Animal feed industry trade bodies publish GB Register of Feed Materials
A group of leading trade associations representing the UK animal feed industry have launched a new register of feed materials to support businesses.
The GB Register of Feed Materials is a practical online portal which allows animal feed businesses to notify new feed materials that are being made available to the market.
The register will be used by businesses in the sector as a reference point for new feed materials that are introduced into the UK market.
It is the result of collaboration between UK Feed Chain Task Force members the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC), the British Association of Feed Supplement and Additive Manufacturers (BAFSAM), the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) and the UK pet food manufacturing trade body (UK PetFood), as well as the Food Standards Agency (FSA), and Food Standards Scotland (FSS).
James McCulloch, Head of Animal Feed at AIC, said: "This new GB Register of Feed Materials provides an essential solution to the technical challenges posed by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
"The Register will be key to supporting the decision-making at livestock and pet food businesses throughout Great Britain and is a great example of the industry uniting to achieve a valuable outcome for mutual benefit."
Technical solution
Since the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the UK Feed Chain Task Force member trade associations have worked to provide this technical solution to allow the animal feed industry to comply with the legal requirement to notify new feed materials.
The group of trade associations and food and feed safety regulators have been collaborating on the contents of the Register since they first agreed to work together last year.
Legal requirements had previously been met by feed companies registering all materials on the EU’s equivalent feed register. However, after EU Exit, this was no longer recognised in UK law and so created the need for a new register specifically for businesses operating in Great Britain.
The Register consists of the English language entries that were listed on the EU Register of Feed Materials as at 1 January 2021.
The decision has been made to colour-code the entries in the Register:
- Red = Entries that are not considered a feed material following an assessment by UK FCTF and the competent authorities.
- Amber = Entries that were transferred from the EU Register having been listed prior to changes made to the notification procedure (pre-4 October 2019) and have not been reviewed.
- Yellow = Entries that were transferred from EU Register having been listed post changes made to the notification procedure (4 October 2019), or those entries notified to the GB Register and are under review.
- Green = Entries that are considered a feed material following an assessment by UK FCTF and authorities.
UK legislation requires that the person “who, for the first time, places on the market a feed material that is not listed in the Catalogue shall immediately notify its use to the representatives of the UK feed business sectors”.
The completion of the Notification Form on the Register website therefore fulfils this legal requirement. The homepage of the website also carries a comprehensive guidance document on the notification process.
Northern Ireland
The GB Register of Feed Materials is a list of feed materials that are notified by UK feed business operators for placing on the Great Britain market only.
The EU law that applies to Northern Ireland is specified in Annex ll of the Northern Ireland Protocol means that any business seeking to notify a new feed material for placing on the Northern Ireland market will have to continue to follow EU rules.
Further information
Businesses wishing to notify a new feed material for placing on the Northern Ireland or EU markets, can do so by visiting the EU Register of Feed Materials website.
For questions regarding the management of the online register, email [email protected]. Any questions related to the legislation can be addressed to the relevant authorities.
Links to the GB Feed Materials Register website have been placed on both FSA and FSS websites with some explanatory text:
- Animal feed legislation | Food Standards Agency
- Animal feed regulations | Food Standards Scotland | Food Standards Scotland
ENDS
About AIC
As the UK agricultural supply industry's leading trade association, the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) represents businesses in key sectors within the supply chains that feed the nation.
Its Member businesses supply UK farmers and growers with the animal feed, fertiliser, seed, crop protection products, trusted advice and quality services that are essential to producing food, as well as trading crops and commodities across the globe.
Formed in October 2003 by a merger of three trade associations, today AIC has over 230 Members in the agri-supply trade and represents £17.8 billion* turnover at farmgate.
AIC works on behalf of its Members by lobbying policymakers and stakeholders, delivering information, providing trade assurance schemes, and offering technical support.
AIC Services manages a range of services, including Trade Assurance Schemes and professional registers recognised by the UK Government as essential means to underpin feed and food safety alongside fertiliser security.
These schemes and professional registers include:
- Trade Assurance Scheme for Combinable Crops (TASCC)
- Feed Materials Assurance Scheme (FEMAS)
- Universal Feed Assurance Scheme (UFAS)
- European Seed Treatment Assurance (ESTA)
- Fertiliser Industry Assurance Scheme (FIAS)
- Feed Adviser Register (FAR)
- Renewable Energy Directive (RED)
- Forage Assurance Scheme (FAA)
- AIC Services Palm Oil Credit Scheme (APOCS)
*According to a 2023 survey of AIC Members.
Press Contact
Oli Hill, Head of Communications, AIC
+44 (0)1733 385230
[email protected]
Author
Oli Hill
As Head of Communications, Oli creates and oversees the content published on AIC's website, emails, Member briefings, print publications, and social media. A qualified multimedia journalist, he previously spent six years working at Farmers Weekly magazine as a Senior Reporter on the arable team, and latterly as Community Editor. More recently he was Communications Manager at Red Tractor.