Thursday, 16 October 2008
Lost and Stray DogsRegulation (EC) No. 1774/2002 lays down strict animal and public health rules for the collection, transport, storage, handling, processing and use or disposal of all animal by-products (ABPs).
In England the rules are administered and enforced by the Animal By-Products Regulations 2005
ABPs are the parts of a slaughtered animal that are not directly consumed by humans, including animals which die on farm, waste from slaughterhouses and butchers shops, and catering waste (i.e. waste food originating from restaurants, catering facilities and kitchens) that contains or has been in contact with meat
products, whether cooked or uncooked.
Some of these products are used in animal proteins like meat-and-bone-meal, fats, gelatine, collagen, petfood and other technical products, such as glue, leathers, soaps, fertilisers etc. The alternative is their destruction, most often by incineration.
The Regulation classifies animal by-products into three categories based on their potential risk to animals, the public or to the environment, and sets out how each category must or may be disposed of.
Category 1 material is very high risk material (animals suspected or confirmed as being infected by a TSE, animals killed in the context of TSE controls, Specified Risk Material, international catering waste). Category 1 ABPs must be disposed of by incineration or rendering (with the exception on international catering waste, which may be disposed of to an authorised landfill).
Category 2 material includes other high risk material (i.e. condemned meat, fallen stock, manure or animal by-products presenting a risk of contamination with other animal diseases (e.g. animals which die on farm or are killed in the context of disease control measures on farm or at risk of residues of veterinary drugs).
Permissible disposal routes for Category 2 materials include incineration and rendering (processing). Unprocessed Category 2 material cannot go to landfill. However, some Category 2 ABPs may be recycled for uses other than feeds after appropriate treatment (e.g. biogas, composting, oleo-chemical products, etc).
Category 3 material is the lowest risk category, and includes raw meat that has passed meat inspection, waste from food manufacturers and food retailers, eggs and certain other by-products which do not show signs of transmissible disease.
Category 3 material cannot be taken to landfill, but can be disposed of via a number of routes such as incineration, rendering, composting or anerobic digestion, or be used in an approved petfood or technical plant in some cases.
ABPs must be collected and transported in leak-proof, covered vehicles and kept separate from other categories of by-product. Everyone transporting ABPs (other than manure) must complete a Commercial Document in full before ABPs are transported. The commercial document must include a record of the origin,
quantity and description of the material, the date of transport, the carrier and the destination. The completed form must accompany the ABPs during transit and must be retained by the receiver.
Copies of the commercial document must be retained by the consignor and the carrier. All documents must be retained for at least two years. For further details, please see Annex II of the EU Regulation.
Further information about Animal By-Products is available from the following link on the DEFRA website http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/by-prods/default.htm
