1.   Batches of poultrymeat shall be checked regularly, with appropriate frequencies determined on a risk basis, for conformity with Articles 2, 4 and 8 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/343. Decisions arising from failure to comply in accordance with this Article may only be taken for the whole batch which has been checked.

For the purposes of this Regulation, a ‘batch’ is composed of a minimum of 100 units of poultrymeat of the same species and cut, the same class, the same production run, from the same slaughterhouse or cutting plant, situated in the same place, which is to be inspected.

2.   A sample shall be drawn at random for each batch of each of the products referred to in Article 2 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/343 to be inspected in slaughterhouses, cutting plants, wholesale and retail warehouses or at any other stage of marketing, including during transport or, in the case of imports from third countries, at the time of customs clearance. The size of the sample and the tolerable number of defective units per batch size shall be as follows:

3.   The total tolerable number of defective units within a batch is laid down in column 3 of the table referred to in paragraph 2.

However, the number of defective units not complying with Article 2, points (1) and (3), or with Article 8(1) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/343, shall not exceed the figures shown in column 4 of the table.

As regards products referred to in Article 2, point (3), of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/343, no defective unit shall be tolerable in a batch unless it be of a weight of at least 240 g in the case of duck livers and of at least 385 g in the case of goose livers.

4.   For poultrymeat graded as class B, the tolerable number of defective units per batch shall be doubled.

5.   Where the checked batch does not comply, the supervising agency shall prohibit its marketing or, if the batch comes from a third country, its import, unless and until it is proven that the batch has been rectified to comply with Articles 2 and 8 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/343 by removing all defective units.

1.   Food business operators marketing products that use the terms referred to in Article 10 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/343 shall be subject to special registration.

2.   Inspections regarding compliance with Articles 10 and 11 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/343 shall be carried out with appropriate frequencies determined on a risk basis at:

3.   Each Member State shall make available to the other Member States and to the Commission, by every appropriate means, including publication on the internet, the updated list of the approved food business operators registered in accordance with paragraph 1, showing their name and address and the number allotted to each of them.

1.   The method of analysis for technically unavoidable water content value referred to in Article 14(1) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/343 is laid down in Annex I to this Regulation (‘chemical method’).

2.   The competent authorities designated by each Member State shall ensure that the slaughterhouses adopt all measures necessary to comply with Article 14 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/343, in particular that:

1.   Regular checks in accordance with Annex III on the water absorbed shall be carried out in the slaughterhouses, with appropriate frequencies determined in procedures developed in accordance with the HACCP principles pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6).

Where these checks reveal that the amount of water absorbed is greater than the thresholds set out in Annex IX to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/343, the necessary technical adjustments shall be made immediately by the slaughterhouse to the process.

2.   Competent authorities shall carry out checks on water content regularly, with appropriate frequencies determined on a risk basis and by sampling, on frozen and quick-frozen chicken carcasses from each slaughterhouse using the method of analysis referred to in Article 5(1). These checks shall not be conducted for carcases in respect of which proof is provided to the competent authority that they are intended exclusively for export.

3.   If the result of the checks referred to in paragraph 2 exceed the values referred to in Article 14(2) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/343, the slaughterhouse concerned may request that a counter-analysis of a batch be carried out in the reference laboratory of the Member State, using a method to be chosen by the competent authority of the Member State. The costs of this counter-analysis shall be borne by the holder of the batch.

4.   Where the batch in question is deemed after such counter-analysis not to comply with this Regulation, it shall remain under the supervision of the competent authority until it is dealt with in accordance with paragraphs 5 and 6 or otherwise disposed of.

5.   If it is certified to the competent authority that the batch referred to in paragraph 4 is to be exported, the competent authority shall take all necessary measures to prevent the batch in question from being marketed within the Union.

6.   The competent authority may authorise the marketing within the Union of the batch in accordance with Article 14(4) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/343.

