2023 Indiana Code › Title 15. Agriculture and Animals › Article 17. Animal Health and Animal Products › Chapter 11. Disposal of Dead Animals › 15-17-11-23. Specifications for Disposal Plants

Sec. 23. (a) A disposal plant is not considered a suitable or sanitary place for disposing of the bodies of dead animals by any process of cooking unless it conforms to the following minimum specifications:
(1) The building must have four (4) walls complete and be provided with concrete or cement floors and be thoroughly sanitary in construction and maintenance. Any sewage, drainage, or waste water of any kind that has an offensive or obnoxious character or odor, is detrimental to human, animal, agricultural, or aquatic life, or may constitute a public nuisance must be discharged into a public sewer. If a public sewer is not available, the sewage, drainage, or waste water must be disposed of according to the requirements of water pollution control laws (as defined in IC 13-11-2-261).
(2) All disposal plants where a rendering process is conducted must be properly equipped, operated, and designed to:
(A) minimize the escape of vapors during processing; and
(B) expose the material being processed to conditions that will kill all pathogenic organisms.
The board may adopt rules specifying conditions that a rendering process must meet in order to protect the public health.
(3) If the owner or operator of a disposal plant wishes to sell any part or parts of any animal carcasses taken to the owner's or operator's disposal plant for use in the manufacture of pet food or for feeding mink and other animals, the disposal plant must have a separate room where the animal bodies that are considered suitable for animal food are taken. The processing and boning of carcasses must be done promptly, and the boned meat shall be ground or cut into small pieces not more than four (4) inches in diameter. While the meat is being ground or cut, a sufficient quantity of dye, charcoal, malodorous fish oil, or other denaturant approved by the state veterinarian must be applied to unequivocally preclude the meat's use in human food. Meat that is not immediately shipped must be refrigerated in a cooler storage room that prevents decomposition. Meat, before being shipped from a disposal plant, must be packed in a container approved by the state veterinarian. The container must be clearly marked or stamped with the legend "Unfit for Human Consumption". Lettering used in the legend must be at least as large as any other lettering on the container, and not smaller than one-half (1/2) inch in height or less than one-half (1/2) inch in width. The meat may be hauled to the plant of a manufacturer of pet food or to the place of feeding to animals at places approved by the state veterinarian. If, after the skinning and dismemberment of an animal body it is determined that the body is not suitable for pet food or animal feeding, the body must be taken to the processing area of the disposal plant and processed in the same manner as other animal bodies.
(4) The skinning and dismembering of bodies must be done within the disposal plant and in a manner that prevents unnecessary annoyance to other persons caused by the conditions or unsightly appearance of the bodies or any parts and contents of the bodies. All animal material transported to a disposal plant for disposal, except that disposed of under subdivision (3), must be disposed of within twenty-four (24) hours after delivery to the disposal plant, by a method allowed under this chapter, except where rendered impossible by accident or other casualty preventing the operation of the disposal plant, or where an epidemic or act of God has caused more bodies to be accumulated than can be reasonably disposed of within twenty-four (24) hours by the continuous operation of the plant, in which case the plant shall be placed in operation as soon as possible and operated continuously until all bodies are disposed of.
(b) A disposal plant may not be situated, constructed, maintained, or operated in a manner that creates or unnecessarily continues a public nuisance.
[Pre-2008 Recodification Citation: 15-2.1-16-24.]
As added by P.L.2-2008, SEC.8.