Under the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994 it is illegal to feed food waste containing meat/animal by-products to pigs.
This type of waste may contain viruses that cause disease in animals such as foot-and-mouth disease. This includes the provision of food waste to pigs or piggeries (directly or otherwise) by registered food premises.
The Department of Economic Development advises that the following activities are prohibited under the Livestock Disease Control Act 1994:
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feeding prohibited food waste to pigs
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supplying prohibited food waste to feed pigs
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collecting prohibited food waste from food premises to provide to a piggery.
Food businesses are reminded not to supply prohibited food waste to pigs and Agriculture Victoria has further information.
Fact sheets have also been translated and are currently available in Vietnamese and Mandarin.
The penalty for feeding prohibited food waste or supplying it to a piggery is over $19,000.