SIST EN 16055:2026

• Abstract:

  This document specifies the following for raw bovine hides and skins intended for use throughout the leather manufacturing supply chain: ; — Terms and definitions;; — Requirements for the presentation of raw hides and skins.; It is applicable to fresh and salted bovine hides and skins.; It outlines the opening cut and trim of hides and skins and the types of defects typically associated with this raw material. ; NOTE 1 Opening cut and trim vary from country to country.; It shows which parts of hides and skins can be used for leather production and which factors influence the quality of hides and skins.; Furthermore, it gives recommendations on precautions to be taken for transport, preservation, loading and unloading.; NOTE 2 For commercial agreements between the buyer and the supplier of hides and skins, operators use the INTERNATIONAL CONTRACT No. 6 – HIDES and SKINS as drawn up by the International Council of Hides, Skins and Leather Traders Associations (ICHSLTA) and the International Council of Tanners (ICT) [1].

• Status: Published
• Public Enquiry End Date: 23-Apr-2025
• Publication Date: 09-Sep-2026
• ICS: 59.140.20 - Raw skins, hides and pelts
• Technical Committee: IUSN - Leather
• Current Stage: 6060 - National Implementation/Publication (Adopted Project)
• Start Date: 04-Sep-2026
• Due Date: 09-Nov-2026
• Completion Date: 10-Sep-2026
• Ref Project: EN 16055:2026 - Leather - Raw bovine hides and skins - Description, presentation and preservation

• Revises: SIST EN 16055:2012 - Leather - Raw cattle hides and calf skins - Description, presentation and preservation
• Effective Date: 06-Sep-2023

SIST EN 16055:2026 is the Slovenian adoption of EN 16055:2026 for raw bovine hides and skins. It specifies the terms, presentation requirements and preservation guidance for fresh and salted bovine hides and skins used throughout the leather manufacturing supply chain. Slaughterhouses, hide and skin traders, collectors, processors and tanneries use it as a common basis for opening, trimming, handling, storing and describing the material.

What does SIST EN 16055:2026 specify?

SIST EN 16055:2026 covers raw bovine hides and skins intended for the leather manufacturing supply chain, with rules for description, presentation and preservation. It applies to fresh and salted bovine hides and skins, and it also shows typical defects, usable parts and handling precautions.

The document is organized into:

• Clause 1 Scope
• Clause 2 Normative references
• Clause 3 Terms and definitions
• Clause 4 Requirements for the presentation of raw bovine hides and skins
• Annex A, which gives normative guidelines for preservation
• Bibliography

Annex	What it covers
Annex A	Guidelines for the preservation of raw bovine hides or skins, including transport, loading and unloading, salting, brine treatment and refrigeration

For commercial agreements between buyer and supplier, the scope note points users to INTERNATIONAL CONTRACT No. 6 - HIDES and SKINS.

What are the key requirements of SIST EN 16055:2026?

SIST EN 16055:2026 sets out a shared way to open, trim, present, inspect and preserve raw bovine hides and skins. In practice, that means the standard is mainly about handling and grading, so that the material can move through the supply chain with fewer disputes and fewer avoidable preservation defects.

Presentation, opening and trim

Clause 4.1 requires a defined presentation after flaying and trimming. If the hide or skin is opened with the head present, it must be without horns or mouth, and any ears present must be complete. If it is opened without the head, the head is to be cut off behind the ears, and the scalp cut follows a straight line immediately behind the ears.

Clause 4.1 also requires the tail skin to remain with the tail bone and hair removed. Large bovine hides and skins are to be as free of flesh as possible and opened short-clawed, while calf skins are to be as free of flesh as possible and opened short-legged. In practice, this defines the saleable shape and reduces differences between suppliers.

The same clause requires rejects to be sold separately. Hides and skins that deviate from the opening method are to be placed in special lots or sold with a description of the deviation, and misshapen hides and skins are to be marketed as reject hides and skins. That matters because buyers need a clear distinction between regular lots and downgraded material.

Opening cuts for cattle hides and cowhides

Clause 4.2.1 describes the opening cuts for hides and skins of cattle excluding cowhides. The belly is opened in a straight line from the anus over the navel to the front neck, the hind legs are cut along the back of the hind legs so the cut meets the abdominal cut at the middle between the anus and the udder or scrotum, and the front legs are opened so the cut meets the abdominal incision in the middle of the chest. This is the reference pattern for proper opening and shape.

