Guidance

The Beef Carcase Classification scheme: register

If your abattoir slaughters 150 or more bovines aged 8 months or over per week (on a rolling annual average) you must be registered with the Beef Carcase Classification (BCC) scheme.

• From: Rural Payments Agency
• Published: 31 March 2014
• Last updated: 1 January 2021 — See all updates

Applies to England and Wales

• Guidance for Northern Ireland
• Guidance for Scotland

If your abattoir slaughters 150 or more bovine animals aged 8 months or over per week (based on a rolling annual average), you must register for and comply (meet) with the rules of the BCC scheme.

Under the scheme, you must categorise and grade (classify) all beef carcases of bovine animals aged 8 months and over for a combination of fat and conformation. Uniform grading of carcases ensures fair payment for producers according to carcase quality.

If you’re slaughtering fewer animals than this you can still register for the scheme on a voluntary basis. This will allow you to classify carcases according to the EU scales. However, once BCC registered you’ll need to classify all carcases of bovines aged 8 months or over at your abattoir and adhere fully with the regulations.

How to register

To register, fill in the Beef Carcase Classification scheme registration form (BCCS3) (PDF, 159 KB, 4 pages) and send to RPA at the address below.

You can get in touch with the Meat Technical Schemes team if you have any questions about the scheme.

Keep your details up to date

You must tell RPA’s Meat Technical Schemes team if any of the details you gave when registering for the BCC scheme change, within 28 days. That is changes to:

• the operator or operators of the premises or the operator’s trading name
• the address or telephone number of the premises or the owner’s registered office
• the approval number of the abattoir (assigned by the Food Standards Agency).

If you stop being an operator of an approved slaughterhouse you must send details to RPA’s Meat Technical Schemes team within 10 days to tell us:

• the date you stopped
• the person, if any, taking over as the operator of the slaughterhouse.

Contact

Meat Technical Schemes

Rural Payments Agency
Eden Bridge House
Lowther Street
Carlisle
Cumbria
CA3 8DX

Email MTS.Carlisle@rpa.gov.uk

Telephone 03300 416508

Published 31 March 2014
Last updated 1 January 2021 + show all updates

1. 1 January 2021

   The Beef Carcase Classification scheme registration form (BCCS3) regulations updated and form made accessible.

2. 29 November 2018

   Text reviewed and updated

3. 31 March 2014

   First published.