Specified Risk Material Order 1997
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1997/2964 |
1997 No. 2964
ANIMALSANIMAL HEALTH
The Specified Risk Material Order 1997
Made 16th December 1997
Laid before Parliament 16th December 1997
Coming into force 1st January 1998
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Secretary of State for Scotland and the Secretary of State for Wales, acting jointly, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by sections 1, 10(1)(a) and (c) and (2), 11, 29(2)(b), 35(1), 76(3) and 83(2) of, and paragraphs 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 of Schedule 2 to the Animal Health Act 19811, as applied by the Zoonoses Order 19882, hereby make the following Order:
Title and commencement
1. This Order may be cited as the Specified Risk Material Order 1997 and shall come into force on 1st January 1998.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In this Order—
“approved premises” means premises approved for the purposes of article 10;
“appropriate veterinary authority” means the central authority of a territory empowered to carry out veterinary checks, or any authority in that territory to which it has delegated such powers;
“class I specified risk material” means—
(a) class I specified bovine material; and
(b) class I specified sheep or goat material,
but does not include material derived from animals which—
(i) were slaughtered or died outside the United Kingdom before 1st January 1998; or
(ii) were born, reared and slaughtered in Australia or New Zealand;
“class II specified risk material” means—
(a) class II specified bovine material;
(b) class II specified sheep or goat material;
(c) any part of the animal remaining attached to class I or II specified bovine material or class I or II specified sheep or goat material after dissection of the carcase;
(d) any animal material which comes into contact with class I or II specified bovine material or class I or II specified sheep or goat material after it has been removed from the carcase; and
(e) specified solid waste;
“feeding stuff” has the meaning given to it by section 66(1) of the Agriculture Act 19703, save that it shall apply to products and substances for oral feeding to any creature except a human being, and section 66(2)(b) of that Act shall have effect for the purposes of this Order as it does for the purposes of that Act;
“food” has the same meaning as in the Food Safety Act 19904;
“intestines” means that part of the digestive tract of a bovine animal from the junction of the abomasum and the duodenum to (and including) the rectum and anal sphincter;
“specified bovine material” has the meaning given in article 4;
“specified risk material” means class I specified risk material and class II specified risk material;
“specified sheep or goat material” has the meaning given in article 3;
“specified solid waste” means any solid matter resulting from the slaughter of bovine animals, sheep or goats, or from the subsequent processing of their carcases, which is collected in any part of the drainage system draining any place where specified bovine or sheep or goat material is handled; and
“UK specified risk material” means specified risk material derived from an animal which has died or was slaughtered in the United Kingdom.
(2) For the purposes of this Order the supply of specified risk material, feeding stuffs or cosmetic, pharmaceutical or medical products otherwise than by sale at, in or from any place where specified risk material, feeding stuffs or cosmetic, pharmaceutical or medical products are supplied in the course of a business, shall be deemed to be a sale, and “sell” includes have in possession for or offer or expose for sale.
(3) For the purposes of this Order material shall be treated as a cosmetic, pharmaceutical or medical product whether it is used or intended for use as such by itself or as an ingredient or additive in something which is so used or intended for such use.
(4) Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this Order to articles and Schedules are to articles of and Schedules to this Order.
Specified sheep or goat material
3.—(1) In this Order “class I specified sheep or goat material” means—
(a)
(a) in relation to material derived from a sheep or goat which at the time it was slaughtered or died either had one or more permanent incisor teeth erupted through the gum or was aged more than 12 months—
(i) the skull, including the brain and eyes;
(ii) the tonsils; and
(iii) the spinal cord; and
(b)
(b) the spleen of a sheep or goat.
(2) In this Order “class II specified sheep or goat material” means the head of any sheep or goat which was slaughtered or died in the United Kingdom except—
(a)
(a) any part of it which is class I specified sheep or goat material;
(b)
(b) the horns, where they are removed from the head—
(i) immediately after slaughter;
(ii) before the head is removed from the carcase; and
(iii) without breaking into the cranial cavity; and
(c)
(c) the tongue, where it is removed from the head immediately after slaughter and before the head is stained in accordance with the Specified Risk Material Regulations 19975.
