EN 16055:2026

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
oSIST prEN 16055:2025
01-april-2025
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: prEN 16055
ICS:
59.140.20 Surove kože, kože in kožuhi Raw skins, hides and pelts
oSIST prEN 16055:2025 en,fr,de
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

oSIST prEN 16055:2025
oSIST prEN 16055:2025
DRAFT
EUROPEAN STANDARD
prEN 16055
NORME EUROPÉENNE
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
January 2025
ICS 59.140.20 Will supersede 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 draft European Standard is submitted to CEN members for enquiry. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee
CEN/TC 289.
If this draft becomes a European Standard, 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.

This draft European Standard was established by CEN 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.
Recipients of this draft are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patent rights of which they are
aware and to provide supporting documentation.

Warning : This document is not a European Standard. It is distributed for review and comments. It is subject to change without
notice and shall not be referred to as a European Standard.

EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

CEN-CENELEC Management Centre: Rue de la Science 23, B-1040 Brussels
© 2025 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. prEN 16055:2025 E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

oSIST prEN 16055:2025
prEN 16055:2025 (E)
Contents Page
European foreword . 3
Introduction . 4
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms and definitions . 5
4 Rules 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 . 14
Bibliography . 19

oSIST prEN 16055:2025
prEN 16055:2025 (E)
European foreword
This document (prEN 16055:2025) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 289 “Leather”,
the secretariat of which is held by UNI.
This document is currently submitted to the CEN Enquiry.
This document will supersede EN 16055:2012.
EN 16055:2025 includes the following significant technical changes with respect to EN 16055:2012:
— addition of new terms and modifications of existing terms;
— update of existing figures and addition of new figures.
oSIST prEN 16055:2025
prEN 16055:2025 (E)
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
shall ensure that the best possible quality of the natural product skin is maintained. For this purpose,
controls shall 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.
oSIST prEN 16055:2025
prEN 16055:2025 (E)
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;
— Rules for the presentation of raw hides and skins.
It applies to fresh and salted bovine hides and skins.
It is not the aim of this document to interfere with the normal commercial agreement between the
buyer and the supplier of hides and skins, on the contrary, it should be able to be used as a basis. This
document is intended to avoid disagreements between parties. It is the result of discussions with
representatives of agriculture, slaughterhouses, skin trade and tanneries. 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, selection of tanned hides, classification of hides, weight, loss and tax exemption,
identification of hides.
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: Typical ranges of weight (green weight) are: below 5 kg; 5,1 kg - 8 kg; 8,1 kg - 12 kg; 12,1 kg or
above.
Note 2 to entry: In the international trade calfskins are classified under HS code 4101 20: whole hides and skins,
unsplit, of a weight per skin exceeding 8 kg when simply dried; 10 kg when dry-salted or 16 kg when fresh, wet-
salted or otherwise preserved.
3.1.2
salted weight
weight of a skin after salting, which is inferior to the green weight
Note 1 to entry: The loss of weight can vary, depending on the amount of salt used, the time of curing and climate
conditions.
oSIST prEN 16055:2025
prEN 16055:2025 (E)
3.1.3
green weight
weight of fresh hides and skins from the slaughterhouse, after: trimming, appropriate deductions for
moisture in excess of the natural level and dung
Note 1 to entry: Light weight classes are usually traded on a salt weight basis, large cattle on a green weight basis.
3.1.4
kip skins
skin of a very young bovine already eating grass or other animal feed
Note 1 to entry: Typical ranges of weight (green weight) are: below 12 kg (12 minor) or above 12 kg (12 plus).
3.1.5
casualty calf skin
skins from animals that died naturally in the stable or during transport
3.2
cattle hide
skin of adult bovine animals
Note 1 to entry: Typical ranges of weight (green weight) are: from 20 kg - 24,5 kg from 25 kg - 29,5 kg, from 30 kg
- 39,5 kg, from 40 kg – 49,5 kg, from 50 kg – 59,5 kg, from 60 kg and more.
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
hide of a castrated male bovine animal
3.2.4
heifer hide
skin of female bovine animal that have not given birth to calves
3.3
opening the bovine hide and skin
give the skin or hide the shape required for its future use
Note 1 to entry: Ideal opening is a symmetrical opening (see Figure 1.)
3.4
trimming
process in which parts of the hide or skin, that are not suitable for subsequent leather production, are
removed
oSIST prEN 16055:2025
prEN 16055:2025 (E)
Key
1 head
2 mask
3 cheek
4 shoulder
5 foreleg
6 bend or croupon
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
3.5
preservation (EU)
treatment to protect hide and skin from rotting after skinning until further processing in the tannery, by
cooling or by salting
3.5.1
cooling
hides and skins shall always be cooled as soon as possible after skinning, to significantly reduce
bacterial activity and avoid preservation defects
oSIST prEN 16055:2025
prEN 16055:2025 (E)
3.5.2
fresh hides and skins
to avoid salting, hides and skins are chilled to a temperature of less than 7 °C, but not below 0,3 °C
Note 1 to entry: Temperature not below 0,3 °C prevents hides and skins, or parts of them, from freezing during
the chilling process.
3.5.3
salting
salting shall be done promptly and with sufficient new and clean salt and the period between salting
and palletisation for delivery of hides shall be at least 8 days
Note 1 to entry: Used salt is acceptable as long as it is used in small quantities and its bacterial load is controlled.
3.6
defect
flaw
all damage to raw or preserved hides which may affect the quality of the leather produced
3.6.1 Flaying defects
3.6.1.1
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.
3.6.1.2
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.
3.6.1.3
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.
3.6.1.4
poorly cut head
head cut along a line not perpendicular to the longitudinal axis
Note 1 to entry: See Figure 4.
3.6.1.5
poorly shaped flanks
poorly-shaped legs
legs cut along a line not perpendicular to the opening cut of the leg or too long
Note 1 to entry: Poorly shaped legs are unusable (see Figure 4).
oSIST prEN 16055:2025
prEN 16055:2025 (E)
3.6.1.6
deformed skin
deformed hide
any deviation from the regular shape of the skin or coat 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.
3.6.1.7
grain break
grain burst
hide/skin puller damage occurring when they are removed from the animals at too high speed by the
hide puller
3.6.1.8
improper bleeding
incomplete and inadequate bleeding of the animal at the time of slaughter, resulting in clotted blood
remaining in the blood vessels and visible on the flesh side of the skin

