HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"L 48/28
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
21.2.2013
RECOMMENDATIONS
COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION
of 19 February 2013
on a coordinated control plan with a view to establish the prevalence of fraudulent practices in the
marketing of certain foods
(2013/99/EU)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
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
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
directly on the package or on a label attached thereto.
Union,
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
Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 of the European
of the food.
Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on official
controls performed to ensure the verification of compliance
with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare
rules ( 1 ), and in particular Article 53 thereof,
(5) 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 ( 3 )
Whereas:
provides for additional labelling requirements applicable
to specific foods. In particular, it provides that packages
intended for supply to the final consumer containing
minced meat, amongst others, from solipeds are to
(1) Article
53
of
Regulation
(EC)
No
882/2004
empowers
bear a notice indicating that such products should be
the Commission to recommend coordinated plans where
cooked before consumption, if, and to the extent that,
considered necessary, organised on an ad hoc basis, in
national rules in the Member State in the territory of
particular with a view to establishing the prevalence of
which the product is placed on the market so require.
hazards in feed, food or animals.
(2) Directive
2000/13/EC
of
the
European
Parliament
and
of (6) Section
III
of
Annex
II
to
Regulation
(EC)
No
853/2004
the Council of 20 March 2000 on the approximation of
requires the food business operators operating slaughter
the laws of the Member States relating to the labelling,
houses to request, receive, check and act upon food chain
presentation and advertising of foodstuffs (
information in respect of all animals, other than wild

2 ) sets out
Union rules on food labelling applicable to all foods.
game, sent or intended to be sent to the slaughterhouse.
The relevant food chain information is to cover, in
particular, veterinary medicinal products administered to
the animals within a relevant period and with a with
(3) According
to
Directive
2000/13/EC,
the
labelling
and
drawal period greater than zero, together with their dates
methods used should not mislead the consumer,
of administration and withdrawal periods. Regulation
particularly as to the characteristics of the food,
(EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of
including its true nature and its identity. Furthermore,
the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific rules
in the absence of specific Union or national rules, the
for the organisation of official controls on products of
name under which a food is sold should be the name
animal origin intended for human consumption
( 4 )
customary in the Member State in which it is sold, or a
requires, inter alia, the official veterinarian to perform
description of the food which is clear enough to let the
auditing and inspection tasks. In particular, the official
purchaser know its true nature.
veterinarian is to check and analyse relevant information
from the records of the holding of provenance of animals
intended for slaughter, including food chain information
and to take account of the documented results of this
(4) Moreover,
all
ingredients
must
be
mentioned
on
the
label
check and analysis when carrying out ante- and post-
of pre-packaged foodstuffs intended for the final
mortem inspection.
( 1 ) OJ L 165, 30.4.2004, p. 1.
( 3 ) OJ L 139, 30.4.2004, p. 55.
( 2 ) OJ L 109, 6.5.2000, p. 29.
( 4 ) OJ L 139, 30.4.2004, p. 206.

