Specified Bovine Material Order (Northern Ireland) 1996

Citation and commencement

1.  This Order may be cited as the Specified Bovine Material Order (Northern Ireland) 1996 and shall come into operation on 29th March 1996.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Order—

“animal protein” means any protein material which is derived from the carcase of any kind of mammal except man but does not include milk, any milk product or dicalcium bone phosphate;

“approved disinfectant” means a disinfectant for the time being approved by the Department under the Diseases of Animals (Approval of Disinfectants) Order (Northern Ireland) 1972(1);

“collection centre” means any premises licensed by the Department under Article 5(1) for the purpose of storing and handling specified bovine material;

“feedingstuff” means fodder and includes pet food;

“intestines” means that part of the digestive tract of a bovine animal from the junction of the abomasum and the duodenum to (and including) the rectum;

“mammalian meat and bone meal” means proteinaceous material derived from the whole or part of any dead mammal by a process involving crushing, cooking or grinding;

“rendering plant” means any premises licensed by the Department under Article 6(1) for the purposes of receiving and processing specified bovine material, other than manufacturing premises not connected with food and feedingstuffs;

“sell” includes have in possession for sale or offer or expose for sale;

“specified bovine material” in relation to any bovine animal means—

(a)

the head (including the brain but excluding the tongue), spinal cord, spleen, thymus, tonsils and intestines of a bovine animal six months old or over which has died in the United Kingdom or has been slaughtered there;

(b)

the thymus and intestines of a bovine animal two months old or over but less than six months old which has died in the United Kingdom or has been slaughtered there;

(c)

the thymus and intestines of a bovine animal under two months old which has been slaughtered in the United Kingdom for human consumption,

and includes anything left attached to such organ after dissection of the carcase and any animal matter which comes into contact with the organ after it has been removed from the carcase, but does not include a whole carcase;

“tallow” means fat derived from animal tissues by a process of cooking;

“the 1981 Order” means the Diseases of Animals (Northern Ireland) Order 1981;

“the SBMTD Regulations” means the Specified Bovine Material (Treatment and Disposal) Regulations 1996(2).

(2) The supply of feedingstuffs otherwise than by sale at, in or from any place where feedingstuffs are supplied in the course of a business, shall be deemed to be a sale.

Extension of definition of animals and poultry

3.  For the purposes of the 1981 Order in its application to this Order:—

(a) the list of animals in Part I of Schedule 1 to the 1981 Order is hereby extended so as to comprise—

(i) any kind of mammal except man;

(ii) any kind of four-footed beast which is not a mammal;

(iii) fish and crustaceans; and

(b) the list of poultry in Part II of Schedule 1 to the 1981 Order is hereby extended so as to comprise birds of any species.

Prohibition on sale, supply and use of certain feedingstuffs for feeding to animals and poultry

4.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2) a person shall not—

(a) knowingly sell or supply for feeding to ruminant animals any animal protein or any feedingstuffs in which he knows or has reason to suspect any animal protein has been incorporated;

(b) feed to a ruminant animal any animal protein or any feedingstuffs in which he knows or has reason to suspect that any animal protein has been incorporated;

(c) knowingly sell or supply for feeding to poultry or animals, other than ruminant animals, any specified bovine material or any feedingstuffs which he knows, or has reason to suspect, contains such material;

(d) feed to poultry or animals, other than ruminant animals, any specified bovine material or any feedingstuffs which he knows, or has reason to suspect, contains such material;

(e) use any specified bovine material in the preparation of feedingstuffs for poultry or animals;

(f) sell any specified bovine material for use in the preparation of feedingstuffs for poultry or animals;

(g) knowingly sell or supply for feeding to poultry or animals any feedingstuffs in which he knows or has reason to suspect any mammalian meat and bone meal has been incorporated; or

(h) after 4th April 1996 feed to poultry or animals any feedingstuffs in which he knows or has reason to suspect that any mammalian meat and bone meal has been incorporated.

(2) Nothing in paragraph (1) shall prevent the sale or supply for feeding or the feeding, under and in accordance with the conditions of a licence granted by the Department, to poultry or animals, other than ruminant animals, of any feedingstuffs for research purposes in a research establishment under the authority of a licence issued by the Department and in accordance with any conditions subject to which the licence is issued, or to the sale or supply of any feedingstuffs to a research establishment for such purposes.

(3) For the purposes of this Article “specified bovine material” includes anything derived from it other than fatty acids which have been extracted from tallow subjected to thermal hydrolysis at hyperbaric pressure.

