Animal by-products (ABP), while not suitable for human consumption, are converted into products that are brought to good use in many areas important for our daily lives. These include hides used to produce leather, fats used to produce biodiesel, or proteins, fats and microelements used for feeding animals, for the manufacture of medical devices, cosmetics and substrates for the pharmaceutical industry.

What all of these uses have in common is the requirement for quality and safety of the products derived from ABP and the need for effective oversight of ABP operators by the responsible competent authorities.

A new overview report from the European Commission has looked at the situation in the EU.  It has found that inspections and checks carried out by the competent authorities (official controls) along the production chain of ABP and the products derived are generally implemented well.  Nevertheless, the complexity of certain technical and engineering aspects of operators’ activities are challenging for competent authorities to check, requiring specialist knowledge to be effective. The EU Member States are working hard to address these challenges.

To read more about how ABP are brought to good use, please click here: