Volume 13: Industry Processes and Controls
7. Animal feed manufacture
Legislative changes and developments in the process post-BSE
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Order 1988
Voluntary animal SBO ban
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (No. 2) Amendment Order 1990
Feeding Stuffs Regulations 1991
EC Decisions 94/474/EC and 95/287/EC

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Order 1988

7.57 This Order, implementing the 'ruminant feed ban', banned the feeding to ruminant animals, and the sale or supply for feeding to ruminant animals, of any feedstuffs containing MBM derived from ruminant animals, for a limited period. ¹ The ban commenced on 18 July 1988. UKASTA informed its members of the prospective ban on 3 June 1988. The ban was later extended, first for another year and then indefinitely.

7.58 As ruminant protein could no longer be fed to ruminant animals, ruminant feed formulations had to be amended to substitute a non-ruminant protein source. Material derived from pigs and poultry could still legally be used in ruminant feed, and some renderers considered the possibility of producing MBM guaranteed to be derived only from porcine material. However, this was never pursued (see vol. 5: Animal Health, 1989-96). ² The feed manufacturers stopped using MBM in ruminant feeds. J Bibby Agriculture decided to exclude poultry meal and other animal by-products as well. ³ By the early 1990s, pressure from the supermarkets meant that, to a large extent, other manufacturers also stopped using poultry material altogether. ⁴ Mr Paul Foxcroft of PDM said that the use of poultry protein in ruminant feed was 'almost nonexistent since March 1986'. ⁵

Voluntary animal SBO ban

7.59 On 9 November 1989 - in response to the imminent Bovine Offal (Prohibition) Regulations 1989 banning Specified Bovine Offal (SBO) in food for human consumption - UKASTA issued Feed Circular No. 454, introducing a voluntary ban on the use of SBO in animal feedstuffs. ⁶ Compliance with this voluntary ban by animal feed manufacturers is examined in vol. 5: Animal Health, 1989-96.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (No. 2) Amendment Order 1990

7.60 One part of this Order, which came into force on 25 September 1990, prohibited the use of SBO or MBM derived from SBO in any animal or poultry feed. ⁷ It had a limited impact upon the feed industry insofar as the voluntary ban was already in place. Dr Helen Raine of J Bibby Agriculture said in her statement:

The Order itself had no effect on the industry as the action took place 9 months prior to it becoming law. On 15 November 1989 Bibby wrote to all of its MBM suppliers stating that all MBM supplies must not contain any SBO material or fallen animals as from 1 December 1989.' ⁸

7.61 The new Order also had the unintended effect of extending the ruminant feed ban to the feeding of any animal protein to ruminants. However, this oversight was described as having 'no effect' because no rendering plant was producing MBM for incorporation into ruminant feeds from, say, 'just pig material'. ⁹ The error was subsequently amended by the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy Order 1991, which came into force on 6 November 1991. ¹⁰

Feeding Stuffs Regulations 1991

7.62 Under these Regulations, for the first time the statutory statement which a seller of compound animal feed was obliged to give to the buyer was required to list all the ingredients of the feed in descending order of weight. ¹¹ The ingredients could be described either by their specific names (for example, MBM) or by the names of categories in a schedule to the Regulations to which they belonged. In the case of MBM, provided certain criteria were met, the relevant category name was 'Land animal products'.

Spongiform Encephalopathy (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 1994

7.63 This Order came into force on 2 November 1994 and implemented Commission Decision 94/381/EC, which prohibited the feeding of protein derived from any mammalian tissues to ruminant animals. In practice, the ruminant feed ban had always operated as if it so provided.

EC Decisions 94/474/EC and 95/287/EC

7.64 Among other things, Commission Decision 94/474/EC required that the UK ensure that SBO material was removed from the carcasses of cattle, stained and destroyed. ¹² It also prohibited the use of ruminant protein in ruminant rations. Since these requirements merely restated the position in existing domestic law, they had no effect on practice.

7.65 In addition, Decision 94/474/EC required that scientific tests be carried out to ensure that 'ruminant protein destined for use in pig and poultry rations and other uses is not included in ruminant rations'. This requirement was further tightened by Commission Decision 95/287/EC, which required that an ELISA test which could detect the presence of protein be used routinely to monitor feeds intended to be fed to ruminants, in order to ensure that ruminant protein was not incorporated in them. ¹³

7.66 Representatives of both J Bibby and Dalgety Agriculture said in statements that, after this decision, there were regular visits to their mills by SVS staff to take samples of their ruminant feed for testing. ¹⁴