FSA Consultation Letter, 17 February 2003

ANIMAL BY-PRODUCTS - EU Animal By-Products Regulations 2003

This consultatoin seeks comments on consequential amendments to the Animal By-Products (Identification) Regulations 1995, following the adoption of the EU Animal By-Products Regulation.

Consultation details

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) began a public consultation on 27th January on the Animal By-Products Regulations 2003.
These Regulations are intended to enforce the EU Animal By-Products Regulation (EC No. 1774/2002), which will apply in Member States from 1st May 2003. The Defra consultation document and the EU Animal By-Products Regulation can be accessed from the Defra website.

The Animal By-Products (Identification) Regulations 1995 (the ABPI Regulations), which among other things require identification of "high risk" animal by-products, are being retained, but in view of the adoption of the EU and Defra Animal By-Products Regulations, consequential amendments to the ABPI Regulations are necessary.

A draft Statutory Instrument (The Animal By-Products (Identification) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2003) is therefore available on the FSA web site.

The deadline for responding to this consultation is 21 March 2003. This allows about six weeks for comments, which is shorter than the FSA usually prefer. This is necessary to fit in with the closing date for Defra's consultation and to allow the Regulations to come into effect at the same time as the EU Regulation.

The amendments to the ABPI Regulations are purely consequential and do not involve any changes to the current requirements on staining to identify animal by-products. As a result, these amendments should not have any impact on businesses to which the ABPI Regulations apply.

The consequential amendments are currently in the form of a standalone Statutory Instrument. Following consultation it may be possible to include these as part of the Animal By-Products Regulations 2003. Although this is unlikely, no decision has yet been taken on this.

The main consequential amendments to the ABPI are essentially to replace references to the Animal By-Products Order, which is to be revoked, with references to the new Animal By-Products Regulations which replace it. In particular the amendments include:

• new definitions for 'the Council Regulation', 'the 2003 Regulations' (i.e. the draft Animal By-Products Regulations),
• approved incineration plant" and "approved rendering plant;'
  
• replacement of the terms "high risk" and "low risk" animal by-products with the terms 'Category 2 and 3 material' as provided for in the Council Regulation;
  
• relevant amendments to certain provisions to incorporate the new definitions; and
  
• consequential amendments to regulations 6 and 7 which mean that movement of animal by-product through a sealed and leak-proof pipe must now be to an approved rendering or incineration plant.

This consultation covers England only. Parallel consultations will be carried out on similar amendments for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.