Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the placing on the market and use of feed COM(2008) 124 final — 2008/0050 (COD)
Date: 2008-09-17
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: ESC opinion, animal nutrition, food safety, foodstuffs legislation, labelling, marketing standard, raw material, simplification of formalities, simplification of legislation, traceability

C 77/84

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

31.3.2009

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Proposal for a Regulation of the
European Parliament and of the Council on the placing on the market and use of feed’

COM(2008) 124 final — 2008/0050 (COD)

(2009/C 77/21)

On 18 March 2008 the Council decided to consult the European Economic and Social Committee, under
Articles 37 and 152(4) of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the placing on the market and use of feed.

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 2 September 2008. The rapporteur was
Mr Allen.

At its 447th plenary session, held on 17 and 18 September 2008 (meeting of 17 September 2008), the
European Economic and Social Committee adopted unanimously the following opinion.

1. Conclusions and Recommendations

The EESC welcomes this proposed Regulation from the

1.1
Commission.

some 50 amending or implementing acts. The legislation is
extremely scattered with many cross references making it diffi-
cult to understand and implement in a uniform way in the
different member states. For example two member states applied
the Directive differently as
regards the permitted level of
Vitamin D3 in compound feed.

The EESC welcomes

1.2
specified in
Article 4(1) and Article 5(1) that the relevant sections of the
feed hygiene Regulation and the food law Regulation will apply
to pet food as well as to feed for food producing animals.

the proposal

as

1.3
It is important that the control authorities can access any
information concerning the composition or claimed properties
of the feed placed on the market so that the accuracy of the
label can be verified.

Feed Business operators first placing feed on the EU
1.4
market and who use feed or feed materials imported from
outside the EU must ensure that such imports comply with the
same standards as if such materials originated within the EU.
This must be able to be verified by the control authorities.

There must be a commitment

1.5
the person who
answers the free telephone as indicated on the pet food label is
suitably qualified to deal with customers queries and that
queries will be dealt with swiftly.

that

Article 17(1)(a) and (b) should apply in all cases. This
for whom the feed is
feeding instructions must always

1.6
means that
intended and the proper
appear on the label of a compound feed.

the category of animal

2. Background

At present

2.1
and
Compound Feed is regulated by 5 Old Council Directives and

Feed Materials

circulation of

the

2.2
Intra EU Trade in Compound Feed amounts to only 2.6 %
of production which suggests the possibility of trade obstacles
and a lack of consistency in the implementation of the existing
Directives.

2.3
In 2005 in the EU 25 it should be noted that 5 million
farmers produced milk, pork, poultry, beef and veal to a total
value of EUR 129 bn. Purchased Compound Feed amounted to
EUR 37 bn. The EU feed industry (excluding pet food) directly
employs 100 000 people in about 4 000 plants.

2.4
In terms of quantity about 48 % of feed used is roughage
produced on farms e.g. grass, silage, hay, maize etc. 32 % of
feed is purchased Compound Feed.

2.5
About 62 million EU households have pets. The EU pet
food market is estimated at EUR 9 bn per year giving direct
employment to 21 000 people.

The label serves for enforcement, traceability and control

2.6
purposes and to pass information to the user.

2.7
Concerns have been expressed that the current legislation
on the labelling of pet food can mislead customers, as to the
quality and nature of the ingredients contained in the pet food.

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3. Animal Feed Definitions

3.1

Animal feed falls in 4 categories:

4.4
The general objective of the proposed new regulation is
to consolidate, revise and modernise the existing directives on
the circulation and labelling of feed materials and compound
feed.

a) Feed materials which may be fed direct such as grass or
grains or feed materials that can be incorporated into a
compound feed.

b) Feed additives which are substances such as micro-organisms
or preparations (other than feed material and pre-mixtures)
which are intentionally added to feed in order to perform
certain functions.

c) Compound feed is a mixture of feed materials, which may
also contain additives for oral animal feeding in the form of
a complete or complementary feedstuff.

d) Medicated feed is

products intended to be fed to animals without
processing.

feed containing veterinary medicinal
further

Feed materials and Compound Feed are by far the most

3.2
common type of feed used.

