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Rural Directorate
Agriculture and Rural Development Division
T: 0131-244 3105
F: 0131-244 6950
E: john.burns2@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

8 July 2008

Dear Consultee

CONSULTATION ON THE BEEF AND VEAL LABELLING (SCOTLAND) REGULATIONS 2008

I write to inform you of the proposal to make the Beef and Veal Labelling (Scotland) Regulations 2008 and to invite any comments. A draft Regulatory Impact Assessment is also attached for comment. We anticipate that the SSI will come into force in November 2008.

Proposal

The Beef and Veal Labelling (Scotland) Regulations 2008 will:

a. incorporate the enforcement powers for the existing EU beef labelling legislation contained in the Beef Labelling (Enforcement) (Scotland) Regulations 2001, which will be revoked;

b. include enforcement powers for the new EU rules on the marketing of the meat of bovine animals aged 12 months or less which will apply from 1 July.

The new EU rules are directly applicable and therefore the UK must adopt appropriate domestic implementing measures to enforce the provisions. The requirements were originally published as Council Regulation ( EC) No 700/2007 but with effect from 1 July 2008 will be incorporated (by means of an amendment) into Regulation ( EC) 1234/2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products ('Single CMO Regulation').. The EU Commission implementing rules have just been published in the Official Journal (Commission Regulation ( EC) NO. 566/2008 of 18 June 2008 ( OJ L160 of 19 June 2008).

New EU rules on marketing of meat of bovine animals aged 12 months or less.

Background

The new EU legislation introduces new compulsory labelling for meat, including offal, of bovine animals aged 12 months or less divided into two sub categories slaughtered after 1 July 2008. Meat from animals aged 8 months or less will be named 'veal' and be categorised with the identification letter V. Meat from animals older than 8 months but younger than 12 months will be named 'beef' and be categorised with identification letter Z. As of 1 July 2008 all animals at the age of 12 months or less must be classified on slaughter by the operators. Marketing of the meat will only be possible to market the meat in the Member States under the sales description laid down for the two categories for each Member State.

Following a consultation exercise on the original proposal in 2006, in the UK the descriptor 'veal' must be used for meat from animals slaughtered aged 8 months or less with the option (provided under EU legislation) to add supplementary information on the labels under the rules of the Beef Labelling Scheme ( BLS). Meat from 8-12 months animals must be called 'beef' with the option to add supplementary information under the BLS. This allows for the increasing number of young bulls that reach marketable weight as beef at less than 12 months of age.

A Guidance Note on the various aspects of the new scheme will be made available as soon as clarification has been obtained from the Commission on what voluntary labelling terms may be used for meat from animals under 12 months. We will provide further advice as soon as possible.

Expected Impacts

The draft Regulatory Impact Assessment that will accompany the statutory instrument is attached at Annex A. We would particularly welcome comments on the likely additional marketing costs to be incurred by businesses in explaining the regulatory changes to consumers. This information will help us finalise the Impact Assessment.

Our understanding is that the new EU legislation on the marketing of the meat of young bovine animals should have a limited impact on the beef industry in the UK as a whole. On the production side, there are thought to be few farmers in the UK who currently produce veal. They may have to find alternative marketing descriptions for animals in the 8-12 month age category. As regards the labelling implications, it is hoped that the degree of flexibility provided will allow the industry to adapt business easily to the new EU legislation.

Responding to this Consultation Paper

We are inviting written responses to this consultation paper by 29 September 2008. Please send your response to:angela.atkins@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

or

Angela Atkins

Tel: 0131-244-6408

We would be grateful if you could indicate clearly in your response which part of the consultation paper you are responding to as this will aid our analysis of the responses received.

This consultation, and all other Scottish Government consultation exercises, can be viewed online on the consultation web pages of the Scottish Government website at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations. You can telephone Freephone 0800 77 1234 to find out the location of your nearest public internet access point.

The Scottish Government now has an e-mail alert system for consultations (SEconsult: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations/seconsult.aspx). This system allows stakeholder individuals and organisations to register and receive a weekly e-mail containing details of all new consultations (including web links). SEconsult complements but in no way replaces SE distribution lists and is designed to allow stakeholders to keep up to date with all SE consultation activity and to be alerted at the earliest opportunity to consultations of most interest. We would encourage you to register.

Handling your response

We need to know how you wish your response to be handled and, in particular, whether you are happy for your response to be made public. Please complete and return the Respondent Information Form (enclosed) as this will ensure that we will treat your response appropriately. If you ask for your response not to be published we will regard it as confidential and we will handle it accordingly.

All respondents should be aware that the Scottish Government are subject to the provisions of the Freedom If Information (Scotland) Act 2002 and would therefore have to consider ant request made under the Act for information relating to responses to this consultation exercise.

