Defra

You are here: Home > Food and Farming > Controls on animal by-products

Controls on animal by-products

Animal by-products (ABPs) are animal carcasses, parts of carcasses, or products of animal origin not intended for human consumption. They can present a risk to human and animal health if not used or disposed of safely.

Examples of animal by-products are: fallen stock on farms, pet animals when they die, and wild animals where they are suspected of being diseased. Other animal by-products include meat, fish, milk and eggs when they are not intended for human consumption, and other products of animal origin including blood, hides, feathers, wool, bones, horns and hoofs.

Rules on use and disposal of animal by-products are set out in EU and UK legislation. There are controls on the use of animal by-products when used as feed (including pet food), as fertilisers, or as technical products, in composting or anaerobic digestion, and on disposal by rendering and incineration. The rules also prevent catering waste being fed to livestock.

Latest news

30 November 2011 – Arrangements for the collection and disposal of fallen stock on the Isle of Wight have changed.

From this date new legislation will apply (The Animal By-Products (Enforcement) and Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2011), making it an offence to dispose of fallen stock by burial on the island. Livestock owners must dispose of their fallen stock in accordance with the EU Animal By-Products Regulation 1069/2009, i.e. by rendering or incineration. A National Fallen Stock Company run collection and disposal service will operate from this date- farmers will need to arrange for disposal either through this collection service, or via private arrangement.

Isle of Wight Fallen Stock – Letter to livestock owners on the Isle of Wight, guidance, and factsheet from the National Fallen Stock CIC (NFSCo) (PDF 200KB), explaining the arrangements- including collection prices and how you can join the new Scheme.

Key guidance

Practical guidance for farmers and businesses dealing with animal by-products (including fallen stock) is available on Business Link.

Defra is responsible for policy on animal by-products, including negotiating EU legislation and putting in place domestic legislation. The Animal Health & Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) is responsible for approval, registration and inspections of animal by-product operators, and can provide detailed guidance on the requirements they need to meet.

Defra Guidance on interpreting the EU & England Animal By-Product Regulations is available
Guidance on the use, disposal, transport, handling and storage of animal by-products is available on the AHVLA website
Guidance on registration of animal by-product operators, establishments & plants, and lists of registered or approved animal by-product premises is available on the AHVLA website
Defra guidance for businesses on importing/exporting animal by-products, including Updated Importer Information Notes, is available in the International Trade section of our website
Defra/FSA issued a letter to Food Business Operators (FBOs) (PDF 90KB) on 1 September 2011 to remind them of responsibilities when exporting Category 3 Animal By-Products to third countries
Guidance on the disposal of international catering waste for vessels, ports and airports is available on the AHVLA website
Authorisations (PDF 220KB) – for businesses wishing to take advantage of current derogations from the basic framework of animal by-product controls – authorised in England by the Secretary of State. (Please note new Authorisation A11 on fishing bait/fish feed etc and revisions to Authorisations A10 and D8 with effect from 17 June 2011).

Legislation

On 23 March 2011 the Animal By-Products (Enforcement) (England) Regulations No.2011/881 came into force. Similar legislation applies in the rest of the UK. The Regulations include some derogations from the EU rules.

These Regulations enforce the directly applicable requirements of the EU Animal By-Products Regulation 1069/2009 and EU Implementing Regulation 142/2011, which entered into force on 4 March 2011.

Final Regulatory Impact Assessment of the EU Animal By-Products Regulations 1069/2009 and Implementing Regulation 142/2011, and of the Animal By-Products (Enforcement) (England) Regulations No.2011/881.

Impact Assessment of the Regulations (PDF 90KB)
Table of impacts (PDF 90 KB)

Enforcement

Local authorities (usually trading standards) are responsible for enforcement of animal by-products legislation in England, except in licensed slaughterhouses, cutting plants and cold stores. You can find your local authority on Directgov.

The Food Standards Agency is responsible for enforcement of animal by-products legislation in licensed slaughterhouses, cutting plants and cold stores on behalf of Defra.

The Secretary of State, through the Animal Health & Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA), also has the powers to enforce where necessary. AHVLA is also responsible for inspection and approval of animal by-products premises on behalf of Defra.

Alternative methods for use or disposal of ABPs

In order to take account of progress in science & technology, Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 allows alternative methods for use or disposal of animal by-products (or derived products) to be authorised as ‘alternative methods’ throughout the Community. These alternative methods may only be used once they have been assessed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and implemented in EU legislation.

If you have a proposal for an alternative method for use or disposal of animal by-products or derived products, you should send it to Defra so that we can review it and pass it on to EFSA for an assessment. There is a standard format for applications.

