Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland
1996 No. 186

FOOD
Specified Bovine Material (Treatment and Disposal) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

Made
3rd May 1996

Coming into operation
7th May 1996

The Department of Agriculture, in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 15(1) and (2)(g), (h) and (i) and 72(4) of the Food (Northern Ireland) Order 1989(1) and now vested in it(2) and of every other power enabling it in that behalf, and after consultation, in accordance with Article 72(2) of that Order, with such organisations that appear to it to be representative of interests substantially affected by the Regulations, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Specified Bovine Material (Treatment and Disposal) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 and shall come into operation on 7th May 1996.

Amendment of the Specified Bovine Material (Treatment and Disposal) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996

2.  The Specified Bovine Material (Treatment and Disposal) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996(3) shall be amended as provided by regulations 3 to 6.

3.—(1) In regulation 2(1) (Interpretation)—

(a)after the definition of “the SBM Order” there shall be inserted the following definition—

““scheme animal” means a bovine animal which has been slaughtered pursuant to the purchase, slaughter and disposal scheme introduced under Commission Regulation (EC) No. 716/96(4) adopting exceptional support measures for the beef market in the United Kingdom;”.

(b)for the definition of “specified bovine material” there shall be substituted the following definition—

““specified bovine material” means—

(a)
subject to paragraph (d) of this definition, the head (including the brain but excluding the tongue), spinal cord, spleen, thymus, tonsils and intestines of a bovine animal six months old or over which has died in the United Kingdom or has been slaughtered there;

(b)
the thymus and intestines of a bovine animal two months old or over but less than six months old which has died in the United Kingdom or has been slaughtered there;

(c)
the thymus and intestines of a bovine animal under two months old which has been slaughtered in the United Kingdom for human consumption; and

(d)
subject to paragraph (4), the head (including the brain and the tongue), spinal cord, spleen, thymus, tonsils and intestines of a scheme animal,

and includes anything left attached to such material after dissection of the carcase and any animal matter which comes into contact with the material after it has been removed from the carcase, but does not include the whole carcase;”.

(c)in the definition of “stain” after the words “in relation to any material” there shall be inserted the words “except in regulation 6(8)”.

(4) After regulation 2(3) there shall be added—

“(4) The provisions of these Regulations shall apply to specified bovine material from a scheme animal, except that the provisions appearing in Column 1 of the Table in the Schedule shall apply only to the extent, and subject to the modifications, specified in Column 2 thereof.”.

4.  After regulation 5 (Prohibitions applying to the vertebral column) there shall be inserted—

“Registration of premises on which meat is recovered by mechanical means from bovine animals

5A.—(1) A person shall not on any premises recover meat by mechanical means from the carcase of a bovine animal unless his name and the address of those premises are registered with the Department.

(2) The Department shall keep a register for the purpose of paragraph (1).

(3) An application for registration under this regulation shall be in writing and be in such form and manner as the Department may require.

(4) The Department shall refuse to register the name of any person in respect of any premises unless the following particulars are notified to it in writing:

(a)the business name, if any;

(b)the name and address of the person who carries on the business;

(c)the address and telephone number of the business;

(d)the address of each premises at which meat is recovered by mechanical means from a bovine animal in the course of the business.

(5) A person whose name is registered in respect of any premises shall notify the Department in writing of any change in the particulars previously notified to it under paragraph (4) within 14 days of any such change.”.

5.  In regulation 6 (Initial treatment of bovine carcases in a slaughterhouse)—

(a)in paragraph (1) for the word “separated” there shall be substituted the word “removed”.

(b)after paragraph (7) there shall be added the following paragraph—

“(8) In the case of a scheme animal, the occupier shall ensure that, once the specified bovine material has been removed, the remainder of the carcase (excluding the hide) is stained immediately with a 0.5% weight/volume solution of the colouring agent Tartrazine E102, Colour Index No. 19140(5), in such a way that the colouring is clearly visible over the whole surface.”.

6.  The following Schedule shall be added—

Regulation 2(4)

“SCHEDULEApplication of the Regulations to Scheme Animals

Provision of the
Extent to which provision applies to Scheme Animals

Regulations

Regulation 5
Not applicable

Regulation 5A
Not applicable

Regulation 6(3)
Subject to the modification that the tongue may not be removed

Regulation 6(4)
Subject to the modification that specified bovine material may come into contact with any animal material from a scheme animal

Regulation 6(7)
Not applicable

Regulation 7(1), (3), (4) and (5)
Not applicable

Regulation 7(2)
Subject to the modification that specified bovine material may come into contact with any animal material from a scheme animal

Regulation 9(1)
Subject to the modification that the exception shall apply only where examination in accordance with regulation 6(6) so requires

Regulation 9(5)
Subject to the modification that the words “buried or” and “burial or” shall be deemed to be deleted

Regulation 10(1)(a)

Subject to the modification that the exception shall apply only where examination in accordance with regulation 6(6) so requires

Regulation 13(1)
Subject to the modification that protein and tallow produced from specified bovine material of a scheme animal shall be consigned to an approved incinerator for incineration

Regulation 14
Not applicable”

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Agriculture on 3rd May 1996.

L.S.
P. T. Toal
Assistant Secretary

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)
These Regulations amend the Specified Bovine Material (Treatment and Disposal) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996. The Regulations make the following principal changes:
1.  The definition of specified bovine material extends to parts of the carcase of a scheme animal, that is to say a bovine animal slaughtered pursuant to the purchase, slaughter and disposal scheme introduced under Commission Regulation (EC) No. 716/96 adopting exceptional support measures for the beef market in the United Kingdom (regulation 2(1)).

2.  The Specified Bovine Material (Treatment and Disposal) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1996 apply with modifications to specified bovine material from a scheme animal (regulations 2(2) and 6). In particular:—

(a)the tongue of a scheme animal may not be removed;

(b)specified bovine material may come into contact with any animal material from a scheme animal;

(c)protein and tallow produced from a scheme animal shall be disposed of only by incineration at an approved incinerator.

3.  A person shall not on any premises recover meat by mechanical means from a carcase of a bovine animal unless his name and certain particulars in respect of those premises are registered with the Department (regulation 4).

4.  The occupier of a slaughterhouse must ensure that once the specified bovine material has been removed from the carcase of a scheme animal, the remainder of that carcase (excluding the hide) is stained in a specified manner (regulation 5(b)).

(1)
S.I. 1989/846 (N.I. 6)

(2)
S.R. 1990 No. 394 transferred functions under Article 5(1) insofar as it relates to meat and Article 5(2)(g), (h) and (i) insofar as it relates to meat and poultry from the Department of Health and Social Services to the Department of Agriculture

(3)
S.R. 1996 No. 134

(4)
O.J. No. L99, 19.4.96, p. 14

(5)
Colour Index is published by the Society of Dyers and Colourists at Perkin House, 82 Grattan Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD1 2JB