FEMAS provides sustainable soy sourcing assurance after passing FEFAC benchmarking
Feed manufacturers and suppliers looking to procure soy from responsible sources for their animal feeds can now use the Feed Materials Assurance Scheme (FEMAS) run by the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC) for this purpose, after FEMAS successfully met the soy sourcing benchmarking guidelines set by the European Feed Manufacturers’ Federation (FEFAC) for the European feed industry.
John Kelley, Chief Operating Officer of AIC and Managing Director of AIC Services, said, “This is a great achievement for FEMAS and supports both scheme participants and AIC Members in achieving their aims for a sustainable supply chain for soya. This is one of a number of measures in the feed sector which demonstrates progress in the AIC’s Roadmap for a Sustainable Food Chain.”
Soy is an important ingredient in livestock feed but its production has been linked to environmental issues such as deforestation. Feed companies are increasingly being asked by customers to make sure there are no sustainability issues such as deforestation in their supply chains. One way to demonstrate this is through certification schemes which focus on sustainable and responsible soy production and sourcing.
The ‘Soy Sourcing Guidelines’ developed by FEFAC in 2015 were updated in 2021 to reflect these changes in market need. The FEMAS Responsible Sourcing module was revised in 2021 following this update and has now successfully passed the independent benchmarking process against the FEFAC Soy Sourcing Guidelines 2021 conducted by the International Trade Centre (ITC).
A total of 20 schemes have successfully applied and passed the benchmarking process and these are displayed in the updated FEFAC Soy Sourcing Guidelines Benchmarking Tool on the ITC Standards Map. This tool allows users to filter for schemes that provide conversion-free soy, enabling them to select between the different supply chain models and two periods of deforestation cut-off dates.
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]
