HANDLING OF "ANIMAL BY-PRODUCTS"
(BIOLOGICAL SAMPLEs)
Definition
Animal by-products are carcasses, parts of carcasses or products of animal origin that are not intended for human consumption. This includes biological sample material. This includes, in the context of our research:
- “Aquatic animals”
- Fish (Chondroichthyes, Osteichthyes)
- Molluscs (Mollusca)
- Crustaceans (Crustacea)
- (Marine) Mammals (Mammalia)
- Birds (Aves)
Live animals do not count as animal by-products. Separate regulations apply to the import of live animals. Due to EU regulations for animal by-products and customs regulations, AWI is obliged to comply with legal requirements both for import and further handling of biological samples, with the aim of avoiding a spread of risks to human and animal health. This concerns:
(3) the transfer of sample material in Germany and within the EU, or
(4) outside the EU, and
Registration is required in order to handle animal by-products. AWI sites are registered with the respective competent veterinary authorities:
a) DE 04 012 0007 21 Bremerhaven,
b) DE 01 056 0001 21 Helgoland,
c) DE 01 054 0001 21 Sylt.
d) DE 12 054 0037 21 Potsdam.
Competent veterinary authorities are:
a) Lebensmittelüberwachungs-, Tierschutz und Veterinärdienst of the federal country of Bremen (LMTVet) in Bremen
b) Veterinär- und Lebensmittelaufsicht of the Kreisverwaltung Pinneberg ibidem,
c) Veterinäramt, Fachdienst Veterinärwesen of the Kreisverwaltung Nordfriesland in Husum. The institutions mentioned under b) and c) are subordinate to the Ministry for Energy Transition, Agriculture, Environment, Nature and Digitalization (MELUND) in Kiel,
d) Landeshauptstadt Potsdam, FB Ordnung und Sicherheit Veterinär- und Lebensmittelüberwachung in Potsdam.
Implementation
(1) Import from international waters
For the landing of sample material in the sense of animal by-products from international waters, an import permit is required, which is applied for by the Logistics & Research Platforms Department in the Cargo Handling, Customs, Dangerous Goods Division at the veterinary authority on the basis of the freight and packing lists prepared on board and deposited at the border control point in connection with a release certificate, which must also be applied for. For this purpose, the required information on the samples obtained must be entered on board into AWI’s Expedition Interface System (EIS) by the participants no later than 10 working days before entering the port.[1]
The taxon that can be determined on board is sufficient for entry into EIS; if necessary, e.g. in the case of mixed catches that are not sorted on board, a summary description with higher-level taxa is also sufficient. A German or generic name or a trivial name preceding the Latin species and genus name is not mandatory, but, if available, helpful; e.g. for the border control point and the veterinary authority and facilitates there the assessment of the material.
Important for a smooth handling: The information on packages and samples entered in EIS must match those in the cold storage lists!
The stored information is retrieved from EIS via freight and packing lists by the Logistics & Research Platforms Department in the Cargo Handling, Customs, Dangerous Goods division and is required to carry out the approval procedure. No import is possible without approval and release certificate!
The import is carried out by the Logistics & Research Platforms Department via the border control point in Bremerhaven in connection with a (refrigerated) transport from the Polarstern to the AWI (building D and E). From there, the samples will be picked up by the cruise participants in consultation with the cruise leader or the representatives for refrigerated goods and dangerous goods of the cruise leg. For the collection of the samples the procedures as described under (3) and (4) apply.
A direct collection from on board is generally excluded. Should a special arrangement be necessary for comprehensible reasons in individual cases, this must be communicated to the Logistics & Research Platforms Department (logistik.zoll@awi.de) at least 10 working days prior to arrival. The import and border formalities as well as pick-up and transport notifications must then be arranged by the scientists dealing with the material themselves!
Important to know: AWI does not have any cooling facilities for sample material in the port storage area (Hafenlager) and cannot store samples in the free port area! Therefore, the required documents must be complete at least 10 days prior to arrival in port. Otherwise the samples cannot be imported.
Transport of samples, which are to be imported via international ports of call, is usually handled by agencies, which also request the documentation and take care of the further procedure. This must be arranged by the responsible scientist in consultation with the Logistics & Research Platforms Department (logistik.zoll@awi.de) at least 10 working days before the arrival in port.
(2) Import from EU (incl. EFTA) waters or landing from national waters
For landing of sample material in the sense of animal by-products from EU waters (including waters of EFTA countries) documentation and customs declaration are required.
[1] Should samples still be obtained until shortly before entry, the Logistics and Research Platforms Department (logistik.zoll@awi.de) should be informed about the status of the sample collection and the expected species composition at this time so that the procedure can already be initiated.
For landing of sample material in the sense of animal by-products from national waters (EEZ) only their documentation is required.
