Article 14

1. Each operator or organization shall submit a specification for approval to the competent authority of each Member State in which production or sale of the beef in question takes place. The competent authority may also establish specifications to be used in the Member State concerned, provided that use thereof is not compulsory. Such specifications shall indicate: the information to be included on the label, the measures to be taken to ensure the accuracy of the information, the control system which will be applied at all stages of production and sale, including the controls to be carried out by an independent body recognized by the competent authority and designated by the operator or the organization. These bodies shall comply with the criteria set out in European Standard EN/45011 not later than 31 December 1999, in the case of an organization, the measures to be taken in relation to any member which failed to comply with the specifications. Member States may decide that controls by an independent body can be replaced by controls by a competent authority. The competent authority shall in that case have at its disposal the qualified staff and resources necessary to carry out the requisite controls and shall submit to the Commission its working plan as well as an activity report. The costs of controls provided for under this Title shall be borne by the operator or organization using the labelling system. 2. The approval of any specification shall be subject to the assurance of the competent authority, obtained on the basis of a thorough examination of its components as referred to in paragraph 1, of the proper and reliable functioning of the labelling system envisaged and, in particular, of its control system. A competent authority shall refuse any specification which does not ensure a link between, on the one hand, the identification of the carcase, quarter or pieces of meat and, on the other hand, the individual animal or, where this is sufficient to enable the accuracy of the information on the label to be checked, the animals concerned. Specifications which provide for labels containing misleading or insufficiently clear information shall also be refused. 3. Where the production and/or sale of beef takes place in two or more Member States, the competent authorities of the Member States concerned shall examine and, if appropriate, approve the specifications submitted in so far as the elements contained therein relate to operations taking place within their respective territories. In such case, the Member State concerned shall recognize the approvals granted by any other Member State concerned. If, within a period to be fixed in accordance with Article 18, counting from the day following the date of submission of the application, approval has not been refused or given, or supplementary information has not been asked for, the specification shall be considered to be approved by the competent authority. 4. Where the competent authorities of all the Member States concerned approve the specification submitted, the operator or organization concerned shall be entitled to label beef, provided that the label contains its name or logo. 5. By way of derogation from the preceding paragraphs, the Commission, following the procedure referred to in Article 18, may provide for an accelerated or simplified procedure for approval in specific cases, in particular for beef in small retail packages or primal beef cuts in individual packages, labelled in a Member State according to an approved specification and introduced into the territory of another Member State, provided that no information is added to the initial label. 6. Any entitlement shall apply without prejudice to Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 and to Article 13 of Regulation (EEC) No 2082/92.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-10 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.