Clause 4.2.2 gives the cowhide exception. For cowhides, the abdominal cut follows the udder as closely as possible rather than running in a straight line from anus to navel. The note links this to removal of the udder according to EC No. 853/2004, which shows why slaughterhouse preparation affects the later hide opening.

Preservation, transport and handling

Clause 4 requires preservation to follow Annex A. Annex A treats transport as part of preservation, so cooling, loading, transport time and unloading all matter for final quality.

For fresh hides and skins, the guide recommends refrigerated trucks for long-distance transport and allows closed non-refrigerated trucks for regional collection when transport is short and the hides are processed immediately. It also sets a truck temperature of 2 °C to 6 °C when refrigeration is used. This gives operators a practical way to keep the load cold enough to slow bacterial activity.

The guide also covers loading and unloading checks. The supplier verifies loading at 4 °C ± 3 °C, and the recipient checks the temperature in several places in the load on unloading. If the temperature is above 7 °C, the supplier or agent is to be informed immediately, and quality control is to be carried out on at least 10 % of the goods received.

Preservation methods in Annex A

Annex A gives three preservation routes: salting in stacks, preserving in brine, and preservation by refrigeration. Salting uses clean hides, authorized additives only, enough salt to cover the flesh side evenly, and storage conditions that let brine drain away. This is the route to use when the material must be held before tanning and when a chilled chain is not the only option.

For brine preservation, the guide gives a saturated salt solution, a hide-to-brine ratio of 1:5 or higher, and controlled temperature and pH. For refrigeration, it gives cooling with ice or hanging in a cold store, with a maximum storage time of 14 days. These practical limits help a buyer or processor choose a storage method that matches the delay before further processing.

Clause 3 also matters in practice because it names the main defect groups. The standard separates flaying defects, natural damage and preservation defects, so inspectors can describe the reason for downgrading in a consistent way.

What terms does SIST EN 16055:2026 define?

SIST EN 16055:2026 defines the basic words used to describe raw bovine hides and skins, their opening and the main defect types. These terms support inspection, sorting and communication along the supply chain.

• calfskin - skin of very young cattle feeding predominantly on milk.
• cowhide - skin of female bovine animals that have given birth to calves.
• flaying - the process of removing the entire hide or skin from a dead animal.
• preservation - treatment used after flaying to protect hide and skin from rotting by cooling or salting.
• fresh hides and skins - hides and skins chilled to below 7 °C but not below 0,3 °C.
• defect - any damage to raw or preserved hides that may affect the quality of the leather produced.
• salting - treatment with sodium chloride (NaCl) before palletisation for delivery of hides.
• opening the bovine hide or skin - the procedure of making the initial cuts needed to remove the hide or skin from the carcass.

Who uses SIST EN 16055:2026?

SIST EN 16055:2026 is used by people who handle raw bovine hides and skins from the point of slaughter to the tannery. The introduction says the document was developed with representatives of agriculture, slaughterhouses, hides and skins processors and tanneries, which reflects its whole-chain use.

In practice, it helps buyers, suppliers, collectors, quality managers and inspection staff agree on opening style, trimming, defect descriptions, transport conditions and preservation methods. That is useful when a load has to be accepted, downgraded, re-lotted or rejected.

What changed in SIST EN 16055:2026 from the previous edition?

SIST EN 16055:2026 supersedes EN 16055:2012. The European foreword states that the significant technical changes are:

• addition of new terms and modifications of existing terms
• update of existing figures and addition of new figures

Which standards are used with SIST EN 16055:2026?

Clause 2 has no normative references. The introduction points readers to prEN 18199:2025 for traceability of hides and skins, and the scope note points to INTERNATIONAL CONTRACT No. 6 - HIDES and SKINS for commercial agreements between buyer and supplier.

What does the SIST EN 16055:2026 document contain?

SIST EN 16055:2026 contains the definitions, presentation rules and preservation guidance needed to describe raw bovine hides and skins consistently. The body of the document uses figures to show hide parts after trimming, examples of defects, the correct and incorrect opening cuts, and the special case for cowhides.

