SCHEDULE 7 Specified risk material, mechanically separated meat and slaughtering techniques
Regulation 6(7)

1 The Food Standards Agency as the competent authority
(1) The Food Standards Agency (“the Agency”) must carry out the duties placed on the member State in point 11(1) and point 11(2) of Annex 5 in relation to this Schedule.
(2) The Agency may grant authorisations to a cutting plant in accordance with paragraph 8.

2 Removal of specified risk material
(1) Removal specified risk material may only take place in accordance with Annex 5.
(2) In the case of a cutting plant authorised under paragraph 8, a person must not remove—
(a) any part of the vertebral column that is specified risk material from any bovine animal unless the plant is authorised under paragraph 8(1)(a) of this Schedule, or
(b) the spinal cord from any ovine or caprine animal aged over 12 months at slaughter, or that has a permanent incisor erupted through the gum, unless the plant is authorised for the purpose of such removal under paragraph 8(1)(b) of this Schedule.

3 Bovine animals in a slaughterhouse
(1) When a bovine animal is slaughtered in a slaughterhouse, or the carcase of a bovine animal is transported to a slaughterhouse following emergency killing elsewhere, the occupier of the slaughterhouse must—
(a) take the action in (b) as soon as is reasonably practicable after the kill, and in any event before post-mortem inspection;
(b) that action is to remove all specified risk material from the carcase, other than those parts of the vertebral column that are specified risk material.
(2) The occupier of the slaughterhouse must—
(a) as soon as is reasonably practicable after post-mortem inspection, consign any offal that has been removed from the carcase, and that contains or is attached to specified risk material, to an appropriate area of the slaughterhouse, and
(b) as soon as is reasonably practicable after the offal is consigned to an appropriate area, and in any event before the offal is removed from the slaughterhouse, remove the specified risk material from the remaining offal.
(3) As soon as is reasonably practicable after slaughter the occupier of a slaughterhouse must consign any bovine carcase containing parts of the vertebral column that are specified risk material to—
(a) a cutting plant authorised under paragraph 8(1)(a) of this Schedule;
(b) a cutting plant located in another part of the United Kingdom and authorised under the corresponding provision applicable in that part;
(c) a cutting plant authorised by a competent authority in an EU member State.
(4) The occupier must label bovine carcasses or wholesale cuts containing vertebral column with a clearly visible red stripe on the label.

4 Ovine and caprine animals in a slaughterhouse
(1) When an ovine or caprine animal is slaughtered in a slaughterhouse, or the carcase of an ovine or caprine animal is transported to a slaughterhouse following emergency killing elsewhere, the occupier of the slaughterhouse must—
(a) take the action in (b) as soon as is reasonably practicable after the kill, and in any event before post-mortem inspection;
(b) that action is to remove all specified risk material from the carcase, other than those parts of the vertebral column that are specified risk material.
(2) The occupier of the slaughterhouse must—
(a) as soon as is reasonably practicable after post-mortem inspection, consign any offal that has been removed from the carcase and that contains or is attached to specified risk material to an appropriate area of the slaughterhouse; and
(b) as soon as is reasonably practicable after the offal is consigned to an appropriate area, and in any event before the offal is removed from the slaughterhouse, remove the specified risk material from the remaining offal.
(3) In the case of an ovine or caprine animal aged over 12 months at slaughter, or that has a permanent incisor erupted through the gum, the occupier of the slaughterhouse must—
(a) remove the spinal cord as soon as is reasonably practicable after the post-mortem inspection, or
(b) as soon as is reasonably practicable, send the whole carcase for removal of the spinal cord to—
(i) a cutting plant authorised under paragraph 8(1)(b) of this Schedule,
(ii) a cutting plant located in another part of the United Kingdom and authorised under the corresponding provision applicable in that part, or
(iii) a cutting plant located in an EU member State.

5 Bovine, ovine and caprine animals in other places of slaughter
When a bovine, ovine or caprine animal is slaughtered in a place authorised by the Agency other than in a slaughterhouse, the person carrying out the slaughter must as soon as is reasonably practicable remove all specified risk material.

