Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the "Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down requirements for feed hygiene" (COM(2003) 180 final — 2003/0071 (COD))
Date: 2003-10-30
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: ESC opinion, animal nutrition, food inspection, food safety, product quality, traceability

5.2.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 32/97

It would be helpful to complement supranational legal
3.6.
instruments, such as the European company, with suitable tax
instruments and associated control and information-exchange
procedures. In other words, it would be possible to envisage
the phasing-in of a European control and exchange system
that is not tied to current national procedures.

3.7.
The EESC takes the opportunity to denounce once
again the limits imposed by the principle of unanimity, which
currently applies to all decisions on Community tax legislation,
and reaffirms the need to replace this with qualified majority
voting.

3.8.
It is odd that people often talk in general terms about
the constitutional principles of fair taxation when referring to

the potential distortions of the European internal market, and
then go on in practice to accept differences and privileges born
of national legislation and procedures.

3.9.
Taking into account existing national procedures and
the political desire not to overturn these, the EESC accepts the
proposed amendments as a move towards convergence and
as a further, albeit inadequate, step towards modernising
cooperation between Member States. Furthermore, the EESC
calls on the competent authorities of Member States to
respond promptly to requests for cooperation from other
administrations, without discriminating against such requests
in favour of investigations of a purely national nature. To this
effect, control and information-exchange technology must
obviously be able to keep up with the most sophisticated
forms of fraud and evasion, which use the most modern
technology available.

Brussels, 30 October 2003.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Roger BRIESCH

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a regulation of
the European Parliament and of the Council laying down requirements for feed hygiene’

(COM(2003) 180 final — 2003/0071 (COD))

(2004/C 32/21)

On 30 April 2003 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under
Articles 37 and 152 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned
proposal.

The Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment, which was responsible for
preparing the Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 14 October 2003. The rapporteur
was Mr Donnelly.

At its 403rd plenary session of 29 and 30 October 2003 (meeting of 30 October) the European Economic
and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 84 votes to two with five abstentions.

1.

Introduction

Feed crises over recent years have demonstrated that
1.1.
serious failures at any stage in the feed chain can have
enormous economic consequences. In the past this cost has
been largely met from public funds. While contaminated feed
material has been largely responsible for these crises, European

farmers and consumers have experienced the severe economic
impacts resulting from them.

Directive 95/69/EC (1) laying down the conditions and
1.2.
arrangements for approving and registering certain establish-
ments and intermediaries operating in the animal feed sector,

(1) OJ L 332, 30.12.1995.

C 32/98

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

5.2.2004

while constituting a sound basis for feed safety is limited to
products covered by Directives 70/524/EEC (1) and 82/471
EEC (2).

Through the general implementation or procedures
2.4.
based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP)
and the application of good hygiene practice the proposal
reinforces the responsibility of feed and business operators.
However flexibility is proposed for small businesses.

1.3.
Recent experience has shown that it is necessary to
conduct a general review of feed hygiene rules and to take
account of the need to ensure a higher level of protection of
animal and human health and of the environment.

2.5.
The Commission proposes the introduction of national
and community guides to good practice to help feed business
operators at all levels of the feed chain to comply with feed
hygiene rules with the application of HACCP principles.

1.4.
Experience has also demonstrated the need for an
integrated approach to feed safety to include primary pro-
duction and transport up to and including the placing on the
market or export of feed.

2.6.
The introduction of the principle of the establishment
of microbiological criteria is proposed and would be based on
scientific risk criteria.

1.5.
Traceability facilitates the withdrawal of feed and food.
Successive feed crises have demonstrated difficulties in this
area. This has been addressed as a general requirement under
Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 (3).

2.7.
In relation to the import of feed from third countries
the proposal reinforces the principles laid out in the proposal
for a regulation on the official feed and food controls (4) i.e.
that imported feed attains at least the equivalent standard as
feed produced in the Community.

1.6. Whereas under general food law and more recently
Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 (2) the primary responsibility
for the production of safe food rests with food businesses, this
principle has not applied to the feed chain.

2. Gist of proposal

2.1.
The proposal seeks to ensure the safety of all kinds of
feed, to ensure that all businesses operate in accordance with
harmonised hygiene requirements and finally seeks to improve
traceability.

The proposal reinforces the principle that the primary
2.2.
responsibility for feed safety rests with the feed business
operator. The requirement for feed business operators to
provide a financial guarantee is linked with this responsibility.

2.3.
The proposal promotes an integrated approach to
ensure feed safety throughout the food chain starting with
primary production of feed up to and including the feeding of
food producing animals. Feed businesses would only operate
if registered or approved under these regulations.

It is proposed to repeal Council Directive 95/69/EC (5)
2.8.
and Directive 98/51/EC (6) laying down certain measures for
implementing Council Directive 95/69/EC and laying down
conditions and arrangements for approving and registering
certain establishments and intermediaries operating in the feed
sector.

3. General comments

The EESC believes that the rules on feed hygiene
3.1.
needed to be revised and extended to include the entire feed
chain.

3.2.
The EESC welcomes the fact that the proposal takes
into account the principles of food safety that are spelt out in
the Commission’s White Paper on food safety (7), in particular
that:

a)

the farm to table policy is systematically implemented;

b)

feed safety policy is based on a comprehensive and
integrated approach;

(1) OJ L 270, 14.12.1970.
(2) OJ L 213, 21.7.1982.
(3) OJ L 31, 1.2.2002 p. 1-4.

