Guidance

Compulsory beef labelling: size and composition of a ‘group’ of animals

Published 20 September 2021

Applies to England and Wales

The size of the group is defined as follows:

(a) during the cutting of carcases or quarters, the size of the group is defined by the number of carcases or quarters cut together and constituting one batch for the cutting plant concerned;

(b) during further cutting or mincing, the size of the group is defined by the number of carcases or quarters whose meat constitutes one batch for the cutting or mincing plant concerned.

The size of the group may not, in any case, exceed the production of one day.

When constituting the batches referred to above, operators must make sure that:

(a) following cutting of carcases or quarters, all the carcases or quarters of the batch must come from animals that were born in the same country, reared in the same country or countries and slaughtered in the same country and at the same slaughterhouse.

(b) during further cutting, all the carcases or quarters of the batch must come from animals that were born in the same country, reared in the same country or countries and slaughtered in the same country and at the same slaughterhouse. All the carcases must have been cut up in the same cutting plant.

(c) following mincing, the meats in the batch must come from animals slaughtered in the same country.