How meat is defined in the European Union and in Germany

Abstract

• Within the European Union, meat is, in principle, considered as skeletal muscle deriving from specified animal species, which may include edible offal and blood; the term meat does not include fish and seafood. • The meat definition becomes more restricted along the meat-processing chain. • Whereas the meat definition for hygiene purposes comprises all edible parts of the slaughtered animals, for processing aims, meat is restricted to skeletal muscle tissue accompanied by other tissues. • For declaration purposes, the definition is further narrowed, because threshold values are created for the contained fat and connective tissues.