County Antrim feed firm convicted for breach of animal feeding regulations

Ballymena Court

A County Antrim-based animal feed company has been convicted at Ballymena Magistrates’ Court for breaching strict animal feeding regulations designed to protect public health and ensure agri-food sector safety.

Robin Rainey & Sons Limited, located on Portglenone Road in Randalstown, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one charge of failing to comply with animal feeding requirements.

The offence relates to a breach of Article 7 of EU Regulation No. 999/2001, which is enforced in Northern Ireland under the Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2018 and the Animal By-Products (Enforcement) Regulations 2015 (as amended).

The company was fined £350 and ordered to pay a £15 offender levy following the prosecution.

The case was brought forward after routine sampling conducted by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) found that a sample of calf meal produced by Robin Rainey & Sons tested positive for bone fragments and terrestrial muscle fibres — a direct contravention of EU regulations governing the feed industry.

Regulatory Importance

A spokesperson for DAERA underscored the wider implications of such breaches, noting:

“Assuring food safety in Northern Ireland is essential to uphold public health standards, food production standards and is crucial for the commercial viability of the agri-food sector.”

Under EU TSE Regulation (EC) No. 999/2001, it is prohibited to feed animal protein to ruminants due to the risk of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs). These diseases — caused by prions — include Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in cattle and the human variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).

The controls, introduced across the UK since 1988, were strengthened further in 1996 with the banning of mammalian meat and bone meal for all farmed livestock, including fish and horses.

Consumer Confidence at Stake

Food safety violations at the feed level can have profound effects on the wider agri-food chain. Another DAERA official commented:

“Contamination incidents early in the food chain can have a huge impact in terms of consumer confidence, public health and financial implications.”

The Department urged all Food and Feed Business Operators to take “all reasonable and practical steps” to mitigate the risks of contamination and stressed the importance of managing such risks effectively to preserve supply chain integrity.

The feed sector, which works collaboratively with farmers, processors, and supply chain partners, plays a key role in maintaining the safety and reputation of Northern Ireland’s agri-food exports.