Specified bovine material
4.—(1) In this Order, “class I specified bovine material” means in relation to a bovine animal—
(a)
(a) the skull, including the brain and eyes, tonsils and spinal cord, of an animal which was slaughtered or died outside the UK at an age greater than twelve months; and
(b)
(b) the brains, spinal cord, thymus, tonsils, spleen and intestines of an animal which was slaughtered or died in the UK at an age greater than six months, and also the skull (including the eyes) of such an animal which was aged more than twelve months at the time of death.
(2) In this Order “class II specified bovine material” means in relation to a bovine animal—
(a)
(a) the head of an animal which was slaughtered or died in the United Kingdom at an age of six months or over, except—
(i) any part of the head which is class I specified bovine material; and
(ii) the tongue, where it is removed from the head immediately after slaughter and before the head is stained in accordance with the Specified Risk Material Regulations 1997; and
(b)
(b) the thymus and intestines of an animal which—
(i) died or was slaughtered in the United Kingdom at an age of two months or over but less than six months; or
(ii) was slaughtered in the United Kingdom at an age of less than two months for human consumption.
Approvals and licences
5.—(1) The appropriate Minister may, on application, approve any premises for the purpose of this Order if he is satisfied that such premises are properly equipped to carry out the functions to which the approval relates and comply with the requirements of this Order.
(2) Any approval or licence granted under this Order shall be in writing and may be made subject to conditions and be amended, suspended or revoked at any time by notice in writing served on the person to whom it was granted if the appropriate Minister is satisfied that the conditions of this Order, or any additional conditions in the approval or licence, are not being complied with.
Import of class I specified risk material
6.—(1) No person shall import into Great Britain, otherwise than from the British Islands—
(a)
(a) any class I specified risk material, except where it is to be transported directly to approved premises; or
(b)
(b) any food or feeding stuff listed in Schedule 1, except a food or feeding stuff which—
(i) does not contain any class I specified risk material; and
(ii) is accompanied by a certificate in the form set out in Schedule 2 issued by the appropriate veterinary authority of the place from which the food or feeding stuff was despatched.
(2) Where class I specified risk material is imported under paragraph (1)(a) above the importer shall ensure that it is transported to approved premises without delay.
(3) For the purposes of this article a food or feeding stuff shall be treated as containing class I specified risk material if it contains anything derived from it.
(4) Contravention of, or failure to comply with, any provision of this article shall be an offence to which section 76(3) of the Animal Health Act 1981 applies.
(5) It shall be a defence for any person charged with an offence under paragraph (1) above to prove—
(a)
(a) where it is alleged that he imported a food or feeding stuff listed in Schedule 1 containing class I specified risk material, that he did not know or have any reason to believe that it contained any class I specified risk material;
(b)
(b) where it is alleged that he imported a food or feeding stuff listed in Schedule 1 without the certificate referred to in paragraph (1)(b)(ii) above, that it was accompanied by a document purporting to be the certificate required by that paragraph, which he did not know or have any reason to believe to be false; and
(c)
(c) where it is alleged that he imported a food or feeding stuff listed in Schedule 1 which contained class I specified risk material and was not accompanied by the certificate referred to in paragraph (1)(b)(ii) above, that he did not know or have reason to believe that the food or feeding stuff contained class I specified risk material nor that the document purporting to be the certificate was false.
(6) It shall be a defence for any person charged with an offence under paragraph (2) above to prove that he took all reasonable steps to ensure that it was transported to approved premises as required by that paragraph.
Specified risk material for use in cosmetic, pharmaceutical and medical products
7.—(1) No person shall sell any UK specified risk material for use in the preparation or manufacture of any cosmetic, pharmaceutical or medical product.
(2) No person shall use any UK specified risk material in the preparation or manufacture...
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