Food safety: computer databases for identification of bovine animals and swine

The Presidency presented a report highlighting the progress achieved during the first half of 2012 on two proposals:

• amendment to regulation 1760/2000 as regards electronic identification of bovine animals and deleting the provisions on voluntary beef labelling;
• and this one amending directive 64/432/EEC as regards computer databases which are part of the surveillance networks in the Member States.

To align it with the proposed changes in Regulation (EC) 1760/2000, the Commission proposes to amend the current Council Directive 64/432/EEC by requiring that the type of electronic identifier is indicated in the computer database, if it is applied to the animal.

However, the majority of delegations agreed that the new element did not provide added value in terms of traceability and was therefore not necessary. If this reasoning is followed, the only substantial objective of the Commission proposal would be eliminated.

The opinion of European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety includes an amendment to add in the computerised database the electronic identification code if the latter is different from the code of the other means of identification. This was again considered to be unnecessary by the Working Party, as adding such indication would not require a change to the current Directive.