Animal by-products (or SPAN) are organic materials from agri-food production of animal origin that are not consumed or not consumable (expired/unsold/co-products, etc.). This particularly concerns the meat/fish/poultry or dairy industries. Some examples:

• Dairy products: whey (liquid part filtered during cheese production), yogurts, milk, cheese, etc.
• Livestock products: manure/slurry, offal, blood, etc.
• Eggs or eggshells
• Fish waste

Methanization produces digestate to be spread on fields to fertilize them. In these same fields, foodstuffs for human or animal consumption will be produced. It is therefore necessary to ensure that the digestate does not pose any health risk that could be transmitted to humans or have a negative impact on the environment.
This is why the control of products entering a methanizer is necessary and regulated. Animal by-products are subject to very specific control since it is considered that the risk of disease transmission to humans is greater.

SPANs are divided into three main categories according to their risk level: C1, C2 and C3. SPAN C1 are the most risky and incompatible with methanization (materials containing chemical contaminants/contaminated animal corpses, etc.). C2 and C3 are admissible provided that the rules associated with each type of waste are respected (pasteurization/hygienization/sanitary approval, etc.).

In France, a methanization site must obtain health approval to be able to process SPAN. It must put together a file gathering all the information necessary for the decision to obtain it: volumes and nature of all inputs, compliance with infrastructure and equipment requirements, health control plan, etc. The process must be carried out with the prefecture of the department, which can then evaluate and approve or not the approval according to the HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) method. This method makes it possible to identify potential risks (human & environment) and the measures to be implemented to control them as best as possible.

Unless a waiver has been obtained in advance, it must also sanitize or pasteurize the SPAN. These processes consist of heating the materials at high temperature for a specific period of time to eliminate any health risk before the production of the digestate.

The decision to integrate SPANs or not in its methane digester must therefore be made by taking into account all these parameters which can be restrictive and costly (such as the installation of equipment for sanitization). A large part of the cogeneration methane digesters being run by breeders who wish to recover the manure from their own farms, they must systematically obtain health approval – without having to sanitize everything depending on obtaining the necessary exemption.

Methappro supports all types of co-product exchanges and adapts its offer according to the capacities and equipment of each methanizer. We also ensure compliance with the regulations in force according to the processes applied. To find out more, do not hesitate to contact us at the following address: contact@methappro.fr .