(4) A person shall not use any mammalian meat and bone meal in the preparation of feedingstuffs for any animal in premises where feedingstuffs for livestock, fish or equine animals is prepared.

Collection centres

5.—(1) Upon the Department being satisfied that any premises are properly equipped and have sufficient facilities for storing and handling specified bovine material in a manner which keeps it separate from other animal material it may, on application, licence those premises for the purposes of storing and handling specified bovine material.

(2) A person shall not take delivery of specified bovine material at a collection centre, or operate a collection centre for specified bovine material unless it has been licensed by the Department in accordance with paragraph (1).

(3) A person delivering specified bovine material to such a collection centre shall state in writing to the operator of the collection centre concerned the place from which that specified bovine material was collected for delivery to that collection centre.

(4) The operator of such a collection centre shall record on the arrival of specified bovine material at the premises—

(a) the weight of the specified bovine material delivered;

(b) the date of delivery; and

(c) the place from which it was consigned, and shall keep such records for 2 years from the date of arrival.

(5) The operator of such a collection centre shall ensure that all specified bovine material in the collection centre is kept separate from all other animal material.

(6) A person shall not remove specified bovine material from a collection centre except to a rendering plant or to an incinerator which has been approved by the Department in accordance with regulation 12(2) of the SBMTD Regulations and shall keep a record for 2 years from the date of consignment of the weight of any specified bovine material consigned, the date of such consignment and the point of destination.

Rendering plants

6.—(1) Upon the Department being satisfied that any premises have the facilities specified in Part I of the Schedule sufficient to enable the specified bovine material to be separated into protein and tallow by one of the processes specified in Part II of that Schedule it may, on application, licence those premises and facilities for the purpose of receiving and processing specified bovine material.

(2) A person shall not take delivery of specified bovine material at a rendering plant, or operate a rendering plant for specified bovine material, unless it has been licensed by the Department in accordance with paragraph (1).

(3) A person delivering specified bovine material to such a rendering plant shall state in writing to the operator of the rendering plant concerned the place that bovine material was collected for delivery to that rendering plant.

(4) The operator of such a rendering plant shall record on the arrival of specified bovine material at the premises—

(a) the weight of the specified bovine material delivered;

(b) the date of delivery; and

(c) the place from which it was consigned,

and shall keep such records for 2 years from the date of arrival.

(5) The operator of such a rendering plant shall ensure that all specified bovine material in the rendering plant is kept and stored separately from all other material, handled separately from other materials and rendered separately from other materials.

(6) The operator of such a rendering plant shall ensure that specified bovine material is processed without undue delay and in any event within 7 days of delivery using one of the methods described in Part II of the Schedule.

(7) The operator of the rendering plant shall ensure that any equipment used for processing specified bovine material is used only for that purpose.

(8) The operator of the rendering plant shall keep a record for 2 years of the weight of protein consigned and a separate record of the weight of tallow consigned and, in each case, the date of such consignment and the point of destination.

(9) The operator of the rendering plant shall ensure that all containers, receptacles and vehicles which have been used for the transport of specified bovine material are cleansed and disinfected with an approved disinfectant before they leave the premises.

(10) A person shall not move from the unclean section of the rendering plant (as specified by the occupier in accordance with paragraph 5 of Part I of the Schedule) into the clean section without first changing his working clothes and footwear or cleansing and disinfecting the latter with an approved disinfectant.

(11) A person shall not take equipment and utensils from the unclean section into the clean section of the rendering plant unless the equipment and utensils are first washed and disinfected.

Rendering whole carcases

7.  A person rendering a whole bovine carcase shall do so in accordance with the provisions of Article 6 in the same way as if the carcase were specified bovine material.

Manufacturing premises not connected with food and feedingstuffs

8.—(1) Upon the Department being satisfied that—

(a) any premises are suitable to process specified bovine material for use in a manufacturing process; and

(b) that such manufacture is not in any way connected with food or feedingstuffs and does not pose a risk to human or animal health,

it may licence those premises for the purposes of processing specified bovine material for use in a manufacturing process.

(2) Any person delivering specified bovine material to premises licensed by the Department in accordance with paragraph (1) shall state in writing to the operator of the premises concerned the place from which the specified bovine material was collected for delivery to those premises.

(3) The operator of such premises shall record on the arrival of specified bovine material at the premises—

(a) the weight of the specified bovine material delivered;

(b) the date of delivery; and

(c) the place from which it was consigned,

and shall keep such records for 2 years from the date of arrival.

