§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what analysis his Department has made of the costs of(a) rendering carcases killed under the OTMS prior to incineration and (b) direct incineration of such carcases. [151817]
§ Ms QuinRendering, meat and bonemeal incineration and direct carcase incineration services were procured by the Intervention Board through tenders conducted under EC rules.
Rates charged by individual suppliers vary. Costs by each route are regularly compared. Historically, on a per animal basis, rendering followed by incineration of the resultant MBM and tallow has been cheaper than direct carcase incineration.
However, following recently concluded negotiations leading to the extension of direct carcase incineration contracts, the costs of each disposal route are now more closely aligned.