Veal definition to restrict use of term
expanded to include olderanimals, the European Commission wants to
lay down the law on what meats can use the description.
The Commission's proposal would require the use of fixed sales descriptions for these meats coupled with an indication of the age of the animals at slaughter.Only the meat of cattle up to the age of eight months of age will be able to carry the"veal" label. The definition will serve to restrict what suppliers processors can use tosource such meat for their products.
"The proposal aims to improve the transparency on the market and to help consumers to recognise preciselywhat they are buying," the Commission stated in releasing its definition.
There are two major types of veal production systems in use throughout the EU. Almost all memberstates use a system in which the animals are fed mainly on milk and milk products and are slaughtered before theage of eight months.
A small number of member states, mainly the Netherlands, Denmark and Spain In the second system, the animals are fed almost exclusively on cereals - primarilymaize - supplemented with fodder, and are slaughtered at an age of ten months and above.
Throughout the bloc meat from these different production systems is generally marketed a 'veal'.No reference is made to the type of feed received by the animals or their age at the time of slaughter.
As a result the maize fed cattle usually cost €2 to €2.50 per kilogram less than milk-fedveal, giving them an unfair advantage in the market, the Commission stated.
Under the Commission proposal only cattle aged up to eight months of age can be described asveal. Cattle eight to 12 months old would have to be labelled as 'beef'.
Meat imported from outside the EU would also be subject to the same rules.
A Commission public consultation on the subject found that the majority of consumers said that the age of the animalsand what they had been fed on were important criteria in determining the characteristics of their meat.
Most said that the weight of the animals at slaughter was less important. Other studies have shown thatthe organoleptic characteristics of meat, such as tenderness, flavour and colour, change with the age ofthe animals from which it is obtained and the feed used, the Commission stated.
The consultation also showed that consumer expectations of the same sales description can differfrom member state to member state.
The legal definition comes in the wake of requests from industry and member states for clearer rules to reflect the different production systems inuse throughout the EU.
The proposal now has to be adopted by the Council before becoming law in the EU.
