2014/476/EU: Commission Implementing Decision of 17 July 2014 authorising methods for grading pig carcases in Sweden and repealing Decision 97/370/EC (notified under document C(2014) 4946)
2014/476/EU: Commission Implementing Decision of 17 July 2014 authorising methods for grading pig carcases in Sweden and repealing Decision 97/370/EC (notified under document C(2014) 4946)
Decision 97/370/EC · Decision · 6 articles
Data as of 2026-07-04 · Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. · Read the official text ↗
The use of the following methods is authorised for grading pig carcasses pursuant to point 1 of Section B.IV of Annex IV to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 in Sweden:
(a)
the
‘Intra-scope (Optical Probe)’
apparatus and the assessment methods related thereto, details of which are given in Part I of the Annex;
(b)
the
‘Hennessy Grading Probe 2 (HGP 2)’
apparatus and the assessment methods related thereto, details of which are given in Part II of the Annex;
(c)
the
‘AutoFom III’
apparatus and the assessment methods related thereto, details of which are given in Part III of the Annex;
(d)
the
‘Fat-O-Meat'er II (FOM II)’
apparatus and the assessment methods related thereto, details of which are given in Part IV of the Annex;
(e)
the
‘Hennessy Grading Probe 7 (HGP 7)’
apparatus and the assessment methods related thereto, details of which are given in Part V of the Annex.
Modifications of the authorised apparatus or grading methods shall not be allowed, unless those modifications are explicitly authorised by Commission Implementing Decision.
ANNEX
METHODS FOR GRADING PIG CARCASSES IN SWEDEN
PART I
Intrascope (Optical Probe)
1.
The rules provided for in this Part shall apply when the grading of pig carcasses is carried out by means of the apparatus termed `Intrascope` (Optical Probe).
2.
The Intrascope shall be equipped with a hexagonal shaped probe with a maximum width of 12 mm (and of 19 mm at the blade on top of the probe) containing a viewing window and light source together with a sliding barrel.
3.
The lean meat content of the carcass shall be calculated according to the following formula:
where:
SP_F1
:
The thickness of the back fat including rind in mm, measured at 8 cm off the midline immediately behind the last rib
4.
The formula shall be valid for carcasses weighing between 50 and 120 kg.
PART II
Hennessy Grading Probe 2 (HGP 2)
1.
The rules provided for in this Part shall apply when the grading of pig carcasses is carried out by means of the apparatus termed ‘Hennessy Grading Probe 2 (HGP 2)’.
2.
Hennessy probe reflectance spectroscopy records profiles of the measurements generated from recording in fractions of millimeters, distances of penetration together with back scattered light signals.
3.
Specific optical band widths are selected to provide the optimum information obtainable between and within the various tissues of the species being objectively analyzed.
4.
The apparatus Hennessy Grading probe shall be equipped with a probe of 5,95 mm diameter with an abutting blade of 6,3 mm containing a photodiode (Siemens LED of the type LYU 260-EO and photo detector of the type 58 MR) and having an operational distance between 0 and 120 mm.
5.
The results of the measurements shall be transformed in terms of estimated lean meat content by means of the HGP2 itself as well as a computer linked to it.
6.
The lean meat content of the carcass shall be calculated according to the following formula:
where:
GP2_F1
:
The thickness of back fat including rind in mm, measured at 8 cm off the midline immediately behind the last rib
GP2_F2
:
The thickness of back fat including rind in mm measured at 6 cm off the midline 12 cm towards the head compared with F1.
GP2_M
:
The thickness of the muscle in mm measured at the same time and in the same place as F2.
7.
The formula shall be valid for carcasses weighing between 50 and 120 kg.
PART III
AutoFom III
1.
The rules provided for in this Part shall apply when the grading of pig carcasses is carried out by means of the apparatus termed ‘AutoFom III’.
2.
The AutoFom III is based on ultrasound technology and provides a digitized 3-D scan of the carcass. The ultrasonic image is generated by 16 transducers embedded in a stainless steel array.
