7. 5. 81 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 123/3 COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 1208/81 of 28 April 1981 determining the Community scale for the classification of carcases of adult bovine animals THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 805/68 of 27 June 1968 on the common organization of the market in beef and veal (1), as last amended by the 1979 Act of Accession, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1358/80 of 5 June 1980 fixing the guide price and intervention price for adult bovine animals for the 1980/81 marketing year and introducing a Commu- nity grading scale for carcases of adult bovine animals (2), and in particular Article 4 (1) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Whereas Regulation (EEC) No 1358/80 provided that a Community grading scale for carcases of adult bovine animals should be applied for recording prices and for intervention in the beef and veal sector; Whereas the classification must be made on the basis of conformation and the degree of fat cover; whereas the combination of these two criteria enables carcases of adult bovine animals to be divided into classes; whereas carcases thus classified must be identified ; Whereas, in order to ensure the uniform application of this Regulation in the Community, provision should be made for on-the-spot checks by a Commu- nity inspection committee ; Whereas, taking into account the practical problems that are entailed by the implementation of the Community scale for classification in the Member States, it is necessary to provide for its gradual applica- tion, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION : Article 1 This Regulation lays down the Community classifica- tion scale for the carcases of adult bovine animals. Article 2 1. For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply : (*) OJ No L 148, 28. 6. 1968, p. 24. () OJ No L 140, 5. 6. 1980, p. 4. (a) carcase:the whole body of a slaughtered animal as presented after bleeding, evisceration and skin- ning, presented : — without the head and without the feet; the head shall be separated from the carcase at the atloido-occipital joint and the feet shall be severed at the carpametacarpal or tarsometa- tarsal joints, — without the organs contained in the thoracic and abdominal cavities with or without the kidneys, the kidney fat and the pelvic fat, — without the sexual organs and the attached muscles and, in females, without the udder or the mammary fat; (b) half-carcase: the product obtained by separating the carcase referred to in (a) symmetrically through the middle of each cervical, dorsal, lumbar and sacral vertebra and through the middle of the sternum and the ischiopubic symphysis. 2. Furthermore, for the purpose of establishing market prices, the carcase shall be presented without the removal of external fat: — without kidneys, kidney fat, or pelvic fat, — without thin skirt or thick skirt, — without the tail, — without the spinal cord, — without fat on fold of hindquarter flank, — without fat on the inside of topside, — without jugular vein and the adjacent fat, the neck being cut in accordance with veterinary requirements. However, Member States shall be authorized to accept different presentations when this reference presenta- tion is not used. In such instances, the adjustments necessary to progress from those presentations to the reference presentation shall be determined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 27 of Regulation (EEC) No 805/68.