Brussels, 23/06/2009 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 22 June, the EU Council of Ministers adopted, without debate, a regulation on the marketing and use of animal feeds, following the first-reading agreement with the European Parliament. The main objective of the new regulation (which will come into force later this year) is to boost innovation within the feed industry and to strengthen the competitiveness of the EU livestock sector while maintaining a high level of protection for animals and European citizens.
Labelling rules for feed will be aligned with those for food for human consumption. More specifically, the current requirement to state all raw materials of compound feed as a percentage of total weight on the label, with a tolerance of +/-15%, is replaced by an obligation to list the ingredients in decreasing order of weight. However, if the presence of a feed material is emphasised on the label in words, pictures or graphics, its exact percentage by weight must be indicated. At farmers' request, feed producers have to provide quantitative data in a range within +/-15% of the exact quantity, as long as this does not infringe the 2004 directive on intellectual property rights. In the event of health or environmental emergencies the competent authorities may provide farmers with additional information (the Court of Justice of the European Communities has ruled that the requirement to provide precise information on request is disproportionate with regard to health protection).
The rules for pet food do not require as much detail, but labels must carry a telephone number which pet owners can call if they seek additional information on the contents of such food.
A new voluntary EU catalogue of feed materials will be created, designed to facilitate the exchange of information on product properties. Feed material not listed in this catalogue and which is placed on the market for the first time must be notified in an on-line register.
Nutritional claims will only be allowed as long as they are objective, understandable and scientifically substantiated. If farmers raise doubts as to the truthfulness of nutritional claims, the national authorities must verify the scientific substantiation and may submit the issue to the Commission. This will ensure that farmers do not pay for non-existent features.
Health claims will be forbidden, except for coccidiostats and histomonostats; claims concerning nutritional imbalances such as “compensation for maldigestion” or “regulation of glucose supply (diabetes mellitus)” will however be allowed. (L.C./transl.rt)