COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2023/1156

of 9 June 2023

authorising grading methods for the classification of pig carcasses in Slovakia and repealing Decision 2009/622/EC

(notified under document C(2023) 3684)

(Only the Slovak text is authentic)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007 (1), and in particular Article 20, first paragraph, point (p), thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Article 10 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 provides that Union scales for the classification of pig carcasses are to apply in accordance with point B of Annex IV to that Regulation. Section B.IV, point 1, of Annex IV to that Regulation provides that, for the classification of pig carcasses, the lean meat content is to be assessed by means of grading methods authorised by the Commission, that only statistically proven assessment methods based on the physical measurement of one or more anatomical parts of the pig carcass may be authorised and that grading methods are subject to compliance with a maximum tolerance rate for statistical error in assessment. That tolerance is defined in Part A, point 1, paragraph 2, of Annex V to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1182 (2).

(2) Commission Decision 2009/622/EC (3) authorised the use of three methods for grading pig carcasses in Slovakia.

(3) Unless explicitly authorised by a Commission implementing decision, modifications of the grading methods or apparatuses thereof should not be allowed.

(4) Slovakia has requested the Commission to authorise the following new method: ‘Fat-O-Meater II (FOM II)’. For that purpose, Slovakia has presented a detailed description of the dissection trial, indicating the principles on which this new method is based, the results of the dissection trial and the equation used for assessing the percentage of lean meat in the protocol referred to in Article 11(3) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1182.

(5) Slovakia has also requested the Commission to authorise an updated formula for the ‘Two-Point (Zwei Punkte – ZP)’ method authorised by Decision 2009/622/EC for grading pig carcasses on its territory.

(6) The examination of those requests has revealed that the conditions and minimum requirements for authorising the new grading method and updating the equation for the ‘Two-Point (Zwei Punkte – ZP)’ method as laid down in Part A of Annex V to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1182 are fulfilled. That grading method and the new formula should therefore be authorised in Slovakia.

(7) For reasons of clarity and legal certainty, Decision 2009/622/EC should be repealed.

(8) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for the Common Organisation of the Agricultural Markets,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:

Article 1

The use of the following grading methods is authorised for the assessment of the lean meat content of pig carcasses pursuant to Section B.IV, point 1, of Annex IV to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 in Slovakia:

(a) the ‘Two-point method (Zwei-punkte, ZP)’ and the assessment methods related thereto, the details of which are set out in Part I of the Annex to this Decision;

(b) the ‘Fat-O-Meater (FOM)’ apparatus and the assessment methods related thereto, the details of which are set out in Part II of the Annex to this Decision;

(c) the ‘Fat-O-Meater II (FOM II)’ apparatus and the assessment methods related thereto, the details of which are set out in Part III of the Annex to this Decision;

(d) the ‘UltraFOM 300 (UFOM)’ apparatus and the assessment methods related thereto, the details of which are set out in Part IV of the Annex to this Decision.

Article 2

Modifications of the authorised grading methods or apparatuses thereof referred to in Article 1 shall be authorised by Commission Implementing Decision.

Article 3

Decision 2009/622/EC is repealed.

Article 4

This Decision is addressed to the Slovak Republic.

Done at Brussels, 9 June 2023.

For the Commission

Janusz WOJCIECHOWSKI

Member of the Commission

(1)

OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 671

(2) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/1182 of 20 April 2017 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the Union scales for the classification of beef, pig and sheep carcasses and as regards the reporting of market prices of certain categories of carcasses and live animals (

OJ L 171, 4.7.2017, p. 74

(3) Commission Decision 2009/622/EC of 20 August 2009 authorising methods for grading pig carcasses in Slovakia (

OJ L 224, 27.8.2009, p. 11

ANNEX

GRADING METHODS FOR THE CLASSIFICATION OF PIG CARCASSES IN SLOVAKIA

PART I

Two-Point (Zwei Punkte – ZP)

The rules provided for in this Part shall apply when the classification of pig carcasses is carried out by use of the ‘Two-point method (Zwei-punkte, ZP)’ measuring by ruler.

