29.3.2014   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 95/64

(1)

Article 53 of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 empowers the Commission to recommend coordinated control plans where considered necessary, organised on an ad hoc basis, in particular with a view to establishing the prevalence of hazards in feed, food and animals.

(2)

Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (2) sets out Union rules on food labelling applicable to all foods.

(3)

According to Directive 2000/13/EC, the labelling and methods used should not mislead the consumer, particularly as to the characteristics of the food, including its true nature and its identity. Furthermore, in the absence of specific Union or national rules, the name under which a food is sold should be the name customary in the Member State in which it is sold, or a description of the food which is clear enough to let the purchaser know its true nature.

(4)

All ingredients must be mentioned on the label of pre-packaged foodstuffs intended for the final consumer or mass caterers. In particular, foods containing meat as an ingredient, when intended for the final consumer or mass caterers, must also indicate the animal species from which the meat originates directly on the package or on a label attached thereto. If an ingredient is mentioned in the name of the food, its quantity expressed as a percentage must also be provided in the list of ingredients in order to avoid the consumer being misled as regards the identity and the composition of the food.

(5)

Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) provides for additional labelling requirements applicable to specific foods of animal origin. In particular, it provides that packages intended for supply to the final consumer containing minced meat, amongst others, from solipeds are to bear a notice indicating that such products should be cooked before consumption, if, and to the extent that, national rules in the Member State in the territory of which the product is placed on the market so require.

(6)

Following official controls carried out since December 2012 in a number of Member States, the Commission was informed that certain pre-packaged products contained horse meat which was not declared in the list of ingredients appearing directly on the package or on a label attached thereto. Instead, the name of certain such foods and/or the accompanying list of ingredients misleadingly referred solely to the presence of beef.

(7)

In accordance with Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and the Council (4), food business operators at all stages of production, processing and distribution within the businesses under their control must ensure that foods satisfy the requirements of food law which are relevant to their activities and must verify that such requirements are met.

(8)

Commission Recommendation 2013/99/EU (5) recommended that Member States implement a coordinated control plan with a view to establishing the prevalence of fraudulent practices in the marketing of certain foods for a period of one month. The recommended coordinated control plan consisted of two actions. The first action consisted of appropriate controls carried out at retail level and at other establishments to determine whether pre-packaged food products and non-pre-packaged food products contained horse meat which was not properly labelled on the packaging or, in the case of non-pre-packaged foodstuffs, information relating to its presence was not made available to the consumer or mass caterers. The second action consisted of appropriate controls carried out in establishments handling horse meat destined for human consumption, including foods originating from third countries, for the detection of residues of phenylbutazone.

(9)

The results of the coordinated control plan confirmed recurrent non-compliance with legislation applicable to labelling of meat products in most Member States. It is therefore necessary to follow up the coordinated control plan with a second round of controls at retail level and other establishments, to determine whether the practices identified during the first coordinated control plan are still present.

(10)

On the other hand, official controls performed to verify the presence of residues of phenylbutazone showed no widespread recurrent non-compliance; it seems therefore not necessary, at this stage, to recommend a second set of coordinated controls on this matter.

(11)

During the first coordinated control plan, the European Union Reference Laboratory for Animal Proteins in Feedingstuffs provided advice on the use of methods to detect the presence of proteins of undeclared species in samples. There is still no validated method for this analysis, but following consultation with experts, the advice on the use of a harmonised protocol has been updated by the abovementioned laboratory and is made available on its website.

(12)

The Member States should communicate the methods used, the results of controls and the measures taken in case of positive findings to the Commission within a set time frame and in a harmonised format.

(13)

After consulting the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

1.

Member States should implement a coordinated control plan for a period of 4 consecutive weeks within the timeframe 21 April to 16 June 2014, in accordance with Annex I to this Recommendation.

2.

Member States should report the results of the official controls carried out in accordance with point 1 and any relevant enforcement measures taken, by 22 July 2014 in the format given in Annex II to this Recommendation.