Beef labeling

INTRODUCTION:

Between the ‘80s and ‘90s  the livestock sector was in crunch because consumers  lost  trust due to the“Mad cow” alarm. The EU,  born as EEC, had been involved to fill that legislative gap and for the benefit of the  consumers. Today beef meat is the kind of meat with more information available to consumer. A legislative process that lasted two decades and that is still being improved.

What and How these information must be reported  is written in Reg. (CE) n. 1760/00, which establishes  a system for the identification and registration of bovine animals and  detailed rules for the application of Reg. (CE) n. 1825/00.

Today there are other livestock sectors, such as pig farming, that complain about this legislative gap which sprang up with the alarm of the  “dioxin pig”.

A distinction must be made among needs of consumers, producers and industry. What is happening in Italy can well explain the different points of view.

With Rule n.4 of 3 February 2011 Italy has tried to impose new rules about food labels, regulation required  by  the  consumers  and consortia of producers. One of the various issues addressed was the obligation to write product origins, included pork . This legislation touched interests of many factories, it complicated their work in our country and it made trade relations with foreign country more difficult. European commissioner for health and consumer policy, Jhon Dalli and for Agriculture, Dacian Ciolos have rejected Italian low about food labelling, they considered inappropriate the low and they asked to wait for adoption of a communitarian regulation. Although this law has good intentions, Italy will face fines.  However Italy is not the only country that has tried to set rules about this topic, Ireland too. Which was object of a UE decision about poultry, swine and sheep meat labelling.

REGULATIONS

Today in EU it is compulsory the Community beef labelling system

The compulsory labelling system will ensure a link between, on the one hand  the identification of the carcass, quarter or pieces of meat and, on the other hand the individual animal or the group of animals concerned.

The label will contain the following indications:

a) a reference number or reference code ensuring the link between the meat and the animal or animals. This number may be the identification number of the individual animal from which the beef was derived or the identification number relating to a group of animals;

b) the approval number of the slaughterhouse where the animal or group of animals was slaughtered and the Member State or third where the slaughterhouse is established. The indication will read: "Slaughtered in (name of the Member State or third country) (approval number)";

c) the approval number of the cutting hall which performed the cutting operation on the carcass or group of carcases and the Member State or third country where the hall is established. The indication will  read: "Cutting in: (name of the Member State or third country) (approval number)".

Operators and organisations shall also indicate on the labels:

(i) Member State or third country of birth;

(ii) all Member States or third countries where fattening took place;

(iii) Member State or third country where slaughter took place;

 However, whereas the beef is derived from animals born, raised and slaughtered:

(i) in the same Member State, the indication may be given as "Origin: (name of Member State)";

(ii) in the same third country, the indication may be given as "Origin: (name of third country)".

 Derogations from the compulsory labelling system

Operator or organisation preparing minced beef shall indicate on the label the words "prepared (name of the Member State or third country)", depending on where the meat was prepared, and "origin" where the State or States involved are not the State of preparation.

Beef imported into the Community for which not all the information provided is available, shall be labelled with the indication: "Origin: non-EC" and "Slaughtered in: (name of third country)".

Voluntary labelling system

For labels containing indications other than those provided for in Section I of this title, each operator or organisation shall send a specification for approval to the competent authority of the Member State in which production or sale of the beef in question takes place. The competent authority may also establish specifications to be used in the Member State concerned, provided that use thereof is not compulsory.

Voluntary labelling specifications shall indicate:

- the information to be included on the label,

- the measures to be taken to ensure the accuracy of the information,

- the control system which will be applied to  all stages of production and sale, including the controls to be carried out by an independent body recognised by the competent authority and designated by the operator or the organisation. These bodies shall comply with the criteria set out in European Standard EN/45011.

The most recent EU regulation of 15 March 2007 n. 275 has brought important changes at Reg. 1760/00 and 1825/00 about traceability and beef labelling of cut meat and trimmings. Which will be labelled in the same way as 2000 for minced beef.

The application of regulation 1760/00 has pointed out many practical problems encountered by operators, especially from retailers of beef, who  should continuously update the label each time to supply the counter sale, operation which happens continuously by the day.

Other problem is that usually retailers contact a small numbers of big suppliers because they do not want meet difficulties in meat labelling. This is a clear threat to small slaughterhouses and cutting plants business.

In essence, the new EC regulation provides exceptions which allow to create lots using  meat from animals slaughtered in no more than three different slaughterhouses and carcases cut in no more than three different cutting plants, obviously all will be indicated on the label.

For the creation of trimmings lots, it will be respected the rule about unique country of slaughtered.

The labels of all other animals products are then subject of the same laws that deal with labels of food such as the directive Directive 2000/13/EC and its amendments, which harmonises the different national laws.

Link:

War to Nutella

Italian newspaper linked to EFSA

The Indipentend:How in 2008 England faced invasion of Irish dioxin Pork.

Decision of EU council.