Information on the procedure for authorisation of alternative methods can be found in Article 20 of the Animal By-Products Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009.
Information on the standard format for applications can be found in Annex VII of The Animal By-Products implementing Regulation (EU) No 142/2011.

If you are interested in applying for authorisation of an alternative method for use or disposal of animal by-products or derived products, please contact abp.team@defra.gsi.gov.uk.

Key facts and figures

It has been estimated that humans directly consume only 68% of a chicken, 62% of a pig, 54% of a bovine animal, and 52% of a sheep/goat.

Therefore, every year, more than 10 million tons of meat derived from healthy animals but not destined for human consumption is produced in the EU.

Defra’s aim is to encourage greater recycling and use of such material where it is safe to do so.

Background

Types of animal by-products

There are many types of animal by-products, such as the following:

Types of ABP	Typical examples
Animal carcasses & parts of carcasses	Fallen stock (farmed animals) Horses Pets Wild animals Abattoir waste – including blood Other animals and parts of animals – e.g. zoo animals
Animal by-product food waste	Catering waste- including used cooking oil from domestic kitchens & catering establishments Raw meat, fish & shellfish – not fit or intended for human consumption Former foodstuffs – waste food from retailers and manufacturers containing ABPs International Catering Waste – catering waste from means of transport operating internationally
Other animal by-products	Milk & milk products and egg & egg products – not fit or intended for human consumption Manure and digestive tract content Hides and skins Wool Feathers Semen, ova & embryos (except when destined for breeding purposes) Shellfish shells Other products of animal origin

ABPs will fall into one of three categories:

Category	Examples
Category 1	Category 1 material is the highest risk, and consists principally of material that is considered a TSE risk, such as Specified Risk Material (those parts of an animal considered most likely to harbour a disease such as BSE, e.g. bovine spinal cord). Pet animals, zoo and circus animals and experimental animals are also classified as category 1 material. The risk from these animals may also be high, for example due to the level of veterinary drugs and residues they may contain; the fact that adequate diagnoses of the exact cause of death of exotic animals can be difficult to achieve and; some species are known to harbour TSEs and may carry other diseases. Wild animals may be classified as category 1 material when they are suspected of carrying a disease communicable to humans or animals. Catering waste from means of international transport (i.e. which has come from outside the EU) is also category 1 due to the risk from exotic diseases.
Category 2	Category 2 material is also high risk material and includes fallen stock, manure and digestive content. Category 2 is also the default status of any animal by-product not defined as either category 1 or category 3 material.
Category 3	Category 3 materials are low risk materials. Category 3 material includes parts of animals that have been passed fit for human consumption in a slaughterhouse but which are not intended for consumption, either because they are not parts of animals that we normally eat (hides, hair, feathers, bones etc) or for commercial reasons. Category 3 material also includes former foodstuffs (waste from food factories and retail premises such as butchers and supermarkets). Catering waste, including domestic kitchen waste is category 3 material.

Animal by-product premises

There are many premises that generate, store, use handle or dispose of Animal By-Products, as set out below:

Type of by-product	Related premises
Animal carcasses & parts of carcasses	Rendering plants Incineration and combustion plants Petfood plants Knacker yards and hunt kennels (intermediate plants & collection centres) Abattoirs (NB: Approved by FSA) Farms (fallen stock)
ABP food waste	Food manufacturers Catering establishments Food retailers
Other ABP plants/sites	Plants handling ABPs to make technical products (e.g. tanneries, taxidermists, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices) Intermediate plants (plants handling ABPs prior to use/disposal Storage plants
Compost/Biogas/OFSI	Manufacturers of organic fertilisers & soil improvers (OFSI) Composting plants Anaerobic digestion (biogas plants)

lists of registered or approved animal by-product premises in Great Britain is available on the AHVLA website
list of plants approved in Northern Ireland
lists of approved plants in other Member States can be found on the Commission website

Permitted uses of animal by-products

There are a number of ways that Animal By-Products can be used or disposed of, as set out below:

Type of use	Examples
Feed uses (NB feed uses are subject to strict controls and prohibitions particularly for farmed livestock)	Feeding to livestock Feeding to fish Pet food Feeding to zoo & other captive animals Feeding to certain wild animals & birds Feeding to hounds (in kennels) Feeding to maggots & worms – to be used for fishing bait
Other uses	Combustion of ABPs as fuel Craft uses Technical uses Pharmaceutical uses Biodiesel Medical devices
Use on the land	Compost Digestate from anaerobic digestion Meat & bonemeal Other ABPs used as a component of fertiliser or as a soil improver (e.g. shells from eggs or shell fish)

Page last modified: 1 December 2011