10. ID Marking
10.1. Article 5 of Regulation (EC) 853/2004 requires that products of animal origin handled in establishments subject to approval are not placed on the market unless they bear an identification mark (ID) or health mark (health marks do not apply to LA-enforced establishments), in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/625 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/627. Annex II, Section I B of Regulation (EC) 853/2004 requires that the mark must indicate the approval number of the establishment.
10.2. The approval code should be incorporated into an identification mark which approved establishments are required to apply to their relevant products, as appropriate. The requirements for the form of the identification mark are set out in Annex II, Section I B of Regulation (EC) 853/2004. Competent authorities should agree an identification mark with each establishment it approves which (a) incorporates the approval code it has allocated, and (b) meets the requirement of Annex II, Section I B of Regulation (EC) 853/2004.
10.3. An exception to this is in relation to eggs, where an identification mark is not necessary on packs of eggs when a packing centre code is applied in accordance with Part A of Annex XIV to Regulation (EC) 1234/2007 on marketing standards for eggs and poultry meat. However an LA approval number should still be allocated and, some FBOs may choose to use that approval number on commercial documentation.
10.4. The requirements for the form of the ID mark are as follows:
- The ID mark must be legible and indelible, and the characters easily decipherable. It must be clearly displayed for the competent authorities. It must indicate the name of the country in which the establishment is located – it may be written out in full or a two letter code used (UK for the United Kingdom).
- The mark must indicate the approval number of the establishment. If an establishment manufactures both food to which this Regulation applies and food to which it does not, the food business operator may apply the same identification mark to both types of food.
- The table below shows a summary of which identification marks may be used for POAO produced and placed on the market in Great Britain and Northern Ireland or exported outside of the UK from January 2021. Further guidance about EU Exit – Health and ID Marks can be found here.
| Identifications Marks which apply after 01 January 2021 | Establishments where mark is applied | Great Britain Market | Northern Ireland Market | EU Market | Non-EU Market |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB 1234 | Great Britain – FSS Approved establishments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| GB AA123 | Great Britain - Local Authority approved establishments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| United Kingdom 1234 | Great Britain - FSS approved establishments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| United Kingdom AA123 | Great Britain - Local Authority approved establishments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| UK 1234 | Great Britain - FSS approved establishments | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| UK AA123 | Great Britain - Local Authority approved establishments | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Identification marks for food products of animal origin within the UK and EU must be legible and indelible oval mark, and the characters easily decipherable.
Requests for flexibility in the use of approval numbers
10.5. There may be occasions where FBOs ask the CAs to permit products to bear an approval number other than the one relating to the establishment where the product was manufactured or handled.
10.6. It is the position of FSS that the practice of allowing POAO to bear an identification mark other than that of the establishment of production or of processing is contrary to Regulation 853/2004, Annex II, section I, paragraphs 1 and 7: ‘The identification mark must be applied before the product leaves the establishment’; and ‘The mark must indicate the approval number of the establishment.
10.7. The Recitals to Regulation (EC) 853/2004 link the application of the identification mark explicitly to traceability, saying that it applies in addition to the requirements of Regulation 178/2002. Recital 15 states that ‘the traceability of food is an essential element of food safety’.
10.8. The only flexibility that could be applied to this requirement would be in the event of a force majeure (an extraordinary event beyond the control of the parties involved, for which no contingency arrangements could be made, such as war, flooding or fire).
10.9. If an FBO approaches a LA for consideration of extreme circumstances, such a decision should be made by that LA as the CA following consultation with FSS at LAapprovals@fss.scot. The FBO should clearly make the case in writing for:
- the nature of the extraordinary event (flexible application of the legislation should not apply to address normal business risks);
- the duration of the proposed alternative arrangements (maximum duration should not exceed the time required to print new labels);
- why alternative ID arrangements (e.g. sleeves or sticky labels) cannot be made;
- to indicate the alternative approval number being proposed as part of this request for
flexibility;
- how traceability will be maintained during the period of the alternative arrangements;
- any additional supervision arrangements needed to be made as products produced or handled during the period of alternative arrangements should be for the UK market only.
Published lists of Approved Establishments
10.10. FSS maintains an up to date list of all Scottish approved establishments at. This list is updated on a monthly basis which informs the EU TRACES Establishment lists.
10.11. The UK maintains a central list of all approved establishments within the UK.
10.12. The European Commission maintains a record of all EC approved establishments. A list of all 3rd country approvals is also available.