4. Commission proposal

The subsidiarity principle applies

4.5
the
proposal does not fall under the exclusive competence of the
community. The proposal complies with the proportionality
principle because it harmonises the regulatory framework for
the marketing and use of animal feed.

in so far as

The proposal removes unnecessary and inefficient label-
4.6
ling obligations. It is now proposed that the requirements to
label ingredients will be the same as those required for food.
The new rule would no longer require the indication of the
percentage of all raw materials but only their indication in their
exact weight order. At the moment, all feed materials used in a
compound feed for food producing animals have to be labelled
as a percentage of the total weight but with a tolerance of
+/- 15 %. The farmer cannot get the real percentage of incor-
poration. Under the new proposal, if a manufacturer voluntary
indicates the percentages they will have to be exact. Further-
more, the exact percentage has to be indicated for raw materials
in compound feed that are highlighted on the label. Finally, the
farmer can request information on the composition of the feed
beyond the descending weight order of raw material, which the
manufacturer could only reject if this unveils business secrets.

The proposal

4.1
is included in the Commission Rolling
Programme of simplification. It is in line with the Commission
Better Regulation Policy and the Lisbon Strategy.

4.7
The name of the Feed Business operator who first places
a compound feed on the EU market must be clearly identified
on the label.

4.2
Currently, the general rules for the marketing of feed,
including pet food, are spread over several Directives according
to the type of feed concerned. There is Directive 79/373/EEC on
compound feed, and Directive 93/74/EEC laying down the rules
for the circulation of feeding stuffs intended for particular nutri-
tional purposes (‘dietetic feeds’). Directive 96/25/EC contains the
general rules for the circulation and use of feed materials and
Directive 82/471/EEC lays down the marketing conditions for
certain products belonging to the category feed materials, used
in animal nutrition (‘bio-proteins’). The proposed Regulation
streamlines,
the above
simplifies, updates and modernises
mentioned provisions.

The TSE Regulation (999/2001) containing the ban to
4.3
to food producing animals. The
feed meat and bone meal
Animal By-product Regulation (1774/2002) setting the condi-
tions for the such product if intended to be fed to animals. The
regulation on GM Food and Feed (1829/2003) setting the rules
for the use of genetically modified feed. The feed Hygiene Regu-
focusing on assuring safety during the
lation (183/2005)
production process of feed. These regulations, which have been
established following the new integrated food safety approach
‘from farm to fork’ are not being changed.

Any voluntary information provided on the label must

4.8
be accurate and understandable to the final user.

4.9
The Commission will be obliged to maintain and update
a list of materials whose placing on the market is prohibited. In
addition the Commission may adopt guidelines clarifying the
distinction between feed materials, feed additives, and veterinary
drugs.

4.10
The requirement for pre-market authorisation must be
proportionate to the risk in order to give the necessary assur-
ance that emerging feed materials are adequately specified for
proper use. The integrated food safety approach from farm to
fork (under Reg. 178/2002) safely allows for the reduction of
‘red tape’ in this area. It is not justified that for bio-proteins and
for emerging feed materials that all of them would have to
undergo a pre-market authorisation procedure.

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4.11
The trend is one of an increasing supply of co-products
for feed rations due to the stronger competition for the base
grains between feed, food and fuel. Lack of clear product infor-
mation contributes to the under utilisation of these materials.

analysis and critical control point) principle in feed businesses
guarantees better feed safety all round.

4.12
It is proposed that all stakeholders (and users) would be
involved in establishing a catalogue of Feed Materials that is
more comprehensive and better adapted to market develop-
ments than the current non-exhaustive list in the Directive. Also
stakeholders would be encouraged to prepare Community
Codes to good labelling practice within the framework of volun-
tary labelling with one code for pet food and another code for
feed for food producing animals. The commission shall advise
in the preparation of the voluntary Community catalogue and
the Codes both of which shall be subject to final approval by
the Commission (co-regulation).

The labelling of

4.13
feed additives would be generally
mandatory only for sensitive additives. The remainder could be
labelled on a voluntary basis in line with the stakeholder code
of good practice as approved by the core regulation.

the pet

In the case of pet food the objective is to improve the
4.14
appropriateness of
food labels and to facilitate the
purchaser and to prevent misleading labelling. Any nutritional
claims made must be able to be verified as accurate scientifically.
Under Article 19, a pet food label must have a free telephone
number to allow the customer to obtain information as regards
feed additives and feed materials that are designated by category.

4.15
Feed intended for particular nutritional purposes may
only be marketed as such if it fulfils its claimed essential nutri-
tional characteristics and as authorised and included in the list
established in accordance with Article 10. Under Article 13(3)
the labelling or the presentation of feed shall not claim that it
will prevent, treat or cure a disease.

4.16
The labelling and presentation of feed must not mislead
the user. The mandatory labelling particulars must be given in
their entirety in a prominent position on the packaging.