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EN
21.2.2013 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union L
48/29
(7) Following
official
controls
being
carried
out
since
also be extended to other establishments (e.g. cold
December 2012 in a number of Member States, the
stores). The objective of these controls would be to
Commission was informed that certain pre-packaged
establish whether such products contain horsemeat,
products contained horsemeat, which was not declared
which is not properly labelled on the packaging or, in
in the list of ingredients appearing directly on the
the case of non-pre-packaged foodstuffs, whether
package or on a label attached thereto. Instead, the
information relating to its presence is not made
name of certain such foods and/or the accompanying
available to the consumer or mass caterers. Such
list of ingredients misleadingly referred solely to the
controls should be carried out on a representative
presence of beef.
sample.
(8) In
accordance
with
Article
17
of
Regulation
(EC)
No (13) Reliable
methods
exist
which
allow
with
a
sufficient
178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the
degree of accuracy the detection of the presence of
Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general
proteins of undeclared species in a sample. The
principles and requirements of food law, establishing
European Union Reference Laboratory for animal
the European Food Safety Authority and laying down
proteins in feedstuffs can provide useful advice on
procedures in matters of food safety ( 1 ), food business
those methods and their use. The competent authorities
operators at all stages of production, processing and
should be invited to rely on the advice of that laboratory
distribution within their businesses under their control
as to the methods that can be used.
must ensure that foods satisfy the requirements of food
law which are relevant to their activities and must verify
that such requirements are met.
(14) The
second
action
should
consist
of
appropriate
controls
being carried out in establishments handling horsemeat
destined for human consumption, including foods orig
(9) Horses
are
animal
species
that
can
be
‘food
producing’
or
inating from third countries, for the detection of
‘non-food producing’. Phenylbutazone is a veterinary
phenylbutazone residues. These controls should also be
drug whose use is allowed only in non-food producing
carried out on a representative sample, taking into
animals pursuant to Commission Regulation (EU) No
account production and import figures. It is appropriate
37/2010 of 22 December 2009 on pharmacologically
in this case to refer to methods provided for by
active substances and their classification regarding
Commission Decision 2002/657/EC of 12 August
maximum residue limits in foodstuffs of animal origin ( 2 ).
2002 implementing Council Directive 96/23/EC
Accordingly, non-food producing horses, which have
concerning the performance of analytical methods and
been treated with phenylbutazone at some point in
the interpretation of results ( 3 ).
their life, cannot enter the food chain. Considering the
fraudulent practices relating to the unlabelled presence of
horsemeat in certain food products, it is appropriate, for
preventive purposes, to ascertain whether non-food
(15) The
Member
States
should
communicate
the
results
of
producing horses treated with phenylbutazone have
these controls to the Commission on a regular basis, in
entered the food chain.
order to assess the findings and decide on an appropriate
course of action.
(10) It is therefore necessary for the Commission to
recommend to the Member States to carry out a coor
(16) After
consulting
the
Standing
Committee
on
the
Food
dinated control plan with a view to establish the
Chain and Animal Health,
prevalence of fraudulent practices in the marketing of
certain foods for a period of one month. This period
may be extended by an additional period of two months.
HAS ADOPTED THIS RECOMMENDATION:
(11) The
recommended
control
plan
should
consist
of
two
actions.
Member States should apply a coordinated control plan, in
accordance with the Annex to this Recommendation, consisting
of the following actions:
(12) The
first
action
should
consist
of
appropriate
controls
carried out at retail level, on foods destined for the
final consumer or mass caterers, which are marketed
(a) official controls on foods destined for the final consumer or
and/or labelled as containing beef. These controls could
mass caterers, which are marketed and/or labelled as
containing beef; and
( 1 ) OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1.
( 2 ) OJ L 15, 20.1.2010, p. 1.
( 3 ) OJ L 221, 17.8.2002, p. 8.

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L 48/30
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
21.2.2013
(b) official controls on horsemeat destined for human consumption to detect phenylbutazone residues.
Done at Brussels, 19 February 2013.
For the Commission
Tonio BORG
Member of the Commission

