1.     For all meats:

a.     the name of the cut (except if in carcase or primal form), including the species:

                                           i.      the name must be either a name which is customary in the area or a name which clearly indicates the type of meat, eg lamb shoulder. For beef and veal, also see note 3. The Meat and Livestock Commission has produced useful guidance on naming meat cuts.

2.     For pre-packed meat:

a.     an appropriate durability indication, usually a 'use by' date;

                                           i.       if shelf life has been extended by modifying the atmosphere within the packaging, the labelling must state 'packaged in a protective atmosphere'.

                                        ii.     it is illegal to sell food after its 'use by' date, or to remove or alter a 'use by' date without the previous written permission of the person who applied that date. That does not mean that a caterer may not prepare a dish using meat, and sell that dish after the 'use by' date of the meat provided it is safe for him to do so, since the date marking applies to the meat, not to a product made from it.

b.     any special storage conditions, conditions of use or instructions for use;

c.      the name or business name and an address or registered office of the manufacturer or packer or of a seller established within the EU;

d.     the origin if omission of this might mislead the caterer significantly about the true origin of the meat;

e.     the quantity of the meat.

3.     For beef and veal, including minced beef and minced veal:

a.     the EU member state(s) where the animal was born, reared and slaughtered, with the approval number of the slaughterhouse:

                                           i.    eg: born in Ireland, reared in Ireland and the UK, slaughtered in the UK (4098).

                                         ii.      if the animal was born, reared and slaughtered within a single state, this can simply be indicated as, eg: 'Origin: France', but the slaughter-house approval number must still be provided.

b.     the state where the meat was cut, and the approval number of the cutting premises:

                                           i.      eg: cutting (or cut) in the UK (4222)

c.      a reference number or code enabling traceability back to the animal of origin, or a group of animals sharing the same origin characteristics. This could be a batch code (eg a date, numbers, letters or a combination of any of these) or any other code (but not a bar code or other device which is not easily read).

d.   the rules are simplified for beef imported from outside the EU if all the above information is not available. This should declare 'Origin: non-EC' and 'Slaughtered in (name of the state)', together with the cutting information as above if the imported meat has been cut in the EU.

e.    for minced beef, it is sufficient to provide the traceability code and the states of slaughter and mincing in the forms 'slaughtered in X' and 'prepared in Y' where X and Y are names of the relevant state. The origin must also be indicated if this is different from the state of mincing. it is common to declare 'minced in Y', rather than 'prepared in Y'.

The indications of origin must be in terms of a state - it is not sufficient to declare, for example, 'born in England'. However, a more detailed indication of origin can be given provided this is authorised under the voluntary beef labelling scheme.

4.     Any other information which is required as the result of a term of the contract between the butcher and caterer:

a.     for example, a caterer may require the butcher to provide an indication of the origin of meat other than beef so as to comply with the MLC Best Practice Guidelines.

 
For further information on any aspect of the Best Practice Guidelines, please feel free to contact us.