Meat and bone meal

To prevent bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) from spreading, the European Commission has taken several measures. The most important ones are the removing of specified risk material from the food chain, applying appropriate rendering conditions for the production of animal by-products and the ban of meat and bone meal (MBM) from mammals in compound feed for ruminants ( Regulation (EC) No 999/2001 (icon)).

Due to a lack of appropriate animal specific tests, i.e. selective methods for detecting mammalian proteins in the presence of proteins from other animals, the ban on meat and bone meal was extended in 2001 to cover feed for almost all farmed animals ( Commission Regulation (EC) No 1234/2003 (icon)). The only official method in the EU for the detection of banned meat and bone meal in feed is microscopy ( Commission Regulation (EC) No 152/2009), which does not yield precise information about the origin of the detected bones. Other methods are applied to the analysis of feed samples for the presence of banned processed animal proteins, such as methods based on: polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunoassay and near infrared microscopy (NIRM).

IRMM is involved in the SAFEED-PAP European Project "Detection of presence of species-specific processed animal proteins in animal feed" that will run for 3 years starting on the 1st of December 2006. The project will use the inherent differences and complementarities of the various methods in terms of their targets to develop and validate species specific methods and measurement strategies in order to consider a possible lifting of the extended feed ban.


Reports from IRMM:

Ruggedness study of immunoassays for processed animal proteins detection in feed: Neogen Reveal for Ruminant Feed Test System (icon 883KB ) (September 2006)
Prevalidation study for the detection of processed animal proteins (PAPs) in feed by PCR (icon 2296KB ) (June 2006)
Determination of Processed Animal Proteins (PAPs) including meat and bone meal (MBM) in feed (icon 1371KB ) (September 2004)
Overview of methods for the detection of species specific proteins in feed intended for farmed animals. Status: September 2004 (icon 499KB ) (September 2004)
The validation of the microscopic method selected in the Stratfeed project for detection of processed animal proteins in feed (icon 535KB ) (June 2004)
Intercomparison study for the determination of processed animal proteins including meat and bone meal in animal feed (icon 3064KB ) (May 2003)


Read more:

Prado Rodriguez M, Fumiere O, Boix A, Marien A, Berben G, Von Holst C. Novel Approach for Interlaboratory Transfer of Real-time PCR Methods: Detecting Bovine Meat and Bone Meal in Feed. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 394 (5); 2009. p. 1423-1431.

Fumiere O, Veys P, Boix A, von Holst C, Baeten V, Berben G. Methods of detection, species identification and quantification of precessed animal proteins in feedingstuffs. Biotechnol. Agron. Soc. Environ. 13(1); 2009, p. 57-68.

Von Holst C, Baeten V, Boix A, Slowikowski B, Pierna J, Tirendi S, Dardenne P. Transferability Study of a Near-Infrared Microscopic Method for the Detection of Banned Meat and Bone Meal in Feedingstuffs . Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry 392; 2008. p. 313-317.

Prado Rodriguez M, Berben G, Fumiere O, Van Duijn G, Mensinga-Kruize J, Reaney S, Boix A, Von Holst C. Detection of Ruminant Meat and Bone Meals in Animal Feed by Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR): Results of an Interlaboratory Study. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 55; 2007. p. 7495-7501.

Van Raamsdonk L, Von Holst C, Baeten V, Berben G, Boix A, De Jong J. New Developments in the Detection and Identification of Processed Animal Proteins in Feeds. Animal Feed Science and Technology 133; 2007. p. 63-83.




See also project Stratfeed.




Last Update 20/10/2009