Regulation (EC) No 1825/2000 is hereby amended as follows:
1. The following Article 1(a) is inserted after Article 1: Article 1a Definitions For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) minced meat : any meat that has been minced into fragments or passed through a spiral-screw mincer, and that falls within one of the CN codes referred to in Article 12 of Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 and contains less than 1 % salt; (b) trimmings : small pieces of meat recognised as fit for human consumption produced exclusively during trimming operations during the boning of carcases and/or the cutting up of meat; (c) cut meat : meat which has been cut into small cubes, slices or other individual portions that do not require further cutting by an operator before being bought by the final consumer and can be directly used by that consumer. This definition does not cover minced meat and trimmings; (d) pre-packaged cut meat : the individual pack offered unaltered to the final consumer or to an establishment engaged solely in retail sales, made up of cut meat and the packaging in which it was packed before being offered for sale, whether the packaging covers it fully or partially, but such that the content cannot be altered without opening or changing the packaging; (e) non-pre-packaged cut meat : cut meat displayed for sale non-pre-packaged in outlets for sale to the final consumer and all pieces of meat displayed for sale non-pre-packaged in outlets for sale to the final consumer, intended to be cut at the request of the final consumer; (f) batch : meat, on the bone or boned, for example, carcases, quarters or boned pieces of meat, cut up, minced or packed together under practically identical conditions; (g) retail : the handling and/or processing of meat and its storage at the point of sale or delivery to the final consumer, including caterers, company canteens, institutional catering, restaurants and other similar food service operations, shops, supermarket distribution centres and wholesale outlets; (h) final consumer : the ultimate consumer of cut meat who does not use it as part of a food business operation or activity .
2. Article 4 is replaced by the following: Article 4 Size and composition of a group 1. The size of the group referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 shall be defined:
(a) during the cutting of carcases or quarters, by the number of carcases or quarters cut together and constituting one batch for the cutting plant concerned; (b) during further cutting or mincing, by the number of carcases or quarters whose meat constitutes one batch for the cutting or mincing plant concerned.
The size of the group may not, in any case, exceed the production of one day. 2. When constituting the batches referred to in paragraph 1, operators shall ensure that:
(a) all carcases or quarters in a batch cut together are of animals born in the same country, raised in the same country or countries and slaughtered in the same country and at the same slaughterhouse; (b) all carcases from which meat in a batch undergoes further cutting comply with point (a) and must have been cut up at the same cutting plant; (c) all meat in a batch that undergoes mincing is from animals slaughtered in the same country.
3. By way of derogation from the requirement regarding the same slaughterhouse and the same cutting plant laid down in paragraph 2(b), during the production of cut meat, operators shall be authorised to constitute batches from meat of animals slaughtered at a maximum of three different slaughterhouses and from carcases cut up at a maximum of three different cutting plants. 4. By way of derogation from paragraph 2(b), during the production of trimmings, operators shall, when constituting batches, be required to comply only with the requirement regarding the same country of slaughter. 3. Article 5(1) is deleted. 4. The following Articles are inserted after Article 5: Article 5a Trimmings 1. By way of derogation from Article 13(2)(b) and (c) and (5)(a)(i) and (ii) of Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000, operators and organisations shall indicate on labels for trimmings:
(a) the country of slaughter of the animals from which the trimmings came; the indication shall read: Slaughtered in (name of the Member State or third country of slaughter) ; (b) the country in which the trimmings were produced and the approval number of the plant at which they were produced; the indication shall read: Produced in (name of the Member State or third country of production and approval number of the plant) ; (c) the countries in which the animals constituting the group were born and raised; the indication shall read: Born and raised in (names of the countries in which the animals were born and raised) .
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1(a) and (c), where all the animals in the group were born, raised and slaughtered in the same country, operators shall be authorised to use the indication Country of origin: followed by the name of the Member State or third country in which the animals were born, raised and slaughtered. Article 5b Pre-packaged cut meat By way of derogation from Article 13(2)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000, operators and organisations availing themselves of the possibility offered by Article 4(3) of this Regulation shall indicate the following on labels for pre-packaged cut meats in addition to that provided for in Article 13(5)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000:
(a) the country of slaughter of the animals, followed by the approval number of the slaughterhouse or, where appropriate, the two or three slaughterhouses at which the animals constituting the group were slaughtered; the indication shall read: Animals in the group slaughtered in (name of the Member State or third country of slaughter) (approval number(s) of the slaughterhouse or the two or three slaughterhouses concerned) ; (b) the country in which the carcases were cut up, followed by the approval number of the cutting plant or, where appropriate, the two or three cutting plants at which the carcases were cut up; the indication shall read: Cutting of meat in batch in: (name of the Member State or third country in which meat was cut up) (approval number(s) of the plant or the two or three plants concerned) .
Article 5c Non-pre-packaged cut meat 1. Operators and organisations shall ensure that, where the derogation provided for in Article 4(3) is applied, the constitution of batches of all non-pre-packaged cut meats displayed at the same time at retail outlets for sale to the final consumer is in accordance with that Article 4(3). 2. By way of derogation from Article 13(2)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000, at points of sale to the final consumer operators and organisations shall label all non-pre-packaged cut meats displayed for sale with the name of the country in which the animals from which the meat came were born, raised and slaughtered, followed by the name of the country in which the carcases were cut up. Meat of animals born and/or raised and/or slaughtered in different countries shall be clearly separated when displayed for sale. Information shall be displayed in the sale outlet near such meats so as to allow the final consumer to distinguish easily between meat from different origins. Operators who display non-pre-packaged cut meats together for sale each day shall record, with the date, the approval numbers of the slaughterhouses in which the animals were slaughtered and the cutting plants in which the carcases were cut up. They shall provide that information to consumers who so request. 3. By way of derogation from the second subparagraph of Article 4(1) and providing that the requirements laid down in paragraph 2 of this Article are met, in the case of non-pre-packaged cut beef and/or veal displayed for sale to the final consumer, the size of the group may exceed one day’s production.