6 Young ovine and caprine stamps
(1) An inspector may stamp an ovine or caprine animal or carcase in a slaughterhouse with, respectively a young lamb stamp or a young goat stamp—
(a) if the animal does not have a permanent incisor erupted through the gum, and
(b) any documentation relating to the animal does not indicate that it is aged over 12 months at slaughter.
(2) The stamp must mark the meat with a circular mark 5 centimetres in diameter containing the following in capital letters 1 centimetre high—
(a) “MHS”, and
(b) in the case of—
(i) an ovine animal , “YL”;
(ii) a caprine animal, “YG”.
(3) No person other than an inspector appointed under regulation 13(2) may apply the stamp or a mark resembling the stamp, or possess the equipment for applying it.

7 Removal of spinal cord from ovine and caprine animals
(1) Other than for the purposes of veterinary or scientific examination, removal of the spinal cord, or any part of it, from an ovine or caprine animal—
(a) aged over 12 months at slaughter, or
(b) that has one or more permanent incisors erupted through the gum,
must take place in accordance with sub-paragraph (2).
(2) Acceptable methods of removal are—
(a) longitudinally splitting the whole vertebral column;
(b) removing a longitudinal section of the whole vertebral column including the spinal cord;
(c) an alternative method approved in accordance with sub-paragraph (3).
(3) The Agency may approve an alternative method of removal at a specified holding provided that the occupier demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Agency that—
(a) the method is appropriate to achieve the objectives of the EUTSE Regulation,
(b) the equipment used to carry out the removal is fully effective, and
(c) the persons using the equipment are properly trained and skilled in its use and maintenance.

8 Authorisation of cutting plants by the Agency
(1) If the Agency is satisfied that the provisions of Annex 5 and this Schedule will be complied with, the Agency may authorise a cutting plant to—
(a) remove those parts of the vertebral column of bovine animals that are specified risk material;
(b) remove the spinal cord from ovine or caprine animals—
(i) aged over 12 months at slaughter, or
(ii) that have a permanent incisor erupted through the gum;
(c) harvest the head meat from bovine animals in accordance with point 9 of Annex 5.
(2) Regulations 7, 9, 10 and 11 apply to any such authorisation, and all references to the Secretary of State in those regulations are to be read as references to the Agency.

9 Removal of specified risk material at a cutting plant authorised under paragraph 8(1)
The occupier of a cutting plant authorised under paragraph 8(1) must as soon as is reasonably practicable after arrival of meat at the plant, and in any event before the meat is removed from the plant, remove from the meat all specified risk material of a kind to which the authorisation relates.

10 Carcases from an EU member State
Where a carcase containing those parts of the vertebral column of a bovine animal that are specified risk material is brought into England from an EU member State, the importer must send it directly to a cutting plant authorised under paragraph 8(1)(a).

11 Staining and disposal of specified risk material
(1) For the purposes of point 3 of Annex 5—
(a) indelible staining must involve treating the material (whether by immersion, spraying or other application) with a blue colouring agent using a solution of such a strength that the staining is clearly visible and remains visible after the specified risk material has been chilled or frozen; and
(b) the stain must be applied in such a way that the colouring is and remains clearly visible—
(i) over the whole of the cut surface and the majority of the head in the case of the head of an ovine or caprine animal; and
(ii) in the case of all other specified risk material, over the whole surface of the material.

12 Security of specified risk material
(1) Pending consignment or disposal from the holding where it was removed, the occupier of the holding must ensure that specified risk material is adequately separated from any food, feedingstuffs, cosmetic, pharmaceutical or medical product, and held in an impervious covered container that is labelled as either—
(a) containing specified risk material, or
(b) category 1 animal by-products, and including the words “For disposal only”.
(2) The occupier must ensure that the container is thoroughly washed as soon as is reasonably practicable each time that it is emptied, and disinfected before use for any other purpose.

13 Prohibition on the sale, supply or possession for sale or supply of specified risk material for human consumption
A person must not sell, supply or possess for sale or supply—
(a) any specified risk material, or any food containing specified risk material, for human consumption; or
(b) any specified risk material for use in the preparation of any food for human consumption.