Hi karen, I will quote to you what defra has sent to us thro the post,make of it what you will.-----It has been illegal to feed catering waste to farmed animals in the uk since 2001, and this ban was adopted by the whole european community in 2003. IF YOU ARE CONVICTED OF FEEDING CATERING WASTE TO FARMED ANIMALS YOU CAN BE FINED OR SENTENCED TO A MAXIMUM OF 2YRS IN PRISON. the law is there to help prevent outbreaks of foot and mouth disease and other animal diseases such as swine fever-catering waste can be a major source of these diseases. catering waste is defined as all waste food,whether raw or cooked, including used cooking oils, which arise in premises such as household kitchens,restaurants,fish chips,pizza,kebab shops, takeaway shops canteens,cafes,veg kitchens.
It also includes food waste from other premises(food factories,distribution warehouses etc.) that contains or has been in contact with animal by-products(such as raw eggs,meat,fish products) and this must not be fed to farmed animals. so in other words you can only feed veg or fruit that hasnt been thro a kitchen.
grim reading indeed..........neil