Consignment of specified bovine material

9.—(1) Once specified bovine material has been removed from the carcase and treated in accordance with the requirements of the SBMTD Regulations, the person responsible for its removal shall, without undue delay, send it directly to—

(a) a collection centre;

(b) a rendering plant;

(c) veterinary or laboratory premises specified in regulation 9(1) of the SBMTD Regulations;

(d) an incinerator which has been approved by the Department in accordance with regulation 12(2) of the SBMTD Regulations; or

(e) any other premises licensed by the Department which are not connected with the manufacture or preparation of food or feedingstuffs.

(2) A person consigning specified bovine material from the place where it was removed from the carcase shall keep a record for 2 years from the date of consignment of the weight consigned, the date on which it was consigned and the destination of the specified bovine material.

Transport

10.—(1) The person in control of a vehicle transporting specified bovine material shall ensure that it is conveyed either in an impervious container which contains nothing but specified bovine material or in a part of the vehicle which is impervious and contains nothing but specified bovine material and which in either case is kept covered at all times except when necessary for loading or unloading or examination by an inspector.

(2) A person transporting specified bovine material shall ensure that the part of the vehicle in which specified bovine material has been conveyed is thoroughly cleansed and disinfected with an approved disinfectant before any other food, feedingstuffs or animal material is subsequently placed in that part of the vehicle.

(3) In this Article the expression “vehicle” includes, in any case where specified bovine material is conveyed in a bulk container, that container.

Importation of specified bovine material

11.—(1) A person shall not bring any specified bovine material into Northern Ireland from Great Britain, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands unless it has been stained in the manner described in the SBMTD Regulations.

(2) A person importing specified bovine material from Great Britain, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands shall immediately transport it to one of the destinations specified in Article 9(1).

(3) The requirements of paragraph (1) shall not apply to specified bovine material which has been brought into Northern Ireland for use in veterinary or laboratory premises as specified in Article 9(1)(c).

Export

12.—(1) A person shall not export specified bovine material or protein or tallow derived from it from Northern Ireland to Great Britain, the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands or to another member State except in accordance with the conditions of a licence granted by the Department.

(2) Any person wishing to obtain a licence under paragraph (1) shall apply to the Department in such form and manner and within such time as the Department may require.

Samples

13.  Where an inspector has reasonable grounds for suspecting that any person has contravened, is contravening or is likely to contravene any of the provisions of this Order he may take such samples from any carcase or part of a carcase, or such samples of any tallow, protein, material, food or feedingstuff as he considers necessary to establish the correctness of that suspicion.

Licences

14.  A licence granted under this Order—

(a) shall be in writing;

(b) may be granted subject to conditions; and

(c) may be modified, suspended or revoked by notice in writing given to the holder thereof at any time.

Production of licences

15.  Where specified bovine material or protein or tallow derived from it is being exported in accordance with a licence granted under Article 12(1), the person in charge of the specified bovine material, protein or tallow being exported shall carry the licence during the export and shall, on demand made by an inspector or by a constable—

(a) produce the licence and allow a copy or extract to be taken; and

(b) furnish his name and address.

Records

16.—(1) A record required by this Order to be kept shall be made in permanent and legible form.

(2) A person required by this Order to keep a record shall on demand by a veterinary officer or other authorised officer of the Department produce to him that record and such inspector or officer shall be entitled to inspect that record at any reasonable time and to copy or take extracts therefrom.

Power to give directions

17.—(1) Where the Department is satisfied that specified bovine material cannot be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this Order, whether for reasons of mechanical breakdown or otherwise, it may give written directions to the owner or person in control of the specified bovine material for its disposal in a safe manner.

(2) A person shall comply with any directions given to him under paragraph (1).

(3) In the event of any person not complying with such directions, the Department may, without prejudice to any proceedings for an offence arising out of such default, carry out or make arrangements for the disposal of the specified bovine material.

Transitional provisions and revocations

18.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2) the Specified Bovine Offal Order (Northern Ireland) 1995(3) is hereby revoked.

(2) Any approval granted under the Specified Bovine Offal Order (Northern Ireland) 1995 shall continue to operate as if granted under the equivalent provisions of this Order.

(3) The Diseases of Animals (Feedingstuffs) (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 1995(4) is hereby revoked.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland on

L.S.

P. T. Toal

Assistant Secretary

28th March 1996.