The introduction of new European Union (EU) legislation allows some products from Category 3-type meat and bone meal reenter the feed chain, but subjected to strict conditions.
The limitation on what will be allowed to be re-included in livestock rations will be governed by the inter-species recycling ban and the ability of industry to identify what species a sample has been taken from. Under the animal by-products regulation, Regulation No. 1774/2002, the EU Commission should be satisfied that these materials pose no risk.
“There is currently no scientific ground for the exclusion of all Category 3 [fit for human consumption] materials from the feed chain,” said Doug Ward, president of the European Fat Processors and Renderers Association (EFPRA). “However, should ‘consumer science’ legislate that these materials cannot be used, then the EU would be challenged through the World Trade Organization as there is not a bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) problem associated with poultry or porcine proteins,” he added.
“With the proposed new legislation you have to be able to identify what the product is that you are sampling,” Ward said. “That’s the difficulty at present. EFPRA’s scientific committee met in Denmark [recently] to review progress being made towards a test method that will accurately determine the raw material used in a meat and bone meal product.
“Both the EU and our industry are working on these tests and we are getting close to acceptable test methods,” Ward commented. The tests will have to be practical to use, robust and commercially viable, and have a level of detection that is acceptable, he added.
EFPRA’s Vice President, N.C. Leth Nielsen of Denmark, said that markers are also being developed for Category 1 and 2 materials, but none have been validated by the EU.
“We are working on one for both meal and tallow called C7, which has been used extensively by the dairy industry to verify butter,” Nielsen commented. “We can find this marker after treatment in both meals and fats and we can introduce it into the raw materials.
“In Category 1 and Category 2 meals, we can add magnetic plastic markers that are unique and can easily be screened,” he continued. “They are colored and are heat resistant.
“We are not looking for a marker for Category 3 materials, but there is a requirement under the animal by-products regulation 1774 to control the inter-species ban,” Nielsen said. “We are working with specie-specific tests to achieve that.”
Some Products Allowed Back in Aqua Feed
Blood products and blood meal have been allowed back into aquaculture feeds in the EU since September 1, 2003, thanks to Commission Regulation 1234/2003, which is an amendment to the transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) regulation 999/2001.
According to Nielsen, this is a “very promising” and significant development and is the first break in the ban on animal protein use in livestock feeds in the EU since its inception.
“However, it comes with strict conditions attached,” he said. “The products must be from pure, single-species production facilities and can only be used if the origin of the material is porcine or avian. It means the slaughterhouse must be a single-species plant and the processing of the blood must be carried out in a separate, dedicated facility. Finally, the inclusion of blood products into aqua diets must only take place in facilities restricted to aqua feed production.”
Nielsen admits that these requirements may be too strict for some industries in some EU countries, but in his country, Denmark, there are single-species slaughter houses and dedicated plants processing blood meal from Category 3 porcine blood. These will meet the new conditions for the re-use of blood meal.
“This gives our industry very good traceability, which is what is required under the amendment 1234/2003 of the TSE regulation,” Nielsen stated. “It’s a break with the feed ban and opens the door a little to future changes.”
He added that the preamble of the amendment sets out a very important aim of the legislation – that when controls are in place and Regulation No. 1774/2002 has been adopted, then it may be possible to see if the ban on poultry and porcine products can be lifted further.
“In the not too distant future, I can see the EU allowing porcine and avian materials in general being used in aqua feeds,” Nielsen said. “I believe that this is already in the pipeline and the next step will probably be to allow porcine material back into poultry diets.”
The re-introduction of animal proteins of porcine and avian origin in feeds are further supported by opinions expressed by the EU’s Scientific Steering Committee – that the natural occurrence of TSE in pigs and poultry has never been proven.
International Report - December 2003 Render