For this purpose, the required information on the samples obtained must be entered on board into EIS by the participants no later than 2 working days prior to the arrival. The information is retrieved from EIS via freight and packing lists and archived by the Logistics & Research Platforms Department in the Cargo Handling, Customs, Dangerous Goods Division. AWI is obligated to provide documentation to the veterinary authority.
The taxon that can be determined on board is sufficient for entry in EIS; if necessary, also a summary description with higher-level taxa, e.g. for mixed catches that are not determined on board to species level. A German name or a trivial name preceding the Latin species and genus name is not mandatory, but, if available, helpful; e.g. for the border control point and the veterinary authority and facilitates there the assessment of the material.
Transport of samples, which are to be imported via international ports of call, is usually handled by agencies, which also request the documentation and take care of the further procedure. This must be arranged by the responsible scientist in consultation with the Logistics and Research Platforms Department (logistik.zoll@awi.de) at least 10 working days before arrival.
(3) Sharing with other institutions in Germany and within the EU
Outside of EIS, e.g. for the transfer of material to other institutions, the documentation can be done with the AWI freight and packing lists for normal freight and dangerous goods. These lists can be found here: https://www.awi.de/en/about-us/logistics/freight-handling.html see under Handling of animal by-products & biological samples (red font in these lists indicates deviations from the usual and should not be formatted in red when submitted).
If samples are to be passed on to other institutions after the expedition, a commercial document is also required in conjunction with the freight and packing lists. Onward transfer requires that the receiving institution be registered to handle animal by-products. A complete list of registered institutions in Europe can be found here: https://www.bmel.de/DE/themen/tiere/tiergesundheit/tierische-nebenprodukte/tierische-nebenprodukte_node.html).
Important to know: AWI is only allowed to pass on to registered institutions! The registration number must be entered in the commercial document together with the other information and the samples to be delivered must then be recorded on the freight/packing lists. The transport should also be accompanied by these papers. The commercial document can be found here: https://www.awi.de/en/about-us/logistics/freight-handling.html see there under Handling of animal by-products & biological samples.
Basically, the responsible scientist is responsible for the documentation. Freight list, packing list and commercial document are considered as proof of delivery and should be sent as pdf-scan to logistik.zoll@awi.de and horst.bornemann@awi.de after passing on the samples for documentation.
(4) Sharing with other institutions outside the EU
The same rules as under (3) apply here mutatis mutandis, as well as any national regulations of the recipient country in addition.
(5) Disposal of animal by-products
AWI employees in Bremerhaven can store sample material in the sense of animal by-products in the freezers in building E in disposal room E-0140 for disposal. The sample material should be hygienically packed for this purpose. Larger quantities should be announced in advance to the Technology & Environmental Protection Department (altgeraete.entsorgung@awi.de), which will arrange for disposal if necessary and will also take care of the documentation and archiving of the disposal documents. Other sites and institutes arrange disposal with the office responsible for them.
AWI is approved by the competent veterinary authority for this simplified procedure for handling animal by-products. A general archiving period of two years applies to all procedures. Basically, the responsible scientists must be able to give information about the whereabouts of their samples! You can find this and further information also on the AWI web pages under:
- https://www.awi.de/en/about-us/logistics/freight-handling/customs.html (s. Sample material),
- https://www.awi.de/en/about-us/logistics/freight-handling.html (see Handling of animal by-products & biological samples).
Legal basis
The legal requirements are Regulation (EC) No. 1069/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down health rules as regards animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption and the Implementing Regulation (EC) No 142/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down health rules as regards animal by-products and derived products not intended for human consumption, as well as in German national law the Animal By-Products Disposal Act (“Tierisches Nebenprodukte-Beseitigungsgesetz”) and the Animal By-Products Disposal Ordinance (“Tierische Nebenprodukte-Beseitigungsverordnung”). Other legal provisions and international agreements, in particular the Nagoya Protocol[2], the Washington Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora[3], and the Regulation (EU) on invasive alien species[4], which are important for biological sample material, remain unaffected; it is the responsibility of the scientists handling the material to comply with these regulations.
[2] https://www.nagoyaprotocol-hub.de
[3] https://www.wisia.de/ and https://www.bfn.de/themen/cites.html
[4] https://www.bmuv.de/themen/naturschutz-artenvielfalt/artenschutz/nationaler-artenschutz/invasive-gebietsfremde-arten and https://neobiota.bfn.de/ and
Further information on the AWI website
AWI is obliged to follow the EU hygiene and customs regulations for handling and importing animal by-products (e.g. sample material).
This relates to border control during international expeditions with Polarstern, other means of import and export (shipping by mail), disembarking samples from national waters (e.g. cruises by Heincke) or the transfer of sample material within Germandy or the European Union and the further use and disposal at other AWI locations.
More information can be found on the AWI webpage.
Information on animal by-products from the AWI webpage:
