Background Pillar 1 Marketing standards and carcass classification
52.Marketing standards in the CMO are a body of detailed rules which govern the quality of agricultural products and ensure that certain information is provided to consumers. Carcass classification is a process which takes place in a slaughterhouse, and is used to calculate payments due to the producer from the slaughterhouse and also to support the market intervention powers.
53.In the CMO Regulation, the provisions on marketing standards are contained in Articles 73 to 91. These provisions are a mix of obligatory and discretionary rules. The rules do not apply to all products but only to the sectors and products listed in Article 75, which also lays down the standards which can be established for those products. Examples include technical designations and sales descriptions, criteria for appearance, and specific substances used in production. Where marketing standards apply to a product, Article 73 states that they “may only be marketed in the European Union if they conform to those standards”. Other provisions of the CMO Regulation provide detailed rules for the setting of marketing standards, including for specific products. The marketing standards themselves are set out in product specific implementing or delegated regulations, and there is a regime of domestic implementing legislation.
54.Provision on carcass classification is contained in Article 10(15) which defines the Union scales for classification of carcases. These scales are mandatory for beef, veal and pigmeat and at the discretion of the Member States for goatmeat and sheepmeat (and are not currently applied in the UK). The Union scales provide a classification for the meat derived from a carcase, and therefore is a gauge for the price that the farmer receives.