Law No. 56/2026 "On Animal By-Products".

This Law regulates the handling, transport, processing, and disposal of animal-derived materials not intended for human consumption. It establishes mandatory operational protocols for agricultural, food service, commercial, and processing businesses to prevent public health hazards and environmental contamination.
The Law establishes a three-tiered risk classification system—Categories 1, 2, and 3—to govern the lifecycle of biological waste. Category 1 materials, representing the highest biological risk, require complete destruction via high-temperature incineration. Category 2 materials, including slaughterhouse offal and fallen stock, must undergo pressure sterilization or rendering. Category 3 materials, consisting of low-risk items such as expired retail food and fit-for-slaughter animal parts, may be recycled into commercial pet food, organic fertilizers, or industrial feeds.
Food service providers, supermarkets, livestock breeders, slaughterhouses, and local municipalities must enter into binding service agreements with licensed waste operators. These contracts ensure the organized collection and sealed, temperature-controlled transport of all animal-derived waste. Municipalities are specifically assigned responsibility for establishing local collection centers and managing carcasses from companion and stray animals.
Secondary uses for lower-risk materials are strictly regulated to support energy recovery and soil enrichment. Subject to safety standards, Category 2 and Category 3 by-products may be converted into renewable energy sources, including biogas and biodiesel, or processed into soil improvers. The Law maintains an explicit prohibition on intra-species recycling, banning the feeding of processed animal proteins back to the same species, as well as the use of untreated restaurant waste for livestock.
Enforcement authority is assigned to the National Food Authority and the National Veterinary Service, which monitor compliance through mandatory tracking documentation and facility inspections. Non-compliance, including the unauthorized dumping of biological waste into water bodies, municipal landfills, or open land, carries administrative fines and potential license suspensions.