Annex A adds practical procedures for transport, loading and unloading, salting in stacks, brine preservation and refrigeration. In day-to-day work, these methods are the parts most likely to be used for receiving checks, storage planning, quality control and training.

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-oktober-2026
Usnje - Surove goveje kože - Opis, predstavitev in ohranjanje
Leather - Raw bovine hides and skins - Description, presentation and preservation
Leder - Rohe Rinderhäute und Kalbfelle - Beschreibung, Darstellung, Konservierung
Cuir - Peaux brutes de bovins - Description, présentation et conservation
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 16055:2026
ICS:
59.140.20 Surove kože, kože in kožuhi Raw skins, hides and pelts
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EN 16055
EUROPEAN STANDARD
NORME EUROPÉENNE
August 2026
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 59.140.20 Supersedes EN 16055:2012
English Version
Leather - Raw bovine hides and skins - Description,
presentation and preservation
Cuir - Peaux brutes de bovins - Description, Leder - Rohe Rinderhäute und Kalbfelle -
présentation et conservation Beschreibung, Darstellung, Konservierung
This European Standard was approved by CEN on 22 June 2026.

CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this
European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration. Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references
concerning such national standards may be obtained on application to the CEN-CENELEC Management Centre or to any CEN
member.
This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language made by
translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management
Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway,
Poland, Portugal, Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and
United Kingdom.
EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2026 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. EN 16055:2026 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

Contents Page
European foreword . 3
Introduction . 4
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms and definitions . 5
4 Requirements for the presentation of raw bovine hides and skins . 11
4.1 General. 11
4.2 Requirements . 11
4.2.1 Hides and skins of cattle (excluding cowhides) . 11
4.2.2 Cowhides . 13
Annex A (normative) Guidelines for the preservation of raw bovine hides or skins . 15
Bibliography . 19

