Animal feed: hygiene requirements and traceability of feed

PURPOSE: To lay down requirements for feed hygiene.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation 183/2005/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council.

CONTENT: Following the BSE crisis, the two serious occurrences of serious dioxin contamination and other concerns such as the contamination of feed materials and feedingstuffs with nitrofen or hormones, this regulation seeks:

- to ensure the safety of all kinds of feed;

- to ensure that all feed businesses operate in accordance with harmonised hygiene requirements;

- to improve traceability.

The principal objective of the new hygiene rules set out in this Regulation is to ensure a high level of consumer protection with regard to food and feed safety, taking particular account of the following principles:

- that primary responsibility for feed safety rests with the feed business operator; the need to ensure feed safety throughout the food chain, starting with primary production of feed, up to and including, the feeding of food-producing animals;

- the general implementation of procedures based on the principles of hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP), which, together with the application of good hygiene practice, should reinforce feed business operators' responsibility;

- that guides to good practice are a valuable instrument to help feed business operators at all levels of the feed chain comply with feed hygiene rules and with the application of HACCP principles;

- the establishment of microbiological criteria based on scientific risk criteria;

- the need to ensure that imported feed attains a standard that is at least equivalent to that of feed produced in the Community.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 08/02/2005.

DATE OF APPLICATION: 01/01/2006.