5.2
It is essential that any of the proposed changes do not
compromise the safety standards that are necessary in the case
of food producing animals.

5.3
Feed Business operators must supply the official authori-
ties with any information required to satisfy that the rules are
being properly observed.

Reduced

5.4
very
welcome because in many areas we have become over regulated
in terms of paperwork requirements.

administrative

burdens

usually

are

(MBM)

to be fed to ruminant

5.5
There can be no question of ever allowing meat and
food producing
bone meal
animals. At present the TSE Regulation (999/2001) contains the
ban on feeding MBM to ruminant animals. MBM can be used in
pet
food. This proposed Regulation does not propose any
changes in the use of meat and bone meal insofar as this issue
does not fall within the scope of the present proposal for a
regulation. The subject must be debated in connection with the
proposal for a regulation laying down health rules as regards
animal by-products not intended for human consumption.

5.6
Compound Feed production is generally located close to
where animals are produced. Hence the production facilities are
often located in rural areas with limited alternative employment
opportunities. In terms of transporting the animal feed to the
farms it is also convenient to have a local distribution system
which avoids the necessity for long distance driving on the part
of
thereby reducing greenhouse gas
emissions.

the delivery trucks

5.7
The Commission emphasises that there is little intra-EU
trade in compound feed and it suggests that the new proposed
regulation will
improve competition by encouraging greater
intra-EU trade in Compound Feed.

4.17
The Feed Business operator who first places feed on the
EU market will be responsible for the labelling particulars and
ensure their presence and substantive accuracy.

6. Specific Comments

5. General Comments

The level of food and feed safety has been significantly
5.1
improved due to the new General Food Law, the Feed Hygiene
Regulation and their implementing measures. The improved
the HACCP (Hazard
the introduction of
traceability system,

In General the EESC welcomes the proposal to simplify,
the

6.1
streamline and improve the Administrative efficiency of
Animal Feed Sector.

6.2
The proposed new Regulation confers greater freedom
and responsibility on feed business operators. Article 12(1)
states that the manufacturer of the feed shall be responsible for
the labelling particulars and ensure their presence and substan-
tive accuracy and they must also fulfil the obligations of this
Regulation and the obligations imposed by the other relevant

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Regulations such as 183/2005, 178/2002 and 1831/2003.
Whereas regulation 88/2004 lays down general rules for the
performance of official controls to verify compliance with the
rules, the FVO must ensure consistent application. Feed Business
operators first placing feed on the EU market, who use imports
from outside EU must be subject to adequate controls to verify
that imports are of the same standards as products originating
within EU.

6.3
This conferring of greater responsibility to feed manufac-
turers to regulate their business means that if a serious problem
of feed contaminated with poisonous substances or feed detri-
mental to animal husbandry or feed detrimental to the environ-
ment arises, especially in the area of emerging feed materials
serious damage could be done to the food producing animal
sector before adequate remedial action is taken. If the manufac-
to deal with the
turer has
problem then even more serious problems could arise.

insufficient

resources

financial

that

The animal

feed customer

6.4
is the farmer needs
adequate protection in the event of a disaster arising because of
the consequential financial, social and economic loses. These
aspects should therefore be considered in connection with a
specific regulation, and in the light of the Report from the
Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on
existing legal provisions, systems and practices in the Member

Brussels, 17 September 2008.

States and at Community level relating to liability in the food
and feed sectors and on feasible systems for financial guarantees
in the feed sector (1).

6.5 We must observe the precautionary principle in this area
as very serious mistakes have been made in the past.

6.6
It is unlikely that there will be major growth in intra-EU
trade for compound feed for food producing animals because
customers prefer to deal with local feed business operators. This
situation could change if multi-national companies were to take
control of a major section of the animal feed business sector.

There is a risk that multi-national companies would seek
6.7
to take control of large sections of the Animal feed business
and thereby reduce competition. If this were to happen it could
lead to a large reduction in the number of feed mills and lead to
greater intra-community trade.
the
market will become more competitive.

It does not

follow that

6.8
As regards pet food, what pet owners really need is
adequate advice as to what is the best quality food for their pets
rather than a list of the actual ingredients. It is also important
to state the proper quantities to feed to particular pets and
whether the feed is a complementary or a complete feed.

6.9
As world wide demand for protein increases there is a
great need for a massive increase in investment in research and
development in the animal feed sector.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Dimitris DIMITRIADIS

(1) OJ C 246, 20.10.2007, p. 12.