East Cambridgeshire District Council

Disposal of Waste Foods: Animal By-Products Regulations 2003

Does your business produce waste food or animal waste?

If you are a food retailer, distributor or manufacturer, or a caterer then these regulations may affect you.

Purpose of the Regulations
These Regulations, which came into force on the 1st July 2003, lay down rules for the collection, handling, transport, storage and disposal of animal by-products which include catering waste and former foodstuffs and other animal waste. They aim to control the risks, including disease, to both animals and the public.
Now some products must not be disposed of through the normal waste collection service, and there are rules on –

• who can collect the waste from you and how they can destroy it,
• keeping records of the waste produced, and
• cleaning and disinfection

Catering waste
Catering waste means all waste food (including used cooking oils) originating in restaurants, catering facilities and kitchens, including domestic kitchens. The disposal of catering waste is only controlled by the Regulations if you are sending it:

• for animal consumption, or
• for use in a biogas plant or for composting

All other catering waste can continue to be disposed of to landfill in the normal way. However, you must ensure that the waste is stored in covered leak proof containers to which wild animals & birds cannot gain access.
If the catering operation shares premises with another food activity such as retail, bakery, or butchery then the non-catering waste must be disposed of as set out below.

Waste Food originating from retailers, distributors, wholesalers, manufacturers

The following two categories of food products fall into the lowest category of animal by-product waste, which is Category 3, and so must be disposed of in accordance with the above Regulations.

• Raw meat and fish – includes meat and fish off-cuts, products that require cooking before consumption, e.g scampi, fish fingers, raw sausages, chicken kiev, bacon. These products must be collected by a licensed carrier and disposed of in an approved manner, e.g. by rendering, incineration, or disposal at an approved biogas or composting plant.
• Former foodstuffs that is, food of animal origin or that contains animal origin ingredients and is no longer intended for human consumption (for example due to commercial reasons, or manufacturing/packaging defects, and also out of date foods). This includes, for example, sliced meats, cooked sausages, pies and pasties, smoked salmon, Parma ham, ready meals with meat or fish, tinned Pasta Bolognese, dried Chicken Noodles and waste from delicatessen counters.

Up until the 31st December 2005 former foodstuffs can continue to be put in with your normal waste collection, but you must separate all raw meat and fish into a different bin. If raw meat or fish is mixed with former foodstuffs than the consignment must be dealt with as Category 3 Material and disposed of by rendering or incineration.
A flow chart is available for downloading to help you decide how to dispose of your food waste.

What must I do with waste food that cannot go to landfill?

• Store all waste raw meat and fish separately from other waste.
  (From 1st January 2006 this will also include all former foodstuffs.)
• Waste Containers: Animal by-product waste must be stored in a clean, lidded leak proof container and must be labelled ‘Category 3 material’ and ‘Not intended for Human Consumption’.
  Storage should not pose a risk of contamination to other foodstuffs, nor be left exposed to animals or wild birds.
• Collection must be by a Licensed Carrier (see below for how to find one) and be taken to an approved premise for the correct method of disposal. You may want to work with other local retailers to establish a workable collection route by the same collector. The Licensed Carrier must give you a Commercial Document specifying

(a) the date the material was moved;
(b)description of the material and the category description;
(c)the quantity of material;
(d)place of origin of material;
(e)name and address of carrier;
(f)name and address of receiver and approval number (if applicable)

• Records As a consignor of animal by-product waste you must additionally keep a record showing (a) (b) (e) & (f) above. Both the Commercial Documents and Records are required to be kept for two years and must be available for inspection by an authorised inspector.
• Cleansing & Disinfection After each collection you must thoroughly clean and disinfect the container.
• Emergencies You are advised to make plans in case of an emergency e.g. a freezer breakdown or product recall when you may have to destroy large amounts of animal by-product at short notice.
  What about ‘Sale or Return’ foods?
  You can continue your normal practices with your supplier. However you cannot use them to dispose of other former foodstuffs (e.g. out of date / damaged canned or dried meat products); they should be collected by a Licensed Carrier, as detailed above.

Do I have to empty food from its packaging before it is collected?

You should check with your Licensed Collector that they will accept waste animal by-products in its packaging. If they will not, then packaging must be properly emptied before the Category 3 Materials is collected by the Licensed Carrier and the empty packaging is then sent to landfill. Packaging can still be sent to landfill if it contains catering waste or former foodstuffs (for former foodstuffs this will only apply until 31st December 2005).

Where can I get a list of Approved Carriers?

Details of Licensed Carriers and Approved Premises to transport and dispose of animal by-product waste can be provided by Cambridgshire Trading Standards Service. A list is also available on the Defra website, or by contacting Defra on 0116 278 7451. You will also find companies in telephone and internet directories under “animal by-products”.

This is only a very brief guide to the regulations. More details are available from the Cambridgeshire County Council Trading Standards Service and from the DEFRA website.

This information is designed to offer initial guidance on an area of trading standards legislation and is not intended to be an authoritative document on the law.
Last reviewed/updated: June 2004
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