Statutory Instrument 1999 No. 646

The Animal By-Products Order 1999

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© Crown Copyright 1999

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Interpretation and scope
     3.  - (1) In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires - 

"animal" includes poultry;

"animal by-products" means - 

(a) animal carcases;

(b) parts of animal carcases (including blood); or

(c) products of animal origin;

not intended for human consumption, with the exception of animal excreta and catering waste;

"approved" means approved under this Order by the appropriate Minister;

"catering waste" means the following products when they are no longer intended for human consumption - 

(a) waste from catering and domestic waste;

(b) waste from the production of products which are intended to be used for human consumption without further cooking; or

(c) waste from the production of bread, cakes, pasta, pastry, pizzas and similar products (whether or not intended to be used for human consumption without further cooking);

"high risk material" means animal by-products of the following description, or any material containing such by-products - 

(a) animal by-products which present a serious risk of spreading communicable disease to man or animals;

(b) all animals kept for agricultural production, which have died or been killed but were not slaughtered for human consumption, including stillborn animals and foetuses but excluding animals slaughtered during transit for reasons of their welfare;

(c) dead animals not referred to in paragraph (b) but which are designated as high risk material by notice by the appropriate Minister;

(d) animals (other than those slaughtered for human consumption) which are killed in the context of disease control measures;

(e) animal by-products (including blood) from animals which, during pre-slaughter veterinary inspection, show clinical signs of disease communicable to man or animals;

(f) fish which show clinical signs of disease communicable to man or fish;

(g) all animal by-products (other than hides, skins, hooves, feathers, wool, horns, blood and similar products) which are from animals (other than fish, crustaceans or molluscs) slaughtered in the normal way if either - 


(i) the animal by-product is not presented for post-mortem veterinary inspection; or

(ii) during post-mortem veterinary inspection the animal by-product shows gross pathological lesions indicating disease communicable to man or animals;



(h) all meat, poultrymeat, fish, game and foodstuffs of animal origin which are spoiled in such a way that they present a risk to human or animal health;

(i) animal by-products from animals, fish or game, fresh meat, poultrymeat, meat products and milk products imported from any country other than a member State which fail to comply with the veterinary requirements for their importation into the Community, unless they are re-exported or their import is accepted under restrictions laid down in Community provisions; or

(j) animal by-products containing residues of substances which may pose a danger to human or animal health, or milk, meat or products of animal origin rendered unfit for human consumption by the presence of such residues;

"knacker's yard" means any premises used in connection with the business of killing, flaying or cutting up animals the flesh of which is not intended for human consumption but does not include - 

(a) hunt kennels or other premises where the flesh is fed to animals;

(b) premises used for diagnostic, educational or research purposes;

(c) premises which do not take high risk material; or

(d) premises where animals are cut up solely for the purpose of incineration;

"low risk material" means animal by-products other than high risk material;

"pharmaceutical or technical products" means products intended for purposes other than human food or animal feedingstuffs;

"swill" means - 

(a) non-mammalian animal by-products rendered in accordance with paragraph 5 of Part I of Schedule 2; or

(b) catering waste processed in accordance with Schedule 5.

    (2) Rendered material complies with the microbiological standards for the purposes of this Order if - 

(a) in the case of rendered material derived from high risk material, it is free from Clostridium perfringens;

(b) it is free from Salmonella; and

(c) it successfully passes the test for Enterobacteriaceaein paragraph 5 of Part IV of Schedule 3.

    (3) The provisions of this Order shall not apply in relation to - 

(a) hides, skins, shells, hooves, feathers, wool, horns, blood and similar products which are not used in the manufacture of feedingstuffs but shall apply to such products when originating from animals which show clinical signs of any disease communicable through that product to man or animals;

(b) specified risk material controlled by the Specified Risk Material Regulations 1997[2] or the Specified Risk Material Order 1997[3];

(c) a by-product from a wild mammal or wild bird other than one produced in premises used for processing mammals or birds;

(d) petfood from butchers' shops;

(e) milk or milk products other than - 


(i) high risk milk or milk products; and

(ii) milk or milk products originating from animals which show clinical signs of any disease communicable through milk or milk products to man or animals;



(f) fish caught and discarded at sea and waste from the processing of fish at sea; or

(g) the feeding of birds of prey.

    (5) Any reference in this Order to a Schedule or article is, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference to a Schedule to this Order or an article of this Order.