Where respondents have given permission for their response to be made public, copies will be made available to the public in the Scottish Government library by 6 October 2008. Where agreement to publish has been given, we will check all responses for any potentially defamatory material before logging them in the library. You can make arrangements to view responses by contacting the Scottish Government library on 0131-244-4565. Responses can be copied and sent to you but a charge may be made for this service.

What happens next?

Following the closing date, all responses will be analysed and considered along with any other available evidence to help Ministers reach a decision on the way ahead. We aim to issue a report on this consultation process by 6 October 2008 .

Comments and complaints

If you have any comments about how this consultation exercise has been conducted, please send them to me at the address above.

Yours sincerely

JOHN BURNS
Agricultural Commodities Branch

LIST OF CONSULTEES

National Farmers Union of Scotland ( NFU Scotland)
Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers ( SAMW)
Quality Meat Scotland ( QMS)
National Beef Association (Scottish Region)
Scottish Beef Cattle Association ( SBCA)
Food Standards Agency Scotland ( FSAS)
Convention of Scottish Local Authorities ( COSLA)
Scottish Consumer Council ( SCC)
Scottish Food Quality Certification Ltd ( SFQC)

THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION PROCESS

Consultation is an essential and important aspect of Scottish Government working methods. Given the wide-ranging areas of work of the Scottish Government, there are many varied types of consultation. However, in general, Scottish Government consultation exercises aim to provide opportunities for all those who wish to express their opinions on a proposed area of work to do so in ways which will inform and enhance that work.

The Scottish Government encourages consultation that is thorough, effective and appropriate to the issue under consideration and the nature of the target audience. Consultation exercises take account of a wide range of factors, and no two exercises are likely to be the same.

Typically Scottish Government consultations involve a written paper inviting answers to specific questions or more general views about the material presented. Written papers are distributed to organisations and individuals with an interest in the issue, and they are also placed on the Scottish Government web site enabling a wider audience to access the paper and submit their responses ¹. Consultation exercises may also involve seeking views in a number of different ways, such as through public meetings, focus groups or questionnaire exercises. Copies of all the written responses received to a consultation exercise (except those where the individual or organisation requested confidentiality) are placed in the Scottish Government library at Saughton House, Edinburgh (K Spur, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XD, telephone 0131 244 4565).

All Scottish Government consultation papers and related publications (eg analysis of response reports) can be accessed at:

Scottish Government consultations ( http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations)

The views and suggestions detailed in consultation responses are analysed and used as part of the decision making process, along with a range of other available information and evidence. Depending on the nature of the consultation exercise the responses received may:

• indicate the need for policy development or review
• inform the development of a particular policy
• help decisions to be made between alternative policy proposals
• be used to finalise legislation before it is implemented

Final decisions on the issues under consideration will also take account of a range of other factors, including other available information and research evidence.

While details of particular circumstances described in a response to a consultation exercise may usefully inform the policy process, consultation exercises cannot address individual concerns and comments, which should be directed to the relevant public body.

ANNEX A: PARTIAL REGULATORY IMPACT ASSESSMENT

1. Title of Proposed Regulations

The Beef and Veal Labelling (Scotland) Regulations 2008.

2. Purpose and Intended Effect

a. Objectives

• To provide clear descriptions for bovine meat under 12 months and in particular to clarify the distinction between meat from animals less than 8 months or less and that from animals aged 8-12 months, for business and consumers.
• To allow Scottish industry to adapt its business with minimum change and consumers to make an informed choice.

b. Background

i. Prior to 2006, the Commission had been trying for some years to introduce an agreed definition of veal but due to wide differences in age criteria (under 6 to 18 months) used by Member States had been unable to do so. A proposal was therefore introduced in 2006 (subsequently adopted as Council Regulation ( EC) No 700/2007) to introduce harmonised treatment for the marketing of meat of bovine animals in this category, whilst as far as possible allowing Member States to continue to use their domestic definitions. It is intended to increase transparency in the marketing of meat of animals aged 12 months or less, and is designed to improve the functioning of the single market and provide better information for consumers and trade.

ii. Regulation 700/2007 introduces new compulsory labelling for meat, including offal, of bovine animals aged 12 months or less, divided into two sub-categories, namely, meat from animals aged 8 months or less (category V) and meat from animals aged over 8 months but not more than 12 months (Category Z) With effect from 1 July 2008, all bovine animals aged 12 months or less must be appropriately classified on slaughter by the operators, and it will only be possible to market the meat under the sales description laid down for the two categories for each Member State. Prior to this legislation no statutory descriptions existed for this type of bovine meat and industry have been able to use appropriate commercial descriptions. It has been possible to use the term 'veal' to describe meat from bovine animals slaughtered at over 8 months.

iii. The problem is essentially a continental European one where consumers like to make a clear distinction between so called 'white veal' or 'rosé veal' or young beef from older calves. In the UK, there is a limited market for veal due to historic animal welfare concerns and systems have been developed to produce a clearly defined welfare friendly 'rosé veal' product up to 10 months of age. The scope for consumer confusion is very limited. During the EU negotiations, the UK argued unsuccessfully for greater flexibility based on production systems and not solely on the age of the animal.

