The Animal By-Products (Identification) Amendment (Scotland) Regulations 2002

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations, which extend to Scotland only, amend the Animal By-Products (Identification) Regulations 1995.

The substantive amendments made by these Regulations to the 1995 Regulations are as follows:–

(a) in paragraph 1 of regulation 2 (interpretation)–

• the definition of the Animal By-Products Order is updated;

• the definition of “animal by-product premises” is amended to exclude cold stores and cutting premises;

• the definition of “game processing facility” is amended to exclude cold stores and cutting premises;

• the definition of “occupier” is extended to include the occupier of a cold store or cutting premises;

• the definition of “specified bovine offal” is removed;

• the definition of “stained” is amended so as to provide that, in the case of animal by-products comprising entire poultry carcases, it means that the stain solution has been applied after the surface of the carcase has been opened by multiple and deep incisions; and

• definitions are inserted of the phrases “cold store”, “cutting premises” and “slaughterhouse” (regulation 2(2));

(b) regulation 4 (scope) is replaced with a provision which provides that the only whole carcases which have to be sterilised or stained are whole poultry carcases which are dead on arrival at a slaughterhouse or which are rejected following pre-slaughter or post-mortem health inspections carried out at such premises (regulation 2(3));

(c) the exemption from the application of the Regulations which was contained in regulation 5(1)(f) in favour of specified bovine offal is extended to cover specified risk material controlled by the TSE (Scotland) Regulations 2002 (regulation 2(4)(a));

(d) the exemption from the application of the Regulations which is contained in regulation 5(2)(a) and which operates in favour of poultry by-products is removed (regulation 2(4)(b));

(e) the exemption from the application of the Regulations which is contained in regulation 5(2)(c) and which operates in favour of the removal of green offal from animal by-products premises, game processing facilities and slaughterhouses is extended to apply also in favour of cold stores and cutting premises (regulation 2(4)(c));

(f) references to the Animal By-Products Order are amended to refer to the new definition (regulation 2(4)(d));

(g) regulation 6 (which currently imposes requirements with respect to the sterilisation and staining of animal by-products in slaughterhouses and game processing facilities only) is replaced with a provision which applies also in relation to cold stores and cutting premises (regulation 2(5));

(h) regulation 8 (which currently imposes requirements in relation to freezing animal by-products in animal by-products premises, game processing facilities and slaughterhouses only) is replaced with a provision which applies also in relation to cold stores and cutting premises (regulation 2(6));

(i) regulation 9 (which currently imposes requirements in relation to the storage and packaging of animal by-products) is replaced with a provision which imposes requirements with respect to the storage of unsterilised animal by products in the same room as products intended for human consumption and in cold stores, cutting premises, game processing facilities and slaughterhouses (regulation 2(7)); and

(j) regulation 10 (which currently imposes restrictions on the movement of animal by-products from animal by-products premises, game processing facilities and slaughterhouses only) is replaced with a provision which applies also in relation to cold stores and cutting premises (regulation 2(8)).

A Regulatory Impact Assessment, which includes a compliance cost assessment of the effects which these Regulations would have on business costs, has been prepared in respect of these Regulations and a copy of it has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Copies can be obtained from the Meat Policy Branch of the Food Standards Agency Scotland, 6th floor, St Magnus House, 25 Guild Street, Aberdeen AB11 6NJ.