EU proposals threaten sale of Used Cooking Oils

New EU regulations aimed at tightening up on how restaurateurs store and sell their Used Cooking Oils to biodiesel producers will have a detrimental effect on an already struggling industry, reports the Restaurants Association of Ireland.

The new regulations require traceability schemes and procedures for the use of animal by-products for health-related reasons. UCOs that were in contact with meat products will be considered as animal by-product in the meaning of the regulation.

Restaurants will therefore be required to implement additional special procedures for collecting their UCOs, storing them in ‘special disposal’ for animal fat and implementing traceability schemes at huge costs to restaurant owners, claims the RAI.
The move comes at a time when restaurants are being put under pressure from every angle and RAI Chief Executive Adrian Cummins stated that his members vehemently oppose the EU regulation.

“This law would mean that restaurants would not be in a position to sell their UCOs to companies for transformation into biodiesel – or only at very cheap prices; that wouldn’t cover the inordinate costs associated with the new procedures,” he said, “Most restaurants are battling the odds to survive as it is; they don’t need these costly regulations placed on them as well.”