Rendered Fats & Fish Oils

Rendered fats are defined in Annex 1 of Regulation (EU) No. 142/2011 as fats derived from either the processing:

• of animal by-products or
• of products for human consumption, which an operator has destined for purposes other than human consumption.

Fish oil is defined, in Annex 1 of Regulation (EU) No. 142/2011, as oil derived from the processing of aquatic animals except sea mammals, including farmed aquatic invertebrates, including those covered by Article 3(1)(e) of Directive 2006/88/EC, and starfish of the species Asterias rubens which are harvested in a mollusc production area, or oil from the processing of fish for human consumption, which an operator has destined for purposes other than human consumption.

The raw materials used in the production of rendered fats (excluding fish oil) must be sourced from Category 3 materials referred to in Article 10(a), (b), (d), (e), (f), (g), (h), (i), (j) and (k) Regulation (EC) No. 1069/2009.

The raw materials used in the production of fish oil must be sourced from Category 3 materials referred to in Article 10(e), (f), (i) and (j) in Regulation (EC) No. 1069/2009.

Rendered fat and fish oil can be imported provided that it:

• comes from an approved country/part of a country
• comes from an approved establishment
• is accompanied by and conforms with the requirements of an agreed animal/public health certificate

Rendered fats (excluding fish oil) may be exported to the EU from Third Countries listed in Part 1 of Annex II to Regulation (EU) No. 206/2010.

Fish oil may be exported to the EU from Third Countries found in Annex II to Decision 2006/766/EC.

The products must have been prepared and stored in a plant, approved, validated and supervised by the competent authority in accordance with Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No. 1069/2009.

Lists of approved establishments may be found here (Animal by-products: Section IV)

The rendered fat and the fish oil must have been produced in accordance with Section 3 of Chapter II of Annex X of Regulation (EU) No. 142/2011.

The rendered fat shall comply with the additional requirements set out in Section 3 of Chapter 1 of Regulation (EU) No. 142/2011.

The product must have a label indicating “NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION”.

Products derived from bovine, ovine or caprine animals must meet the relevant requirements of Regulation (EC) No. 999/2001, which lays down the rules for the prevention, control and eradication of TSEs.

Rendered fats (excluding fish oil) shall be presented at a Community Border Inspection Post accompanied by a veterinary health certificate, drawn up in conformity with the model certificate found in Chapter 10(A) of Annex XV in Regulation (EU) No. 142/2011.

Fish oil shall be presented at a Community Border Inspection Post accompanied by a veterinary health certificate, drawn up in conformity with the model certificate found in Chapter 9 of Annex XV in Regulation (EU) No. 142/2011.

The certifying veterinarian should ensure that only the relevant paragraphs and, where appropriate, additional guarantees and/or special conditions applicable to the exporting country are included.

Consignments of animal by-products entering the EU must be inspected at an EU-approved Border Control Post (BCP) where Member States' official veterinarians ensure they fulfil all the requirements provided for in EU legislation.

The operator responsible for the consignment must give the BCP at the intended point of entry advance notification of the arrival of the consignment.

There is a required minimum pre-notification notice period of at least 24 hours’ notice in advance of the consignment’s arrival.

Failure to submit correct documentation within this timeline may result in significant delays in the consignment being processed through the Border Control Post.

Pre-notification is given by the submission of Part 1 of the Common Health Entry Document (CHED-P), as is laid down in Commission Implementing Regulation (EC) No. 2019/1715, through the online TRACES NT system.

Other supporting documentation associated with the consignment should be submitted at this time as well - such as the health certificate, invoice, packing list, bill etc.

Providing all the documentation has been submitted correctly and within the correct timeframes, a large proportion of the documentary check can be commenced in advance of the consignment’s arrival. This includes examination of the veterinary certificate and other documents accompanying a consignment.

Please note the original hard copy of the health certificate must travel with the consignment, this will be checked and held at the BCP at the point of entry into the EU.

Provided all is in order with the documentary check, the consignment will then be subject to an identity check at the BCP to ensure it identifies with the consignment that was declared in the documentation.

A proportion of consignments will be selected for a full physical inspection with/without sampling as appropriate.

Upon satisfactory completion of the required checks, the decision is entered in Part 2 of the CHED which must accompany the consignment to the first place of destination referred to in the CHED.

If the consignment does not meet the import requirements, the consignment may be rejected and either re-exported or destroyed.