Animal by-products

Animal by-products (ABPs) are materials obtained from animals which are not intended for human consumption. ABPs include:

• Slaughterhouse waste (skin, bones, horn and hooves, blood, fat and offal).
• Catering waste.
• Fallen stock.
• Dead pets.
• Materials produced by animals such as manure, eggshells, feathers, wool, beeswax.
• Former foodstuff of animal origin such as milk, eggs, meat that is no longer suitable for human consumption (commercial reasons, quality, production failures etc.).

Animal by-products offer important benefits. They have a high nutritional value and therefore can be used to make products such as fertilizers, feed, biofuels, and cosmetics. Animal fat and vegetable oil can also be used in the production of alternative energy sources such as biodiesel or renewable fuels.

In the EU, over 20 million tonnes of ABPs are produced every year from slaughterhouses, industries producing food for human consumption, and fallen stock from farms.

EU framework

The use, storage, processing, and disposal of animal by-products is strictly regulated in the EU. Legislation is in place to control the risks associated with the handling, collection, processing, and trade of different types of animal by-products.

The legislation divides animal by-products into three categories based on the potential risk to animals, humans or the environment and sets out how each category should be used or disposed of.

EFSA's role

EFSA assesses risks from animal by-products following requests from the European Commission. Its scientific advice informs the decisions of EU risk managers.

For example, EFSA’s scientific advice on animal by-products informed the decision to partially lift the ban on their use for animal feed in the EU. The change in legislation, which took place in 2021, allowed processed animal proteins (PAPs) from pigs to be used in poultry feed, and PAPs from poultry to be used in pig feed.

Previously, the use of PAPs in animal feed had been banned to prevent BSE from spreading from animals to humans via the food chain.

In addition, EFSA evaluates the safety of alternative methods for processing animal by-products. Under EU legislation, applications for new methods should be submitted to the national competent authority of an EU member state and their safety assessed by EFSA. The European Commission decides whether to authorise the alternative method A method which can be used in research to replace traditional animal testing with non-invasive methods or substitution. See also replacement, reduction and refinement (3Rs)..

Over the years, EFSA has evaluated several alternative processing methods to produce biodiesel and renewable fuels or for other purposes such as compost, feed, and biogas fertilisers. If an alternative method receives a positive evaluation, it is included in the legislation.