Country of Origin Labelling of Certain Meats (England)–Consultation Paper

The new mandatory origin labelling rules – what is changing?

1.From 1 April 2015 all fresh, chilled and frozen, pork, poultry, lamb and goat meat will have to be labelled with an indication of origin. In particular this will mean:

  • Mandatory labelling of the place of rearing and place of slaughter of the animal from which the meat is obtained;
  • Mandatory labelling of a batch code identifying the meat at retail; and
  • A requirement for food business operators to have an identification and registration system that demonstrates the link between the meat and the animal from which it was obtained at slaughter and provides for this information along the supply chain.

2.Much of this is in practice already in place in the UK: the majority of meat offered to the consumer already carries an indication of its country of origin on a voluntary basis, following the 2011 industry ‘Voluntary Principles on Country of Origin Labelling’. There are existing traceability systems requiring the identification of pigs, poultry, sheep and goats under other European legislation. The new requirement is that all of the above meat must now be labelled with the place of rearing and slaughter. Alternatively, the new rules allow for this information to be replaced with a simple indication of origin (e.g. “Origin: UK”) where the animal was born, reared and slaughtered in a single member state or third country.

What will this mean in practice? – Proposals for implementation

3.The practical implications come under a number of headings: (i) identification of the animal, (ii) batch codes, (iii) labelling of meat for sale to the consumer, (iv) the enforcement authorities at each stage of the chain, and (v) the enforcement mechanism (Improvement Notices)

4.Identification of the animal. Pigs, poultry, sheep and goats already have to be identified under existing EU and national legislation (see details in Annex 1).

5.From the point of slaughter, the information about the member state or third country of rearing and slaughter will need to accompany the carcase/meat through the subsequent stages of production and distribution. Food businesses will need to be able to demonstrate that they can establish a link to the animal at slaughter, which can be evidenced by records showing their country of origin. Each business will be responsible for the maintenance of their records and will be committing an offence if records are not accurately kept. We are proposing that food businesses should be required to keep each record for 12 months or 24 months for frozen food from the end of the calendar year to which therecord relates, in line with the existing beef labelling regulations.

6.Batch code. Packs of meat must carry a batch code that clearly identifies the origin of the meat. This means that the code can be referenced with other information on order for food businesses to be able to demonstrate that the information on the label is accurate.

7.In order to keep the information on labels to what is essential and to avoid confusing consumers, this batch code can be an existing mark that can identify the meat when it is cross-referenced with other information, such as a date mark, lot number or health mark. The food business must be able to demonstrate that the batch code chosen is one that is valid for determining the accuracy of the mandatory origin claims.

8.Labelling of meat for sale to the consumer. The mandatory origin indications will generally be ‘Reared in: [Member State or third country]’ and ‘Slaughtered in: [Member State or third country]’. This basic pattern can be adapted to reflect the reality of where the meat has come from, e.g. ‘Reared in: several Member States of the EU’. The term ‘origin’ can replace this mandatory information only when the animals were exclusively born, reared and slaughtered in a single member state or third country. This is all set out in the European legislation and there are no national implementation decisions to be taken. There is provision in the European legislation for additional voluntary information to be provided (see Annex 2).

9.The enforcement authorities at each stage in the chain. Under the existing beef labelling regulations, enforcement of the cattle identification in slaughterhouses and cutting and mincing plants is the responsibility of the Rural Payments Agency (RPA), and enforcement at subsequent stages in the chain is the responsibility of local authorities and port health authorities.

10.We propose to extend the scope of the RPA’s current remit in relation to beef to also cover the identification of pigs, sheep and goats. As the RPA has no presence in poultry facilities, we propose that local authorities enforce the identification of animals at poultry establishments. Local authorities would continue to be responsible for enforcing of the accuracy of meat labelling offered for sale to the consumer as now.

11.Enforcement mechanism. The frontline measure of enforcement will be an Improvement Notice. If the conditions set by the Improvement Notice are not met, this will be a criminal offence. Businesses will have the opportunity to appeal against an Improvement Notice and First Tier Tribunals will be used as the appeals body. This is the enforcement mechanism that has been adopted for food labelling more generally under the Food Information Regulations 2014 and other recent food standards regulations. It is part of a wider Government policy to provide civil sanctions for offences which do not need to be heard by a Magistrates Court.

Question to consultees: Do you agree with the proposed approach to implementing the mandatory origin labelling rules set out in italics in paragraphs 5, 7 and 10 above? If not what alternative approach do you propose?