Key
1 cut
2 hole
3 gouge
4 / wrong opening cut
Figure 2 — Examples of defects
oSIST prEN 16055:2025
prEN 16055:2025 (E)
3.6.2 Natural damage - defects to the skin of the living animal
3.6.2.1
mechanical defects
defects caused by brand marks, various scratches (barbed wire, brambles, transport or drag marks,
cattle fight marks, rope marks, etc.), spines, surgical operations, which may be open or healed (scars)
3.6.2.2
dung or urine damage
manure or urine damage visible on the skin that has affected or corroded the scarred side of the
hide/skin
3.6.2.3
damage caused by parasites
damage caused by sucking and biting parasites, such as mites (e.g., mange), lice, ticks, open and healed
wart holes
3.6.2.4
damage caused by diseases
damage caused by certain forms of micro-organisms such as bacteria, fungi (e.g., ringworm, valley
lichen) or viruses (e.g., warts)
3.6.2.5
wrinkling
shrunken, wrinkled scarred surface and growth marks of hide
3.6.2.6
other scarring damage
presence of wounds or abscesses, after-effects of injections or surgery
3.6.2.7
sun blisters
type of sunburn effect on the skin
Note 1 to entry: The outer layers dry out quickly, the inner layers collect the moisture. Hydrolysis can occur there,
which later leads to blistering (separation of the layers).
3.6.3 Preservation defects
3.6.3.1
poor preservation, heating, hair permeability
premature loosening of hair due to rotting of hides and skins, sometimes associated with ammonia
odour
3.6.3.2
defects caused by metal and salts
stains and damage caused by the deposition of metal compounds, especially iron salts
3.6.3.3
red discolouration
red to purple discolouration, often on the flesh side of salted hides and skins, caused by halophilic
bacteria
oSIST prEN 16055:2025
prEN 16055:2025 (E)
3.6.3.4
purple spots
purple discolouration on the flesh side of salted hides
3.6.3.5
decomposition or putrefaction
small depressions and channels visible on the flesh side where tissue has decomposed due to
putrefaction in the raw hide or skin
3.6.3.6
bacon beetle damage
cavities or perforations caused by the Dermestes beetle and its larvae
...