Foodlaw-Reading Dr David Jukes, The University of Reading, UK
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Food Law News - EU - 2018

Commission consultation, 27 September 2018

OFFICIAL CONTROLS - Commission consultation: Establishing specific rules for official controls on meat & live bivalve mollusc production and relaying area

A copy of the full consultation document is available on this site (click on image). See also the separate document containing the proposed Annex: Draft Annexes

The following is the opening section of the consultation document:

Explanatory Memorandum

1. Legal Context of this Delegated Regulation

Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council1 lays down rules for the performance of official controls and other control activities by the competent authorities of the Member States, in particular in relation to the production of products of animal origin intended for human consumption.

This draft Delegated Regulation supplements Regulation (EU) 2017/625 concerning official controls related to the production of meat (meat inspection) and for the production and relaying areas of Pectinidae, marine gastropods and Holothuroidea.

In principle, meat inspections are carried out by the official veterinarian. This Delegated Regulation provides for a derogation from the basic requirements laid down in Regulation (EU) 2017/625, and is intended to establish the criteria and conditions for certain tasks relating to meat inspections in slaughterhouses and official controls in game-handling establishments and cutting plants, to be carried out by official auxiliaries or other staff designated by the competent authorities under the supervision or under the responsibility of the official veterinarian. It also lays down:

• the criteria and conditions for the performance of ante-mortem inspections outside the slaughterhouse;
• the criteria and conditions for the performance of post-mortem inspections by the official veterinarian in the case of emergency slaughter;
• the specific requirements for official veterinarians, official auxiliaries and other staff designated by the competent authorities;
• the training required of slaughterhouse staff in order to perform certain inspection tasks.

This Delegated Regulation also lays down further derogations concerning official controls for the production of meat from reindeer and grouse in order to continue longstanding local and traditional practices already notified to and favourably assessed by the Commission and the Member States.

In principle, competent authorities must classify production and relaying areas where live bivalve molluscs are harvested. This Delegated Regulation is intended to establish, by way of derogation from the basic requirements laid down in Regulation (EU) 2017/625, the criteria and conditions under which the production and relaying areas of Pectinidae, marine gastropods and Holothuridea are not to be classified.