Animal By-Products

Are you affected?
What is required?
Current situation
Further information

 

Are you affected?

Any business that has meat waste – other than in catering waste - is affected by the Animal By-Products Regulations.
For the majority of businesses, there are basically two levels of Animal By-products that MUST be disposed of using treatment or incineration and which CANNOT be disposed of to landfill.
Retail waste – all raw meat and fish waste from retailers is covered and includes smoked salmon, raw eggs, lightly cooked meat and sushi.
Food manufacturing – all raw meat and fish and bakery products or waste that has been in contact with raw meat is covered.

Businesses transporting ABP are not required to be registered as Waste Carriers. However, they are required to register with Defra's department of Animal Health using a registration form. This also applies to any business that generates, handles, processes, stores, places on the market, distributes, uses or disposes of ABPs or derived products. Details for this are on the Animal Health site.

A business that transports ABP waste must also carry documentation that shows not only the normal Waste Transfer Note information, but the destination of the waste. The waste producer, the carrier and the receiving site should each have a copy. Records should be kept for 2 years.

Defra have published a detailed Guidance document with a separate Annex B and Annex C showing which foods must follow what disposal route.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE NEW REGULATIONS (SEE GUIDANCE CHAPTER 14g) NOW (FROM 14 MARCH) ALLOW RETAIL AND FACTORY PREMISES PRODUCING LESS THAN 20KG'S PER WEEK OF RAW MEAT AND FISH WASTE TO DISPOSE OF IT TO LANDFILL.
 

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What is required?

Catering waste is defined as ‘all waste food including used cooking oil originating in restaurants, catering facilities and kitchens, including central kitchens and household kitchens’. This does NOT include sandwich making kitchens which are covered in the same way as food manufacturers. Catering waste can include raw meat such as unused sausages or steaks. Catering waste can still be disposed of to landfill.
Retail waste includes all products other that waste from an on-site restaurant which is classed as catering waste. Any raw or lightly cooked meats or raw eggs are covered and must be separately collected for disposal through incineration, rendering or composting. This includes the packaging around such products. Defra have produced a brief Guide.
Food manufacturers of meat based products must dispose of all raw and cooked meat waste or any products that have been in contact with them through rendering, incineration or composting.
ABP waste must be stored in separate containers marked ‘not for human consumption’ and ‘category 3 material’ and should only be collected by someone you know will be taking it for an approved process. It is the waste producers responsibility under Duty of Casre to ensure they know of the route and premises for disposal.
It is prohibited to feed ABP waste to livestock.
It is still possible to feed food waste to livestock but NOT food waste that has come from catering facilities or contains – or has been in contact with – any meats or fish. There is a government leaflet that describes the requirements clearly.

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Current situation

The EU have implemented COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) No 142/2011 of 25 February 2011 laying down health rules as regards animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 (Animal by-products Regulation). The new Regulations to enforce this in England and Wales have been applied from 23 March 2011 based on the consultation and the EU Commission's Implementing Regulations. These allow for certain new derogations, one of which is likely to have a significant impact on waste producers, in particular, retailers and small food manufacturers. This is a derogation that will allow those producing less than 20kgs of raw meat and fish waste to dispose of it to landfill. This is permitted under new Amendments that were agreed on 12 October 2010.

Guidance on the new Regulations and the changes they apply can be found here.

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Further information

DEFRA general ABP page

Businesslink/Netregs

Approved plants for handling ABP

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