seasonings or additives added to it or which has undergone a treatment insufficient to modify the internal cellular structure of the meat and thus to cause the characteristics of the fresh meat to disappear;
(c) seasonings: salt intended for human consumption, mustard, spices and aromatic spice extracts, aromatic herbs and aromatic extracts thereof;
(d) production plant: any plant in which minced meat or meat preparations are produced:
- which is located in a cutting plant and satisfies the requirements of Chapter I of Annex I to this Directive,
- which in the case of the production of meat preparations, is located in an establishment fulfilling the requirements of Chapter III of Annex I to this Directive,
- which, if it is not located on the premises of, or in an annex to, an establishment approved under Directives 64/433/EEC, 71/118/EEC or 77/99/EEC, fulfils the requirements of point 2 of Chapter I or point 2 of Chapter III of Annex I to this Directive;
(e) trade: trade between Member States within the meaning of Article 9 (2) of the Treaty;
(f) competent authority: the central authority of a Member State competent to carry out veterinary checks or any authority to which it has delegated that power.
CHAPTER II Placing on the market of minced meat