European foreword
This document (EN 16055:2026) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 289 “Leather”,
the secretariat of which is held by UNI.
This European Standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an
identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by February 2027, and conflicting national standards
shall be withdrawn at the latest by February 2027.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. CEN shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
This document supersedes EN 16055:2012.
— addition of new terms and modifications of existing terms;
— update of existing figures and addition of new figures.
Any feedback and questions on this document should be directed to the users’ national standards body.
A complete listing of these bodies can be found on the CEN website.
According to the CEN-CENELEC Internal Regulations, the national standards organisations of the
following countries are bound to implement this European Standard: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,
Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of
North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye and the
United Kingdom.
Introduction
It should be noted that raw hides, bovine hides and calfskins are natural products. As a result,
companies trading in these products do not have control over all their properties. All links in the chain
should ensure that the best possible quality of the natural product skin is maintained. For this purpose,
controls should take place in the respective stages, the results of which are then brought to the
attention of the preceding stage, so that they can work on improving the quality there.
This document is intended to avoid disagreements between parties. It is the result of discussions with
representatives of agriculture, slaughterhouses, hides and skins processors and tanneries.
prEN 18199:2025 addresses essential requirements of traceability of hides and skins.
1 Scope
This document specifies the following for raw bovine hides and skins intended for use throughout the
leather manufacturing supply chain:
— Terms and definitions;
— Requirements for the presentation of raw hides and skins.
It is applicable to fresh and salted bovine hides and skins.
It outlines the opening cut and trim of hides and skins and the types of defects typically associated with
this raw material.
NOTE 1 Opening cut and trim vary from country to country.
It shows which parts of hides and skins can be used for leather production and which factors influence
the quality of hides and skins.
Furthermore, it gives recommendations on precautions to be taken for transport, preservation, loading
and unloading.
NOTE 2 For commercial agreements between the buyer and the supplier of hides and skins, operators use the
INTERNATIONAL CONTRACT No. 6 – HIDES and SKINS as drawn up by the International Council of Hides, Skins
and Leather Traders Associations (ICHSLTA) and the International Council of Tanners (ICT) [1].
2 Normative references
There are no normative references in this document.
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp/
— IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org/
3.1 Raw bovine hides and skins
3.1.1
calfskin
skin of very young cattle feeding predominantly on milk
Note 1 to entry: In the international trade calfskins are classified under HS code 4101 20: whole hides and skins,
unsplit, of a weight per skin not exceeding 8 kg when simply dried; 10 kg when dry-salted or 16 kg when fresh,
wet-salted or otherwise preserved.
3.1.2
kip skin
skin of a young bovine already eating grass or other animal feed
3.1.3
casualty calf skin
skin from an animal that died naturally in the stable or during transport
3.2
cattle hide
skin of adult bovine animals
3.2.1
bull hide
skin of a male bovine animal (not castrated)
3.2.2
cowhide
skin of female bovine animals that have given birth to calves
3.2.3
ox hide
skin of a castrated male bovine animal
3.2.4
heifer hide
skin of female bovine animal that has not given birth to calves
3.3
opening the bovine hide or skin
procedure to make initial cuts to facilitate the removal of the hide or skin from the animal carcass
Note 1 to entry: Ideal opening is a symmetrical opening (see Figure 3).
3.4
flaying
process of removing the entire hide or skin from a dead animal
3.5
trimming
process in which parts of the hide or skin, that are not suitable for subsequent leather production, are
removed
Key
1 head
2 forehead
3 Cheek
2 + 3 mask
4 Shoulder
5 foreleg
6 bend or croupon
4 + 6 back
7 belly
8 middle-belly
9 half-croupon
10 hind-leg
10+8+9 half culatta
5 right and left+4 avancorpo/front
8+10 half-belly
Figure 1 — Different parts of the hide or skin after trimming
3.6
preservation
treatment to protect hide and skin from rotting after flaying until further processing in the
tannery, by cooling or by salting
3.6.1
cooling
temperature reduction to significantly reduce bacterial activity and avoid preservation defects
3.6.2
fresh hides and skins
hides and skins, chilled to a temperature of less than 7 °C, but not below 0,3 °C
Note 1 to entry: The temperature of less than 7 °C, but not below 0,3 °C is to avoid salting.
Note 2 to entry: Temperature not below 0,3 °C prevents hides and skins, or parts of them, from freezing during the
chilling process.
3.6.3
salting
process done with NaCl during at least 14 days before palletisation for delivery of hides
3.7
defect
flaw
all damage to raw or preserved hides which may affect the quality of the leather produced
3.7.1 Flaying defects
3.7.1.1
cut
cut on the hide or skin by a knife or flaying tool on the flesh side that has cut into the dermis or skin
substance without completely penetrating the skin
Note 1 to entry: See Figure 2 – key 1.
3.7.1.2
hole
flaying damage caused by a knife or flaying tool on the flesh side, completely severing the skin
Note 1 to entry: See Figure 2 - key 2.
3.7.1.3
gouge
loss of substance of the skin on the flesh side caused by a knife or skinning tool without completely
perforating the skin
Note 1 to entry: See Figure 2 – key 3.
3.7.1.4
poorly cut head
head cut along a line not perpendicular to the longitudinal axis
Note 1 to entry: See Figure 4.
3.7.1.5
poorly shaped flank
poorly-shaped leg
leg cut along a line not perpendicular to the opening cut of the leg and/or too long, i.e. not cut at the
foreshank or knee cap
Note 1 to entry: Poorly shaped legs are unusable (see Figure 4).
3.7.1.6
deformed skin
deformed hide
any deviation from the regular shape of the skin or hide due to unproper carcass opening or unproper
cutting and trimming
Note 1 to entry: See also Figure 4 for a regular shape of a skin.
3.7.1.7
grain break
grain burst
hide/skin puller damage occurring when they are removed from the animals at too high speed by the
hide puller
3.7.1.8
improper bleeding
incomplete and inadequate bleeding of the animal at the time of slaughter
Note 1 to entry: Incomplete and inadequate bleeding results in clotted blood remaining in the blood vessels and
visible on the flesh side of the skin and results in wrong cutting and loss of usable neck/shoulder skin.

Key
1 cut
2 hole
3 gouge
4 wrong opening cut
Figure 2 — Examples of defects
3.7.2 Natural damage - defects to the skin of the living animal
3.7.2.1
mechanical defect
defect caused by brand marks, various scratches, spines, surgical operations, which may be open or
healed (scars)
Note 1 to entry: Scratches can be caused by barbed wire, brambles, transport or drag marks, cattle fight marks,
rope marks, etc.
3.7.2.2
dung or urine damage
manure or urine damage visible on the skin that has affected or corroded the grain side of the hide/skin
3.7.2.3
damage caused by parasites
damage caused
...