This method may be implemented using a ruler, with the grading determined on the basis of the prediction equation. It is based on the manual measurement on the mid-line of the split carcass of the thickness of the muscle and of the thickness of the fat.

The lean meat content of carcasses shall be calculated in accordance with the following formula:

Y = 60,45 – 0,4 × F + 0,075 × M

where:

the estimated percentage of lean meat in the carcass;

the thickness of fat (including rind) in millimeters, measured on the mid-line of the split carcass at the thinnest location above the

musculus gluteus medius

;

the thickness of muscle in millimeters, measured on the mid-line of the split carcass at the shortest connection between the front (cranial) end of the

musculus gluteus medius

and the upper (dorsal) edge of the spinal canal.

This formula shall be valid for carcasses weighing between 60 and 120 kg.

PART II

Fat-O-Meater (FOM)

The rules provided for in this Part shall apply when the classification of pig carcasses is carried out by means of the apparatus ‘Fat-O-Meater (FOM)’.

The apparatus shall be equipped with a probe of 6-millimetre diameter containing a photodiode of the Siemens SFH 950 type and a photodetector (type SFH 960), having an operation distance of between 3 and 103 millimeters. The results of the measurements are converted into estimated lean meat content by means of a computer.

The lean meat content of the carcass shall be calculated in accordance with the following formula:

Y = 61,213 + 0,152 × M – 0,624 × F

where:

the estimated lean meat content in the carcass;

the thickness of muscle in millimeters measured between the second and third last ribs, 70 mm beside the mid-line of the split carcass;

the thickness of fat (including rind) in millimeters, measured between the second and third last ribs, 70 mm beside the mid-line of the split carcass;

This formula shall be valid for carcasses weighing between 60 and 120 kilograms.

PART III

Fat-O-Meater II (FOM II)

The rules provided for in this Part shall apply when the classification of pig carcasses is carried out by means of the apparatus ‘Fat-O-Meater II (FOM II)’.

The apparatus is a Fat-O-Meater type of equipment and it shall be equipped with a probe of six mm diameter containing a photodetector (Siemens, of the type SFH 960 – BP 103 or similar) and having an operating depth up to 125 mm connected with long-term storage of collected data. All legally relevant acquisitions and analyses are contained within the FOM II pistol.

The lean meat content of carcasses shall be calculated in accordance with the following formula:

Y = 63,21 – 0,643 × F + 0,089 × M

where:

the estimated percentage of lean meat in the carcass;

the thickness of the muscle in millimeters, measured between the second and the third last ribs, 70 mm beside the mid-line of the split line;

the thickness of the fat in millimeters, measured between the second and the third last ribs, 70 mm beside the mid-line of the split line;

This formula shall be valid for carcasses weighing between 60 and 120 kg.

PART IV

UltraFOM 300 (UFOM)

The rules provided for in this Part shall apply when the classification of pig carcasses is carried out by means of the apparatus ‘UltraFOM 300 (UFOM)’.

The apparatus shall be equipped with an ultrasonic probe at 4 MHz (Krautkrämer MB 4 SE). The ultrasonic signal is digitised, stored and processed by a microprocessor (type Intel 80 C 32). The results of the measurements shall be converted into estimated lean meat content by means of the Ultrafom apparatus itself.

The lean meat content of the carcasses shall be calculated in accordance with the following formula:

Y = 64,436 + 0,073 × M – 0,742 × F

where:

the estimated lean meat content in the carcass;

the thickness of muscle in millimeters measured between the second and third last ribs, 70 mm beside the mid-line of the split carcass;

the thickness of fat (including rind) in millimeters, measured between the second and third last ribs, 70 mm beside the mid-line of the split carcass;

This formula shall be valid for carcasses weighing between 60 and 120 kilograms.