7.   Paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 shall apply mutatis mutandis to imported frozen and quick-frozen chicken carcasses at the time of customs clearance.

1.   The Member State of destination may, where there are serious grounds for suspecting irregularities, carry out non-discriminatory random checks of frozen or quick-frozen chicken carcasses in order to verify that a batch meets the requirements of Article 14 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/343.

2.   The checks referred to in paragraph 1 shall be carried out at the place of destination of the goods or at another suitable place, provided that in the latter place is not at the border and interferes as little as possible with the routing of the goods and that the goods may proceed normally to their destination once the sample has been taken. However, the products concerned shall not be sold to the final consumer until the result of the checks prove the compliance with Article 14 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/343.

Such checks shall be carried out as quickly as possible to avoid undue delays in placing the products on the market, or cause delays which impair the products’ quality.

Results of these checks and any subsequent decisions and the grounds for taking them shall be notified at the latest two working days after sampling to the consignor, the consignee or their representative. Decisions taken by the competent authority of the Member State of destination and the reasons for such decisions shall be notified to the competent authority of the Member State of dispatch.

If the consignor or his representative so requests, the decisions and reasons for them shall be forwarded to him in writing with details of the rights of appeal which are available to him under the law in force in the Member State of destination and of the procedure and time limits applicable.

3.   If the result of the checks referred to in paragraph 1 exceeds the values referred to in Article 14(2) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/343, the holder of the batch concerned may request that a counter-analysis be carried out in one of the reference laboratories of the Member States from among the list published by the Commission on the Europa website, using the same method of analysis as used for the initial test. The costs of this counter-analysis shall be borne by the holder of the batch. The tasks of reference laboratories are set out in Annex IV to this Regulation.

4.   If, after a check carried out in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 and, if requested, after a counter-analysis, it is found that the frozen or quick-frozen chicken carcasses do not comply with Article 14(2) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/343, the competent authority of the Member State of destination shall apply the procedures provided for in Article 6(4) of this Regulation.

5.   In the cases provided for in paragraphs 3 and 4, the competent authority of the Member State of destination shall contact the competent authorities of the Member State of dispatch without delay. The latter authorities shall take all necessary measures and notify the competent authority of the Member State of destination of the nature of the checks carried out, the decisions taken and the reasons for such decisions.

Where the checks referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 show repeated irregularities, or where such checks, in the view of the Member State of dispatch, are carried out without sufficient justification, the competent authorities of the Member States concerned shall inform the Commission.

The Commission, acting on its own initiative to ensure uniform application of the poultrymeat marketing standards or at the request of the competent authority of the Member State of destination, may:

The Commission shall inform the Member States of its findings. Member States in whose territory an inspection is carried out shall provide the Commission personnel all the assistance necessary for the performance of their tasks.

Pending the Commission’s findings, the Member State of dispatch shall, at the request of the Member State of destination, increase the frequency of checks on products coming from the establishment concerned.

Where these measures are taken to address repeated irregularities in an establishment, the costs incurred due to the application of the measures laid down in the third subparagraph, points (a) and (b), shall be borne by the establishment concerned.

1.   The method of analysis referred to in Article 14(2) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/343 is laid down in Annex II to this Regulation (‘chemical method’).

2.   The competent authorities designated by each Member State shall ensure that the slaughterhouses and cutting plants, whether or not attached to slaughterhouses, adopt all measures necessary to comply with the provisions of Article 14 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/343 and in particular that:

3.   Checks on the water content referred to in paragraph 1 shall be carried out, with appropriate frequencies determined on a risk basis and by sampling, on frozen and quick-frozen poultry cuts from each cutting plant producing such cuts, in accordance with Annex II. These checks may not be conducted for poultry cuts in respect of which proof is provided to the competent authority that they are intended exclusively for export.

4.   Article 6(2) to (5) and Article 7 shall apply, mutatis mutandis, for poultry cuts referred to in Article 14(2) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/343.