Specific Hygiene Rules for Food of Animal Origin

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European Legislation

Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 (OJ L226, p22, 25/06/2004) of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin

  • Corrected by:
    Corrigendum to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin (OJ L 139 of 30/4/2004. Corrected version in OJ L226, p22, 25/06/2004) 

Amended by:

 

Consolidated version of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 ( as at 11th March  2011) 


Directive 2004/41/EC repealing certain Directives concerning food hygiene and health conditions for the production and placing on the market of certain products of animal origin intended for human consumption and amending Council Directives 89/662/EEC and 92/118/EEC and Council Decision 95/408/EC, 21 April 2004

National Legislation

 European Communities (Food and Feed Hygiene) Regulations 2009 (S.I. No. 432 of 2009)

Amended by:

  • European Communities (Food and Feed Hygiene) (Amendment)Regulations 2010 ( S.I. No. 312 of 2010 ) 

  

Guidance Notes on certain provisions of Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 published by the European Commission

General provisions

Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 lays down specific rules on the hygiene of food of animal origin for food business operators. These rules supplement those laid down by Regulation (EC) No 852/2004. They apply to unprocessed and processed products of animal origin. In most cases Regulation (EC) No. 853/2004 does not apply to food containing both products of plant origin and processed products of animal origin. However, processed products of animal origin used to prepare such food must  be obtained and handled in accordance with the requirements of  Regulation (EC) No 853/2004.


Products of animal origin are defined by Regulation (EC) No. 853/2004 as meaning;

  •  food of animal origin, including honey and blood;
  •  live bivalve molluscs, live echinoderms, live tunicates and live marine gastropods intended for human consumption;
     and
  •  other animals destined to be prepared with a view to being supplied live to the final consumer.

 

Regulation (EC) No. 853/2004 does not apply to:

(a) primary production for private domestic use;
(b) the domestic preparation, handling or storage of food for private domestic consumption;
(c) the direct supply, by the producer, of small quantities of primary products to the final consumer or to local retail establishments directly supplying the final consumer;
(d) the direct supply, by the producer, of small quantities of meat from poultry and lagomorphs slaughtered on the farm to the final consumer or to local retail establishments directly supplying such meat to the final consumer as fresh meat;
(e) hunters who supply small quantities of wild game or wild game meat directly to the final consumer or to local retail establishments directly supplying the final consumer.

Generally Regulation (EC) No. 853/2004 does not apply to retail. However, it will apply when  when operations are carried out with a view to the supply of food of animal origin to another establishment, unless:

(i) the operations consist only of storage or transport, in which case the specific temperature requirements laid down in Annex III will apply;
(ii) the supply of food of animal origin from the retail establishment is to other retail establishments only and, in accordance with national law, is a marginal, localised
and restricted activity. (The Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM) are currently working on legislation which will define  these terms i.e.  marginal, localised and restricted)

 

General Obligations on Food Business Operators 

Food business operators must comply with the relevant provisions of Annexes II and III of  Regulation (EC) No. 853/2004 . Annex II sets out a number of  requirements on following:

Annex II

 Section I: Identification marking
   A. Application of the identification mark
   B. Form of the identification mark
   C. Method of marking

 Section II: Objectives of HACCP-based procedures 
 Section III: Food chain information


While Annex III sets out specific requirements for the following:

Section I: Meat of domestic ungulates (i.e. domestic bovine (including Bubalus and Bison species), porcine, ovine and caprine animals, and domestic solipeds (e.g horses).
Section II: Meat from poultry and lagamorphs (rabbits, hares and rodents)
Section III: Meat of farmed game
Section IV: Wild Game
Section V: Minced Meat, meat preparations, mechanically separated meat (MSM)
Section VI: Meat Products
Section VII: Live bivalve molluscs
Section VII: Fishery products
Section IX: Raw milk, colostrum, dairy products and colostrum-based products
Section X: Eggs and egg products
Section XI: Frogs' legs and snails
Section XII: Rendered Animal fats and greaves
Section XIV: Gelatine
Section XV: Collagen

 

For detailed information on the specific requirements above please refer to the relevant subject information in the food legislation section of the website  e.g. further information on  Meat can be found in the food legislation section titled fresh meat, on poultrymeat can be found in the section titled Meat-Poultrymeat


Food Business Registration and Approval

Establishments handling those products for which Annex III of Regulation (EC) No. 853/2004 lays down requirements must be 'approved'. However, establishments carrying out only primary production, transport operations, the storage of products not requiring temperature controlled storage conditions or retail operations other than those to which Regulation (EC) No. 853/2004 applies pursuant to Article 1(5)(b) of that Regulation are exempt from this requirement but are subject to Article 6 of Regulation (EC) 852/2004 i.e. they must be registered with the competent authority. S.I. No. 432 of 2009  sets out the requirements for both registration and approval for food businesses subject to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004.


Health and identification marking

Food business operators must not place on the market a product of animal origin handled in an establishment subject to approval in accordance with Article 4(2) of Regulation (EC) No. 853/2004 unless it has either:

(a) a health mark applied in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 854/2004;
 or
(b) when that Regulation does not provide for the application of a health mark, an identification mark applied in accordance with Annex II, Section I to Regulation (EC) No. 853/2004 


Food business operators may apply an identification mark to a product of animal origin only if the product has been manufactured in accordance with Regulation (EC) No. 853/2004 in establishments meeting the requirements of Article 4 of that Regulation. 

Food business operators may not remove a health mark applied in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 from meat unless they cut or process it or work  upon it in another manner.


 

 

 

 

Last reviewed: 17/1/2012

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