Four EU feed directives merge into one

Animal feed legislation is a harmonised area in the European Union (EU). The
existing legislation covers:
· the labelling of
additives, feed materials and compound (manufactured) feeds
· the names and descriptions of feed materials
· the permitted nutritional claims which may be made for
certain types of feedingstuffs
· the authorised
additives which may be incorporated in feed
·
specified prohibited materials which may not be used in feed
· the maximum permitted levels of certain undesirable
substances (contaminants)

The legislation is intended to safeguard both
animal health and the health of consumers of animal products. Although it
applies primarily to feed for farmed livestock it also covers feed for horses,
farmed fish, pets, zoo and circus animals.

The legislation must also
meet the needs of purchasers and users of feed (such as livestock farmers). On 5
March 2008 the European Commission published a proposal to modernise and
simplify legislation on the marketing and use of animal feed. The proposal is
available on the Commission’s website. It is intended to replace four existing
directives with one regulation which will apply directly in all Member States.
This new regulation will also bring together most of the provisions of the four
existing directives it will replace into one comprehensive
document.

Key aspects
The regulation aims to contribute to a
reduction of administrative burdens on industry by removing unnecessary
labelling requirements. The key aspects of the proposed regulation are:
· repeal of the existing requirement to declare the
ingredients of compound feed by their percentage weight of inclusion
· introduction of a clear demarcation between complementary
feeds and premixtures
· a new requirement for
compound feed labelling to declare the presence of all additives subject to a
maximum inclusion rate
· stricter limits of
variation for labelling declarations of analytical ingredients (protein, fibre,
moisture, etc.)
· repeal of the existing
requirement for a pre-market assessment of new bioprotein products
· introduction of new controls on the claims that can be made
for feed products
· removal of the existing
derogation for the labelling of feed materials with a moisture content of more
than 50%
· introduction of a formal procedure for
the addition of new entries to the list of nutritional purposes for which
dietetic feeds may be promoted
· introduction of a
Community Catalogue of feed materials, in place of the existing list of such
materials in current legislation, and Codes of Practice for the labelling of
feed

Exclusions
The proposed regulation does not contain
provisions on feed containing or produced from genetically modified organisms,
controls on the use of feed additives, or measures to control contaminants,
which are and will remain the subject of separate EC measures. Member states can
amend the proposals before they become definite.

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