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EN
21.2.2013 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union L
48/31
ANNEX
Coordinated control plan with a view to establish the prevalence of fraudulent practices in the marketing of
certain foods
I. ACTIONS AND SCOPE OF COORDINATED CONTROL PLAN
The coordinated control plan should consist of two actions:
ACTION 1: Controls of foods marketed and/or labelled as containing beef
A. Product scope
1. Foodstuffs marketed and/or labelled as containing beef (e.g. minced meat, meat products, meat preparations)
falling within the following categories:
(a) Pre-packaged foodstuffs destined for the final consumer or mass caterers, which are labelled as containing
beef;
(b) Foodstuffs offered for sale to the final consumer or to mass caterers without pre-packaging and foodstuffs
packaged on the sales premises at the consumer’s request or pre-packaged for direct sale, which are
marketed and/or otherwise indicated as containing beef.
2. For the purpose of this coordinated control plan, the definition of ‘pre-packaged foodstuff’ in Article 1(3)(b) of
Directive 2000/13/EC shall apply.
3. For the purpose of this coordinated control plan, the definitions of ‘minced meat’, ‘meat preparations’ and ‘meat
products’ in points 1.13, 1.15 and 7.1 of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 shall apply.
B. Objective
Competent authorities should carry out official controls in order to establish whether the products referred in
point A contain horsemeat, which is not properly labelled on the packaging or, in the case of non-pre-packaged
foodstuffs, whether information relating to its presence is not made available to the consumer or mass caterers, in
accordance with Union and, where appropriate, national provisions.
C. Sampling points and procedure
1. The sample should be representative of the products concerned and covering a variety of products.
2. The sampling of the products should be carried out at retail level (e.g. supermarkets, smaller shops, butchers)
and could also be extended to other establishments (e.g. cold stores).
D. Sample numbers and modalities
The table below gives an overview on the indicative recommended minimum number of samples to be taken
within the period provided in Section II. Competent authorities are invited to take more samples when possible.
The distribution of samples per Member State is based on population figures with a minimum number of 10
samples of the products concerned per Member State per calendar month as indicated in Section II.
Foodstuffs marketed and/or labelled as containing beef
Country of sale
Indicative monthly recommended
sample numbers
France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, Poland 150
Romania, the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Czech Republic, Hungary,
100
Sweden, Austria, Bulgaria
Lithuania, Slovakia, Denmark, Ireland, Finland, Latvia 50
Slovenia, Estonia, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta 10
E. Methods
Competent authorities should preferably use the method(s) recommended by the European Union Reference
Laboratory for animal proteins in feedstuffs, at http://eurl.craw.eu/en/164/legal-sources-and-sops

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L 48/32
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
21.2.2013
ACTION 2: Controls of horsemeat destined for human consumption
A. Product scope
Meat of horses, asses, mules or hinnies, fresh chilled or frozen, classified under the Combined Nomenclature Code
0205 and which are destined for human consumption.
B. Objective
Competent authorities should carry out official controls in order to detect the possible presence of phenylbutazone
residues in the products referred to in point A.
C. Sampling points and procedure
The sampling of the products should be carried out in establishments handling the products referred to in point A
(e.g. slaughterhouses, border inspection posts).
D. Sample numbers and modalities
The recommended minimum number of samples to be taken within the period provided in Section II should be
set at 1 sample every 50 tonnes of the products referred to in point A, with a minimum of 5 samples per Member
State.
E. Methods
Competent authorities should use methods validated according to Decision 2002/657/EC. Such methods are
available at the website of the European Reference Laboratory for the residues of veterinary medicines and
contaminants in food of animal origin for residues listed in Annex I, Group A (5) and Group B (2)(a), (b), (e)
to Council Directive 96/23/EC ( 1 ), at http://fis-vl.bund.de/Public/irc/fis-vl/Home/main
II. DURATION OF COORDINATED CONTROL PLAN
The coordinated control plan should be carried out for a period of one month starting from the date of adoption of
this Recommendation or at the latest by 1 March 2013.
III. REPORTING OF RESULTS
1. Competent authorities should report the summary of the following information for each of the actions referred to
in Section I of this Annex:
(a) number of samples taken, per category of products;
(b) the method(s) used for the analysis and the type of analysis performed;
(c) number of positive findings;
(d) follow-up controls performed with respect to positive findings in products referred to in point A under Action
1 in cases where the detected presence of horsemeat exceeds 1 %;
(e) follow-up controls performed with respect to positive findings in products in point A under Action 2;
(f) results of follow-up controls;
(g) with respect to positive findings in products referred to in point A under Action 2, the country where the
animal concerned was certified for slaughter.
The report should be communicated to the Commission within 15 days from the end of the one-month period
referred to in Section II.
The report should be presented in accordance with the format to be provided by the Commission.
2. Competent authorities should immediately report to the Commission any positive results of the official controls
carried out with respect to Actions 1 and 2 mentioned in Section I through the Rapid Alert System for Food and
Feed.
3. Competent authorities should also report to the Commission the results of any own checks carried out at their
request by food business operators. Such information should be accompanied by the details referred to in point 1
and presented in accordance with the format to be provided by the Commission.
( 1 ) OJ L 125, 23.5.1996, p. 10.

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