Commission Decision 97/534/EC on the prohibition of the use of material presenting risks as regards transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.

For the purposes of this Decision "specified risk material" shall be defined as follows: (a) the skull, including the brain and eyes, tonsils and spinal cord of bovine animals aged over 12 months, ovine and caprine animals which are aged over 12 months or have a permanent incisor tooth erupted through the gum; (b) the spleens of ovine and caprine animals. The use of specified risk material for any purpose shall be prohibited.
Specified risk material shall be stained with a dye on removal and either: (a) destroyed by incineration; or, (b) provided that the colour of the dye is detectable after processing, processed and subsequently incinerated, buried, burned as fuel or otherwise disposed of by a similar method which precludes the risk of transmission of a TSE.
To ensure the correct application of this Decision, Member States shall carry out regular official controls, particularly in slaughterhouses, cutting plants, storage facilities and animal waste processing plants, and take measures to avoid cross-contamination. This Decision shall be reviewed regularly in the light of new scientific information concerning the risk of exposure to TSEs resulting from infectivity in other animal species, age categories, tissues or materials. (11 articles)