Beef Labelling

12.Mandatory country of origin labelling for beef has been in place since Regulation (EU) 1760/2000 came into force. However, the European Commission proposed the removal of the existing notification requirement and approval procedure for voluntary beef labelling. This proposal was formally adopted by the Council of Ministers earlier this year.

13.The existing notification and approval procedures for voluntary beef labelling claims will be removed with effect from 13 December 2014. Voluntary beef labelling will then be aligned with the general EU rules on food labelling set out in the Food Information to Consumers Regulation (FIC). This will provide that food information which is added to labels voluntarily by operators or organisations marketing beef should be objective, verifiable by the competent authorities and comprehensible for consumers.

14.As the new country of origin provisions for pigs, sheep, goat and poultry meat set out similar rules for origin labelling and traceability to the beef labelling Regulation, it is proposed that the enforcement regimes in England are brought together in one piece of legislation. This will make it easier for enforcement authorities and businesses to understand the regime.

Application date

15.EU Regulation 1337/2013 will apply from 1 April 2015. The Country of Origin of Certain Meats (England) Regulations 2015 will come into force at the same time.

Alternatives to regulation and minimising costs

  1. The Government is required to put in place provision to ensure that Regulation 1337/2013 is enforced under domestic law. Since it is directly applicable, the scope to use alternatives to regulation is limited. However, enforcement provisions should be proportionate and avoid gold-plating, whilst meeting the UK’s EU obligations.
  2. Food policy is a devolved matter. We are working closely with Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to ensure a consistent and coordinated approach across the UK where possible. However, the other Governments may take a different approach to take account of their legal structures and policy views.

Statutory review

  1. The Country of Origin of Certain Meats(England) Regulations 2015 will include a provision for a review of the domestic Regulations after they have been in force for five years. This will ensure that the Government considers the success of the Regulations and whether their objectives have been met, in light of how Regulation 1337/2013 is implemented in other Member States.

Annex 1

Identification and registration systems ‘in place’ for livestock

  1. Swine, sheep, goats and poultry must at present be sufficiently identifiable so as to meet the requirements of existing EU and domestic legislation, as set out below.
  2. Swine: The Pigs (Records, Identification and Movement) Order 2011 (S.I.2011/2154) – ‘PRIMO’requires that all pigs in England are identified and their movements recorded. If a pig is imported from another country, either EU or non EU, then it will be individually marked as coming from that country and the date of entry into the UK recorded. Without these marks the pigs can only have been in the UK throughout its life.A large percentage of production in the UK, although not all, is via commercially integrated companies who will have an audit trail of when batches were born/weaned/fattened and where.
  3. Sheep and goats: The Sheep and Goats (Records, Identification and Movement) (England) Order 2009 (S.I. 2009/3219) as amended – ‘SAGRIMO’ requires that sheep and goats must be identified by either 6 or 9 months of age, or when they first move from their birth holding, whichever comes first. Sheep and goats will be individually identified if they are imported into the UK from another country and the information on their date of import will be recorded; otherwise it will be clear that the animal has been in the UK all its life.The UK imports a very small percentage of live lambs, mostly for breeding and the vast majority of lamb(s) consumed in England are born, reared and slaughtered in the UK.
  4. Poultry: The Control of Salmonella in Poultry Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/3574) requires that when birds or eggs are moved onto or off a holding, the occupier must record, among other things, the age of the birds moved and, in the case of the movement of an entire flock, the identification of that flock.
  1. From the point of slaughter, the information about the Member State or third country of rearing and slaughter will need to be transmitted through the subsequent stages of production and distribution. Food business operators will need to be able to demonstrate that they can establish a link to the animals at slaughter which can be evidenced by records showing their country of origin. Each business will be responsible for the maintenance of their records and will be committing an offence should their records not be accurately kept. We are proposing that food business operators should be required to keep each record for 12 months from the end of the calendar year to which the record relates, in line with the provision in the Beef Regulations.

Annex 2

Additional voluntary information

  1. Article 8 of Regulation 1337/2013 allows food business operators to supplement the mandatory information with additional voluntary information concerning the provenance of the meat. This additional information cannot detract from the mandatory requirements and must comply with the provisions regarding voluntary information set out in Chapter V of FIC. This allows for additional origin claims such as ‘British’, ‘Welsh’, ‘Scottish’ or ‘Northern Irish’ and the use of pictorial representations such as the Union Flag.