Animal By-Products Regulations
Strict regulations apply to the processing of animal by-products.
European legislation lays down animal and public health rules for the collection, transport, storage, handling, processing and use or disposal of all animal by-products (ABPs). These rules have applied since 1 May 2003, and in England they are administered and enforced by the Animal By-Products Regulations (ABPR) 2005.
 Categorisation
The Regulations classify animal by-products into three categories based on their potential risk to animals, the public or the environment. They set out how each category must or may be disposed of. Of the three, only Category 3 material, in addition to catering wastes, is accepted for composting.
Category 3 material is the lowest risk category. It 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 composting.
Catering waste is defined in the EU Regulations as ‘all waste food including used cooking oil originating in restaurants, catering facilities and kitchens, including central kitchens and household kitchens.’ The Regulations apply to catering waste that contains meat, or comes from premises which handle meat. Catering waste that does not contain meat and does not come from premises handling meat is not controlled by the Regulation.
UK treatment standards
The proposed UK national standards are based on a matrix approach, to reflect the risk assessment requirement for multiple barriers. All systems must be capable of meeting a minimum time/temperature standard, related to the type of system being used. These standards also specify the maximum particle size that may be processed in that system. As well as the time/temperature requirement, all systems must include additional barriers.
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