Animal by-products: Premises - Questions and answers
The Regulation requires the approval of the following plants if they handle animal by-products or processed products:
- processing (rendering) plants
- incinerators which only incinerate animal by-products
- oleochemical plants
- biogas and composting plants
- technical plants
- petfood plants
- collection centres and final users
- intermediate and storage plants
Of these, incinerators, oleochemical plants and intermediate and storage plants were not previously controlled. Biogas and composting plants were not previously permitted to treat animal by-products.
Rendering plants
What is rendering?
Rendering is a process which involves cooking animal by-products at high temperature, sometimes under pressure, to remove water and until the fat (tallow) can be separated from the proteinaceous material. The proteinaceous part may then be dried to produce meat and bone meal.
What standards apply to rendering plants?
The construction and hygiene standards are broadly in line with previous standards. The main change is that the material to be rendered must be pressure cooked in certain circumstances.
Incineration plants
Which incinerators require approval?
Most incinerators require authorisation under the Waste Incineration Directive. However, incinerators that only incinerate animal carcases or parts of carcases instead require approval under the Animal By-Products Regulation. Full guidance on animal carcase incineration plants can be found here.
Oleochemical plants
What does an oleochemical plant do?
An oleochemical plant processes rendered fats (tallow) at high temperatures and pressure to produce tallow derivatives. In essence, it breaks down the large fat molecules into smaller chemical units. The derivatives can be used in technical products such as tyres and paint although small amounts may also be used in feedingstuffs or fertilisers.
Composting & biogas plants
Guidance on the requirements for composting and biogas plants can be found here.
Technical and pharmaceutical plants
What is a technical plant?
Technical plants are those which use animal by-products to produce technical
products, such as paint, tyres, and strings on musical instruments.
A number of hobby activities are also covered by the Regulation, such
as the carving of sheep's horns to produce walking stick handles or use
of blown eggs. Because of the low risk posed by such activities, we have
issued a general approval to allow them to continue without interruption:
What type of material can be used in these plants?
The Regulation only permits Category 3 material to be used in the production
of technical products.
What controls are there on the production of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals?
There are no specific controls in this Regulation, although the use of
animal by-products to produce cosmetic and pharmaceutical products would
be considered to be a technical operation. Separate EU legislation controls
the use of animal by-products to produce cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.
Collection centres and final users (knackers' yards, hunt kennels and maggot farms etc.)
What is a collection centre?
Premises which collect and treat fallen stock or other animal by-products for feeding to packs of hounds, maggots etc. must be approved as collection centres. Hunt kennels and other premises, such as maggot farms, which receive fallen stock require approval as a collection centre. This also applies to knackers yards and similar premises that collect fallen stock and supply the meat to hunt kennels, maggot farms etc.
What is a final user?
Hunt kennels, maggot farms and similar premises where ABPs are fed to animals (specified in Article 23(2)(c) of the EU Regulation) must be approved as final users.What staining and sterilisation is required?
The Regulation requires collection centres who supply treated material to others to stain or cook the material first.
Petfood and petfood plants
What controls are placed on petfoods?
Petfood may only be produced in approved plants. The plants may only use Category 3 animal by-products as the raw ingredients of petfood. They are not permitted to use animal by-products which pose a health risk or which come from animals which have died on farm.Have further controls been placed on the production of petfood?
The Regulation maintains the previous requirement for the raw ingredients of petfood to be Category 3 material only. It also requires that any meat and bone meal used in petfood is derived only from category 3 material. And petfood plants now need to be approved, rather than registered. The practical impact of these changes is small.
Collection centres and final users (knackers' yards, hunt kennels and maggot farms etc.)
What is a collection centre?
Premises which collect and treat fallen stock or other animal by-products for feeding to packs of hounds, maggots etc. must be approved as collection centres. Hunt kennels and other premises, such as maggot farms, which receive fallen stock require approval as a collection centre. This also applies to knackers yards and similar premises that collect fallen stock and supply the meat to hunt kennels, maggot farms etc.
What is a final user?
Hunt kennels, maggot farms and similar premises where ABPs are fed to animals (specified in Article 23(2)(c) of the EU Regulation) must be approved as final users.What staining and sterilisation is required?
The Regulation requires collection centres who supply treated material to others to stain or cook the material first.
Intermediate & storage plants
What are intermediate plants?
These are premises on which raw animal by-products are held prior to transport to their final destination. Category 1 and 2 intermediate plants are able to carry out tasks such as the removal of hides and skins or post-mortem examinations. Category 3 plants are primarily be used to store material prior to its use in a petfood plant. No processing may take place in an intermediate plant.
What are storage plants?
These are premises on which rendered animal by-products (meat and bone meal and tallow) could be stored, prior to its use or destruction.
What controls apply?
Premises must be approved and meet basic hygiene standards, such as having a covered space to receive the material and adequate facilities to cleanse and disinfect vehicles and containers. They are only able to receive the category of material for which they were approved.
Page last modified:
June 9, 2008