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.

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

Back to top

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.

Back to top

Current situation

The Animal By-products Regulations are currently under review by the EU to:

• to bring the legislation into line with better regulation practice;
• to clarify the scope of the Regulation in certain areas;
• to review both the classification of risk of certain ABP’s and the level of controls necessary for their use and disposal;
• to cut out some duplication of requirements for approval of premises which are covered by other sectoral legislation

Defra issued a consultation on the proposals that is due to close on 6 Feb. The key implication of this on the wider community is a suggestion to tighten the restrictions on former foodstuffs going to landfill. At present, as well as catering waste, cooked retail waste is exempt from ABP controls and these changes might remove that exemption.

Back to top

Further information

DEFRA general ABP page

Environmental agencies’ Netregs

Approved plants for handling ABP

Back to top