3.
The lean meat content in a pig carcass according to the Union reference method is predicted by a formula on the basis of online variables extracted from an image made by ultrasound. More than 50 online variables are obtained from the image analysis. The statistical analysis reduces the information to two components, each of which is a linear combination of the same six online variables. The final formula is expressed by online variables:
where:
R2P4
:
p2_selected_fat_mm. The P2 fat measure at the selected position in mm.
R2P11
:
minpair_value. A filter mask that selects two regions 14 cm apart is applied to the cross-section vector. This is the minimum of the filter result vector.
R2P12
:
P2_skew. Relation of the selected P2 and the unselected P2. The actual point used is a little closer to the center, to make the value more tolerant to very tilted carcasses. Value is always greater than or equal to 1,0.
R2P15
:
minpair_value v2. A second version of the minpair value.
Meat/Rib interface
R3P5
:
max_meat_mm. The maximum meat measure. Maximum rib position minus minimum fat position converted to mm.
Fat 1 Inter-fat interface.
The fat1 layer is measured at the ham and at 5.- 6. rib. These are called B points.
R4P3
:
fat1_p2_selected.The fat 1 measurements in the selected P2 point.
4.
The formula shall be valid for carcasses weighing between 50 and 120 kg.
PART IV
Fat-O-Meat'er II (FOM II)
1.
The rules provided for in this Part shall apply when the grading of pig carcasses is carried out by means of the apparatus termed ‘Fat-O-Meat'er II’ (FOM II).
2.
The apparatus is a new version of the Fat-O-Meat'er measurement system. The FOM II consists of an optical probe with a knife, a depth measurement device having an operating distance of between 0 and 125 millimetres and a data acquisition and analysis board — Carometec Touch Panel i15 computer (Ingress Protection IP69K). The results of the measurements are converted into estimated lean meat content by the FOM II apparatus itself.
3.
The lean meat content of the carcass shall be calculated according to the following formula:
where:
FOM_F1
:
the thickness of backfat in mm, measured at 8 cm off the midline of the carcass between the third and fourth last lumbar vertebrae.
FOM_F2
:
the thickness of backfat in mm, measured at 6 cm off the midline of the carcass between the third and fourth last ribs.
FOM_M
:
the thickness of muscle in mm, measured at the same time and in the same place as F2
4.
The formula shall be valid for carcasses weighing between 50 and 120 kg.
PART V
Hennessy Grading Probe 7 (HGP 7)
1.
The rules provided for in this Part shall apply when the grading of pig carcasses is carried out by means of the apparatus termed ‘Hennessy Grading Probe 7 (HGP 7)’.
2.
Hennessy probe reflectance spectroscopy records profiles of the measurements generated from recording in fractions of millimeters, distances of penetration together with back scattered light signals.
3.
Specific optical band widths are selected to provide the optimum information obtainable between and within the various tissues of the species being objectively analyzed.
4.
The apparatus Hennessy Grading probe shall be equipped with a probe of 5,95 mm diameter with an abutting blade of 6,3 mm containing a photodiode (Siemens LED of the type LYU 260-EO and photo detector of the type 58 MR) and having an operational distance between 0 and 120 mm.
5.
The results of the measurements shall be transformed in terms of estimated lean meat content by means of the HGP7 itself as well as a computer linked to it.
6.
The evaluation of the measuring curve slightly differs between HGP 2 and HGP 7.
7.
The lean meat content of the carcass shall be calculated according to the following formula:
where:
GP7_F1
:
The thickness of back fat including rind in mm, measured at 8 cm off the midline immediately behind the last rib
GP7_F2
:
The thickness of back fat including rind in mm measured at 6 cm off the midline 12 cm towards the head compared with F1.
GP7_M
:
The thickness of the muscle in mm measured at the same time and in the same place as F2.
8.
The formula shall be valid for carcasses weighing between 50 and 120 kg.