NB: Regulation ( EC) No 700/2007 is being incorporated into Regulation ( EC) No 1234/2007 establishing a common organisation of agricultural markets and on specific provisions for certain agricultural products ('Single CMO Regulation') with effect from 1 July 2008.

Rationale for Government Intervention

Regulation 700/2007 and the EU Commission implementing rules are directly applicable and therefore the UK must adopt appropriate domestic measures to enforce the provisions. The UK intends to enforce the provisions as flexibly as is possible to meet the requirements of the EU legislation. If we were to do nothing, we would face infraction proceedings.

3. Consultation

a. Within government

Liaised closely with Defra, through a project board.

b. Public consultation

A consultation letter was sent out to National Farmers Union Scotland, Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers and Quality Meat Scotland when the proposal for a Council Regulation laying down rules on the marketing of the meat of bovine animals was first received in 2006 seeking their views. As a result of responses received, the UK argued strongly for a derogation to allow more flexibility in marketing meat according to production system rather than age but was turned down firmly by the EU Commission. The UK voted against the proposed Regulation at the Council but was outvoted by other Member States. Since then we have liaised closely with affected industry bodies and individual businesses to ensure that the measure imposes the minimum regulatory burden compatible with the requirements of the Regulation.

4. Options

i. We have no option but to introduce the enforcement regulations. The EC legislation is directly applicable in all member states.

ii. The UK has decided to call meat from animals aged 8 months or less 'veal' and from animals more than 8 to 12 months 'beef'. Supplementary wording may be added under the Beef Labelling Scheme ( BLS). The arrangements are intended to provide flexibility to allow UK industry to adapt to the new rules with minimum change.

5. Costs and benefits

a. Sectors and groups affected

Those in the EU involved in the production, slaughter, trade, sale (both wholesale and retail including supermarkets) and purchase of meat of bovine animals aged 12 months or less will be affected by the new measure. Third country exporting countries and importers will also be affected as meat imported from third countries will also have to be marketed in the Community in accordance with the rules.

b. Benefits

Consumers should benefit from clearer and more transparent labelling, although it is possible this may cause some a little initial confusion. In the longer term, the market position may become clearer to the overall advantage of producers, although to what extent and within what time frame is unquantifiable at the present time.

The ultimate objective of the EU Regulation is to increase transparency in the marketing of the meat of animals aged twelve months or less and provide better information and clarity at the point of sale for consumers across the EU. The direct benefits to the stakeholders in the UK of implementing the measure are not immediately obvious. Due to the nature of production systems, the scope for consumer confusion has always been limited. It is possible that some retailers may gain from marketing a new product entitled 'rosé beef' as this would avoid consumer welfare concerns over the term 'veal.'

c. Costs

Given the small scale of veal production in Scotland, the costs involved are expected to be minimal. One specific area of uncertainty is the scale of the marketing costs that veal suppliers might have to incur to explain to consumers the effects of the regulatory changes. Giving precise costs of marketing is very difficult and this is an area where more information would be appreciated.

6. Small/Micro Firms Impact Test

Small non-specialised enterprises which were seeking diversification outlets would tend to experience a disproportionate effect from these costs.

7. Legal Aid Impact Test

The proposal does not create new criminal sanctions or civil penalties.

8. "Test Run" of Business Forms

There are no new forms being introduced as part of these regulations

9. Competition Assessment

In terms of competition, the new regulations do not appear to involve any major restriction on competition. Suppliers will be able to enter the market place quite freely. Nonetheless there might be an indirect inhibition arising from the costs associated with the verification of the new labelling requirements. The additional costs for breaking into the veal market that this measure will entail might tend to inhibit new entrants.

10. Enforcement, Sanctions and Monitoring

a. Regulation 700/2007 requires Member States to carry out official checks in accordance with the provisions of horizontal EU legislation on official controls. In the UK, monitoring compliance with these new provisions will be carried out on a similar basis to the system used for checking compliance with the Beef Labelling Regulations. It is envisaged that inspections at the slaughterhouses/cutting plants will be made by the Scottish Government's Meat and Livestock Inspectors and at the retail level by Trading Standards Officers.

b. A person guilty of an offence under any provision of these regulations shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

c. The impact of the policy will be reviewed after 2 years.

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT
JULY 2008

Respondent Information Form

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