Brussels, 19/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - Union consumers, who like meat-based products such as "charcuterie" (sausages, notably), prepared dishes and canned meat will very soon be informed of the exact contents of what they are eating thanks to adequate labelling of the products concerned. The Union's Standing Committee on Foodstuffs has just given the go-ahead to a Commission proposal aimed at defining more precisely - tightening the definition - what the term "meat" covers and consequently to adapt the labelling requirements of the products concerned..
So as to respond to consumer expectations and the idea they have of meat, representatives of Member States have subscribed to the proposal of defining as such meat torn from the skeleton of animals, to the exclusion of all other parts of the animal clean for consumption. Consequently, offal (heart, intestines, liver, etc.) and fat will now have to be labelled as such and no longer as being meat (the Community definition of meat currently makes no distinction between muscle, fat and offal). Only one part of fat content, where it adheres to the muscles, may be treated as meat, subject to the maximum levels laid own in the definition (25% for mammals other than rabbits and porcine, and for mixtures of species with mammals predominating, 30% for porcine, 15% for birds and rabbits). The labelling of meat-based products must, moreover, systematically mention the species of animal from which it comes (beef meat, pig meat, etc.), which will enable consumers better to understand the price differences between products and make an informed choice on the basis of their personal preferences. Mechanically separated meat from the bone will have to be labelled as such and may not enter into the calculation of the meat content of any products in which they occur.
These new provisions will take effect through a amendment to the directive on the labelling and presentation of foodstuffs (Parliament and Council Directive 2000/13). Due to the committee procedure in force, the green light from the Standing Committee on Foodstuffs allowed the Commission to immediately formally adopt the amended directive. Member States will have to have transposed the text into domestic legislation by 1 January 2003 at the latest, date at which any meat-based manufactured product will have to be labelled according to the new provisions. Products manufactured before that date and labelled according to the old formula may be legally sold until stocks run out.