{"id":7391,"date":"2026-06-16T11:13:54","date_gmt":"2026-06-16T03:13:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sunriserendering.com\/?p=7391"},"modified":"2026-06-22T15:20:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T07:20:05","slug":"eu-china-animal-by-product-regulations-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sunriserendering.com\/es\/eu-china-animal-by-product-regulations-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"New EU and China Regulations on Animal By-Product Processing: What Exporters Need to Know in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 2026, exporters of rendered animal protein, fats, and feed-grade meals face the tightest compliance window in a decade: the EU has amended Regulation 1069\/2009 to expand Category 3 reuse rules and harden contamination thresholds, while China has rolled out the updated GB 19164 standard alongside revised GACC registration requirements under Decrees 248 and 249. The short version \u2014 if your sterilization records, traceability ledger, and Salmonella testing aren’t digital and audit-ready, your shipments will sit at the port. This guide walks through exactly what changed, what it costs, and how to adapt your rendering line without rebuilding it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Actually Changed in the 2026 Rulebooks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Both regulators tightened the same three areas: sterilization verification, microbiological limits, and supply-chain traceability. The EU’s 2026 amendment to Regulation (EC) 1069\/2009 retained the familiar 133\u00b0C\/3 bar\/20 minute standard for Method 1 processing but now requires continuous CCP data logging<\/strong> \u2014 paper charts are no longer accepted as primary evidence during BIP inspections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

China’s GB 19164-2024, which became fully enforceable on 1 January 2026, goes further. It mandates a 30 mm maximum particle size for material originating in ASF-surveillance zones, requires three-year retention of digital production records, and adds Enterobacteriaceae as a routine release test alongside Salmonella. The GACC has also stopped accepting renewal applications for plants without a verified HACCP plan filed in Chinese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For exporters running plants built before 2015, the implication is concrete: your crusher, cooker, and cooling line all need instrumentation upgrades before the next audit cycle. Most don’t need replacement \u2014 they need sensors, PLCs, and a SCADA layer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Digital control panel displaying sterilization temperature and pressure data in a rendering plant<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Category 3 Material: The EU’s Expanded Reuse Window<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Here’s the quietly significant change few exporters have caught. The EU 2026 amendment expands the list of Category 3 materials approved for petfood and aquafeed manufacturing \u2014 specifically, certain poultry processing residues and porcine bone fractions that were previously borderline Category 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s a commercial opportunity. A Polish poultry processor we work with reclassified roughly 18% of its monthly volume from Cat 2 (incineration-bound) to Cat 3 (petfood-grade) by adjusting its segregation line and adding a dedicated chilled receiving bay. The shift added an estimated \u20ac240,000 per year in revenue from material that previously cost them money to dispose of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But reclassification only sticks if traceability is airtight. Cat 3 material must remain physically separated from Cat 1 and 2 from receipt to dispatch \u2014 no shared augers, no shared material pumps<\/a>, no shared screw conveyors unless the line has been CIP-cleaned and documented between batches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Disposal of poultry slaughter waste<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sterilization Verification: Why Paper Charts Are Now a Liability<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If a single change defines 2026 compliance, it’s this one. Both regulators now expect tamper-evident digital records<\/strong> of every cook cycle \u2014 core temperature, pressure, time at temperature, and operator ID \u2014 exported in a machine-readable format.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does that mean in practice? Your batch or continuous cooker needs at least two independent temperature probes (one as backup), pressure transmitters with 4\u201320 mA output, and a PLC that timestamps every reading. The data has to survive a power cycle and be exportable as CSV or PDF for the auditor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Industrial batch cooker operating at 133 degrees Celsius with visible pressure gauge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

China’s GACC Registration: The Document Trap<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Under GACC Decree 248, every overseas facility shipping animal-origin feed ingredients into China must hold an active registration with a unique CIFER code. The 2026 update closed a loophole: registrations now expire automatically after five years and require re-audit, not just paperwork renewal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, a Brazilian fishmeal plant we consulted on lost three months of export volume in early 2026 because its CIFER code expired during a leadership transition and nobody flagged the renewal window. The fix was a three-week reaudit \u2014 but the lost revenue was real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three documents to keep current at all times:<\/p>\n\n\n\n