New animal by products regulation published

Regulation (EC) No 1069/2009 laying down health rules as regards animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1774/2002 (Animal by-products Regulation) was published in the EU’s Official Journal (OJ) on 14 November 2009. The new regulation is aimed at introducing more risk-proportionate rules and at clarifying the rules on animal by-products, as well as their interaction with other EU legislation.

It includes the concept of an “end point” in the manufacturing of animal by-products, after which the processed products are no longer subject to the animal by-products regulation. Furthermore, once a product has become an animal by-product, it must not re-enter the food chain. A registration obligation is introduced for operators who transport animal by-products, in order to strengthen traceability.

The new regulation enters into force 20 days after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU and becomes applicable 15 months after its entry into force. The basic principles of the current regulation on animal by-products, 1774/2002, however, remain unchanged.

The Regulation can be found here:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2009:300:0001:0033:EN:PDF