(a) rendering or part-rendering in approved premises;

(b) incineration;

(c) burning other than in an incinerator, or burying, if - 


(i) it is is a place where access is difficult; or

(ii) the quantity of by-product and the distance to premises in which disposal is otherwise permitted under this article do not justify transporting it;



(d) use for diagnostic, educational or research purposes;

(e) in the case of low risk material, production of petfood or pharmaceutical or technical products, or storage for the production of petfood, at premises registered under article 12;

(f) treatment at an approved knacker's yard, or feeding to zoo, circus or fur animals, recognised packs of hounds or maggots farmed for fishing bait at premises registered under article 13, provided that the material consigned is - 



(i) a by-product referred to in paragraph (b), (c) or (g)(i) of the definition of high risk material in article 3(1) (provided that it is not from an animal slaughtered as a result of the presence or suspected presence of a notifiable disease listed in Annex I to Council Directive 82/894/EEC (on the notification of animal diseases within the Community)[4]); or

(ii) low risk material; or



(g) export from Great Britain.

    (2) If the appropriate Minister serves on the person in charge by any animal by-product a notice certifying that - 

(a) the by-product is from animals infected with, or suspected of being infected with, an epizootic disease and should not be transported because of health risks;

(b) the by-product contains, or is suspected of containing, residues or pathogens which could constitute a risk to human or animal health and which could survive rendering; or

(c) there is a lack of capacity at rendering premises or incinerators;

then that person shall, without undue delay, dispose of the by-product by burning or by burial as may be specified in the notice.

    (3) No person shall feed to any ruminant animal, pig or poultry, or allow any such animal to have access to, any unrendered animal by-product.

Collection and transport of animal by-products
     6. Any person collecting or transporting animal by-products shall - 

(a) use adequately covered leak-proof containers or vehicles;

(b) maintain vehicles, tarpaulins or other covers and reusable containers in a clean condition; and

(c) where animal by-products derived from animals or fish fit for human consumption are transported in bulk directly to rendering premises, label the container with - 


(i) the source and description of the animal by-product; and

(ii) the words "Not for human consumption" in clearly visible and legible letters at least 2 centimetres high.

Approval of premises and equipment for rendering animal by-products
     7.  - (1) No person shall use any premises or equipment for rendering or part-rendering animal by-products unless the premises, the equipment and the operator of the premises are approved by the appropriate Minister in accordance with this article.

    (2) The appropriate Minister shall grant approval under this article for premises and equipment for rendering or part-rendering high risk or low risk material if he is satisfied that - 

(a) the premises comply with the requirements in Schedule 1 and will be maintained and operated in accordance with that Schedule;

(b) the material will be rendered or part-rendered in accordance with Schedule 2;

(c) the rendered material has been sampled on a daily basis over a period of 30 days before the approval is granted and the samples taken comply with the microbiological standards in article 3(2), except that this requirement shall not apply when animal by-products - 


(i) are to be rendered in accordance with Method I of Part II of Schedule 2;

(ii) are to be part-rendered in accordance with the conditions of the approval; or

(iii) are non-mammalian by-products which are to be rendered for the production of swill for feeding to pigs or poultry;



(d) the equipment will not be used to render any specified risk material controlled by the Specified Risk Material Regulations 1997 or the Specified Risk Material Order 1997;

(e) where appropriate, there will be no cross-contamination between different types of material; and

(f) all other conditions of this Order will be complied with.

    (3) The approval shall specify - 

(a) the operator and the address of the premises;

(b) the rendering equipment and the method of rendering or part-rendering;

(c) whether material may be rendered or part-rendered;

(d) the type of material which may be rendered or part-rendered;

(e) the parameters to be achieved during rendering or part-rendering; and

(f) any other conditions which the appropriate Minister considers necessary to ensure that this Order is complied with.

    (4) While the rendered product is being tested in accordance with paragraph (2)(c) above, the appropriate Minister may grant a provisional approval for rendering the animal by-product, which shall specify how the rendered material shall be disposed of.

Operation of approved rendering plants
     8.  - (1) Any person holding an approval under article 7 shall maintain and operate the premises and equipment in accordance with Schedule 1 and shall render material in accordance with Schedule 2 and the approval.

    (2) No person shall render specified risk material controlled by the Specified Risk Material Regulations 1997 or the Specified Risk Material Order 1997 in any equipment approved for rendering animal by-products under article 7.