(4) COM(2002) 377 final — OJ C 95, 23.4.2003.
(5) OJ L 332, 30.12.1995.
(6) OJ L 208, 24.7.1998.
(7) COM(1999) 719 final — OJ C 204, 18.7.2000.

5.2.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 32/99

c)

processors of feed materials take primary responsibility
for feed and food safety controls; and

d)

feed safety policy must be risk based.

The Committee welcomes the principle of flexibility.
4.4.
However, in order to avoid inconsistencies in interpretation,
clearer definitions should be agreed between the Commission
and the Member States within the Standing Committee.

3.3.
The EESC understands and welcomes the fact that the
proposal also takes into account some of the provisions laid
down in Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 (1), inter alia:

a)

to ensure effective functioning of the internal market in
safe feed and providing a high level of animal and human
health and a safe environment;

b)

to ensure feed traceability;

c)

d)

to make feed business operators primarily responsible for
safe feed and responsible where their products or activities
could have an adverse impact on feed safety;

to make Member States responsible for the enforcement
of feed and food law; and

e)

to ensure that only safe feed is placed on the market.

3.4.
The EESC welcomes the proposal in the form of a
regulation, which ensures uniform application throughout the
single market and enables updating without delay when taking
account of technical and scientific developments.

4. Specific comments

4.1.
The EESC welcomes the requirements for Good Animal
Feeding Practice contained in Annex III to the proposal, it
believes that consistent application in all Member States can
only be guaranteed through the use of Community Guides.

4.2.
The EESC agrees with the Commission that a system
of registration and approval by the competent authority of the
Member State of all feed business is appropriate to ensure
traceability from manufacturer to final user.

The EESC recommends that the requirement for ‘fre-
4.3.
quent changes’ in bedding required in Annex III should be
replaced with ‘frequent changes depending on circumstances’.
This would reduce the risk of inflexible enforcement of the
regulation.

4.5.
The Committee accepts that failure at any stage in the
feed and food chain can have major financial consequences.
These failures should be protected against through the pro-
vision of financial guarantees. However, the Committee feels
that the exact nature of what this financial guarantee is, and
what form it should take, has not been adequately specified or
made clear enough in the Commission’s proposal. Given the
fundamental importance of this issue, any requirement for
establishing a financial guarantee should be monitored care-
fully by the Commission, especially with regard to the financial
impact on primary producers and the feed business.

4.6.
The Committee strongly recommends that the Com-
mission consults with all relevant interested parties to ascertain
which forms of risk can be covered by the proposed financial
guarantee and what form this financial guarantee should take,
in order that it be designed in both a cost-efficient and
practically applicable fashion so that adequate cover can be
provided for total costs resulting from any hygiene failures in
the feed and food chain.

The Committee would like to reiterate its view (2) that
4.7.
because import controls from third countries are also crucial
to ensuring feed safety in Europe, the issue of ensuring a
financial guarantee for the safety of imports of feed into the
European Union needs to be considered thoroughly.

The Committee believes that the proposal,

4.7.1.
in its
present form, may place an unfair burden on the importers of
feed into the EU, which could result in an increase in costs.
The Commission must therefore seek to ensure that exporters
of feed into the EU also fulfil their responsibilities in ensuring
the safety of their products.

4.7.2.
The Committee therefore underlines the need to
ensure the maximum possible accountability of feed exporters
to the EU, under the relevant articles contained in the
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Code) adopted in
the framework of the WTO, and believes that in order to assist
exporters from developing countries, support structures are
needed to check the required conformity at the point of origin.

(1) OJ L 213, 21.7.1982.

(2) OJ C 234, 30.9.2003.

C 32/100

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

5.2.2004

All efforts should be made to ensure that export-
4.7.3.
import agreements drawn up under the auspices of the Grain
and Feed Trade Association (GAFTA) should be transparent,
fair and respect the principle of equal treatment.

The Committee notes that the rules on the therapeutic

4.8.
medication of feeds are not addressed in this proposal.

5. Summary

The EESC advocates the use of Community Guides in

5.2.
order to ensure a consistent application of the regulation.

The EESC reiterates the importance of ensuring that
5.3.
exporters of feed ingredients into the EU are held accountable
for the quality of their products by the relevant EU authorities,
using existing mechanisms of international cooperation such
as Codex Alimentarius and the WTO/SPS Code.

5.1.
The EESC supports the proposal for a regulation that
ensures feed safety from and including primary production up
to and including the placing on the market or export of feed.

5.4.
The Committee recommends that the Commission
examine the impact of the financial guarantee requirement for
all animal feed businesses.

Brussels, 30 October 2003.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Roger BRIESCH

APPENDIX

to the opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee

The following amendment was defeated but received at least a quarter of the votes cast:

Point 4.1

Replace by the following:

‘The Committee calls on the Commission to provide a positive list for animal feed in the regulation’.

Reason

A positive list establishes exactly what may be used as animal feed. With such a list in place, many uncertainties in
the food chain — right up to the final consumption stage — would not arise in the first place.

Result of the vote

For: 29, against: 57, abstentions: 7.