Animal by-products are those parts of the animal and products derived therefrom which are not used for human consumption. Animal by-products may contain biological and chemical substances harmful to human and animal health, particularly if they end up in the food chain. By-products are formed, for example, during slaughtering, after which they must be delivered to processing plant facilities or to other final locations permitted by law. Under certain conditions in remote areas, by-products can be buried in the ground or delivered to authorised landfill sites. In addition, burying a limited amount of fish by-products and delivering them to landfills is allowed throughout Finland.
From the beginning of 2023, amendments in the animal by-product legislation came into force regarding the disposal of fish- and horse-derived by-products in Finland. In this project, the potential health risks for humans and animals caused by the amendments and how well the remote areas of Finland meet the criteria given in the legislation are investigated.
The goal is:
- to assess the disease risk associated with the disposal of fish- and horse-derived by-products by burial or delivery to landfill sites in remote areas and for limited quantities of fish-derived by-products in areas not considered remote;
- to find out how much fish-derived by-products are produced and how they are processed or disposed;
- to describe the special features related to the burial of by-products;
- to examine whether the areas defined as remote areas of Finland meet the criteria given in the legislation.
Timetable
2023
Project funding
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland
Research group
- Pirkko Tuominen (Finnish Food Authority, Risk Assessment Unit)
- Leena Seppä-Lassila (Finnish Food Authority, Risk Assessment Unit)
- Heidi Rossow (Finnish Food Authority, Risk Assessment Unit)
- Suvi Joutsen (Finnish Food Authority, Risk Assessment Unit)
- Petra Pasonen (Finnish Food Authority, Risk Assessment Unit)
- Terhi Järvelä (Finnish Food Authority, Risk Assessment Unit)
Project publications
Seppä-Lassila L, Joutsen S, Järvelä T, Rossow H, Pasonen P & Tuominen P (2024) Disease risks arising from the disposal of fish- and horse-derived by-products. Finnish Food Authority Research Reports 1/2024. ISBN 978-952-358-056-5. http://hdl.handle.net/10138/569902 (description in English)
Additional information
- Leena Seppä-Lassila, leena.seppa-lassila@ruokavirasto.fi
- Pirkko Tuominen, pirkko.tuominen@ruokavirasto.fi