Sampling the rendered product
     9.  - (1) If rendered material is intended for use in feedingstuffs (other than swill or petfood) then the operator of a rendering plant shall act in accordance with this article.

    (2) The operator shall establish and use an identification system which makes it possible to identify each rendered batch.

    (3) In the case of rendered material derived from high risk material, the operator shall, once every week - 

(a) take from the outlet of each cooker in use at the premises a sample of at least 50 grams of freshly rendered proteinaceous material; and

(b) send the sample to an approved laboratory for testing for Clostridium perfringens.

    (4) In the case of all rendered material, the operator shall, on each day that the material is consigned from the premises - 

(a) take samples of the rendered proteinaceous material using one of the methods specified in Part I of Schedule 3 and aggregate the samples to produce a final sample in accordance with that method; and

(b) send the final sample to an approved laboratory for testing for Salmonella and Enterobacteriaceae.

    (5) Whenever an operator sends a sample to an approved laboratory, he shall send with the sample the following information in writing - 

(a) the name and address of the premises at which the sample was taken;

(b) the date on which the sample was taken; and

(c) the identity of the sample.

    (6) No person shall tamper with a sample taken under this article with intent to affect the result of a test.

    (7) If the test demonstrates that the rendered material does not comply with the microbiological standards in article 3(2), then the operator shall - 

(a) immediately notify the appropriate Minister of the full details of the nature of the sample and the lot from which it was derived;

(b) ensure that no further rendered material suspected or known to be contaminated is moved from the premises unless - 


(i) he takes all necessary measures to ensure that it is not used for feedingstuffs; or

(ii) it has been re-rendered under the supervision of the appropriate Minister and resampled and re-tested by the appropriate Minister, and the re-testing has shown that the re-rendered material complies with the microbiological standards in article 3(2);



(c) establish the causes of failure of compliance;

(d) increase the rate of sampling and testing of rendered material; and

(e) instigate appropriate decontamination and cleaning procedures within the premises.

Incineration
     10. Any person who incinerates animal by-products shall ensure that they are either - 

(a) completely incinerated immediately on arrival; or

(b) stored in adequately covered leak-proof containers and completely incinerated without undue delay.

Burial of animal by-products
     11. Any person burying animal by-products shall - 

(a) sprinkle them with a suitable disinfectant if this will help prevent the spread of disease; and

(b) bury them in such a way that carnivorous animals cannot gain access to them.

Petfood, pharmaceutical and technical premises
     12.  - (1) No person shall use any premises for the production of petfood or pharmaceutical or technical products from animal by-products unless the premises and the occupier of the premises are registered with the appropriate Minister in accordance with this article.

    (2) The appropriate Minister shall register premises under paragraph (1) above if he is satisfied that - 

(a) the premises have adequate facilities for storing and treating the animal by-products without risk to animal health;

(b) the finished product will not create a risk to animal health; and

(c) all other provisions of this Order will be complied with.

    (3) No person shall use any premises for the collection of animal by-products intended for the production of petfood (other than the premises on which the animal by-products originate or premises registered under paragraph (1) above) unless the premises and the occupier of the premises are registered with the appropriate Minister in accordance with this article.

    (4) The appropriate Minister shall maintain a register of premises registered under this article containing the following information - 

(a) the name of the operator;

(b) the address of the premises; and

(c) the business carried on at the premises.

    (5) No person shall accept any unrendered or part-rendered high risk material into premises registered under this article.

    (6) The occupier of premises registered under paragraph (1) above shall ensure that all animal by-products not incorporated into the product, and all waste material arising during production are disposed of in accordance with article 5.

    (7) The occupier of premises registered under paragraph (1) above shall ensure that all finished material not used for its intended purpose is disposed of by burial or in accordance with article 5.

    (8) The occupier of premises registered under paragraph (3) above shall ensure that all animal by-products not consigned for the production of petfood are disposed of in accordance with article 5.

    (9) The appropriate Minister may by notice require the occupier of premises registered under this article to store, process, despatch or dispose of animal by-products as may be specified in the notice.

[2] S.I. 1997/2965.back

[3] S.I. 1997/2964.back

[4] OJ No. L 378, 31.12.82, as amended by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3768/85 (OJ No. L 362, 31.12.85, p. 8), Commission Decision 89/162/EEC (OJ No. L 61, 4.3.89, p. 48) and Commission Decision 92/450/EEC (OJ No. L 248, 28.8.92, p. 77).back