Legislation

Various laws and regulations are in force to guarantee the safety of the food and feed chain. For animal products, the Hygiene Regulations for foodstuffs of animal origin (Regulation 854/2004), the Animal by-products Regulation 1069/2009 with the associated Implementation Regulation 142/2011, and the so-called TSE Regulation 999/2001 (with all its subsequent amendments) are important.

Regulation 854/2004

This EU Regulation lays downspecific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption. There is hereby established the legislative framework for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin.

Animal by-products regulation 

Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 and Regulation (EU) No 142/2011 apply to materials and products not used for human consumption. Sometimes this is because the material or product is unsuitable and may not be used for human consumption. But sometimes a producer chooses to trade products that are in principle safe for human consumption for other purposes.

The animal by-products Regulation divides these products into three categories, as explained in one of the previous articles. This classification takes into account the risks associated with various animal by-products. For each category it is described how the material should be used, processed or disposed of. In this way the risks are reduced as much as possible. The Regulation on animal by-products also contains general regulations on:

• the traceability of animal by-products, including through identification, commercial documentation and administration;
• registrations, approvals and permissions that companies need to work with animal by-products;
• the marketing of products made from animal by-products, such as animal feed raw materials, pet food and organic fertilizers.

The implementing regulation prescribes in more detail what companies must comply with.

Regulation to prevent BSE

The use of processed animal protein in animal feed is strictly regulated. All parts of the supply chain must be registered and/or approved by the veterinary authority. This is all laid down in European legislation.Since 1989, special rules have been in force in the European Union to prevent the spread of the BSE prion. The BSE prion is the protein that is responsible for the variant of the deadly brain disease Creutzfeld-Jakob in humans. The rules must ensure that potentially infected tissues and other parts of slaughtered and dead animals are excluded from the food chain. This limits the use of animal proteins and other products of animal origin in the diet of farm animals.

This is followed by the legislation of the industries to which products are supplied, such as pharmaceutical, animal feed, fertilizer and renewable energy legislation.