Fish By-Product Renderers

Overview

On July 12, 2007, a series of amendments to the Feeds Regulations, 1983, and the Health of Animals Regulations came into effect, to further protect animal health and accelerate the eradication of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Canada. Since BSE was first reported in Canada in 2003, Canada's trading partners have demanded additional assurances and certification of animal products, by-products, and feeds containing these ingredients. In addition to banning the use of certain cattle tissues in animal feed, pet food and fertilizers, the regulatory amendments introduced new controls on animal product renderers. Many of our trading partners consider fish by-products to be an animal product.

For the purposes of this fact sheet, fish by-product renderers are defined as those who receive inedible offal, fish or fish by-products from fish processing plants or other sources and render it to produce fish meal or fish oil products.

Requirements for fish by-product renderers

As a result of the regulatory amendments described above, the following requirements apply to all fish by-product rendering facilities as of July 12, 2007:

• All rendering facilities (including those processing fish by-products) must obtain and operate under a permit issued by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), and be subject to routine inspection by the CFIA;
• Rendering facilities that import fish by-products will be required to obtain a Health of Animals import permit;
• Rendering facilities that export fish by-products (including fish meal and fish oil) will be required to obtain a CFIA export certification; and
• Fish by-product renderers are required to keep production and distribution records for 10 years.

One of the benefits of these amendments is enhanced traceability of fish meal and fish oil from both domestic and import sources through the feed system. Fish meal and fish oil have a broad range of applications in animal feeds and fertilizers. Identifying the locations and origin of primary ingredients, such as fish meal and fish oil, allows the CFIA to more effectively direct its resources to monitoring and sampling activities related to the safety of these products. Sampling and testing these ingredients directly, rather than the finished feed products, provides a more accurate picture of the safety of the ingredients.

Rendering Plant Operating Permits

Rendering permits are issued for a period of one year, normally beginning on April 1^st and ending on March 31^st. There are no fees for a permit. Permit issuance is subject to an inspection of the rendering facility showing that it is in full compliance with the regulations. Once a fish by-product renderer has been identified, and a preliminary inspection completed, a temporary rendering permit will be issued to them.

All fish by-products renderers must have a CFIA rendering permit to continue operating.

For more information, please contact a CFIA Feed Program Specialist in your area at the appropriate telephone number:

Atlantic Area: 902-426-1410
Québec Area: 514-283-3815 (ext. 4377)
Ontario Area: 519-826-2910
Western Area: 204-983-7441

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