Legislation and Guidance

The FSA’s Scientific Advisory Committees (SACs) gather scientific information and evaluate its relevance. Of particular interest to the AIC Feed Sector is the Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs (ACAF).

The Veterinary Medicines (Amendment etc) Regulations 2024 set out the controls on the marketing, manufacture, distribution, possession, and administration of veterinary medicines and medicated feed. Under the Windsor Framework, EU law on veterinary medicines and medicated feed applies in respect of Northern Ireland. Aspects of the Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 still apply in NI to complement and enact certain aspects of the EU law.

The EU has approved legislation permitting the feeding of pig-processed animal protein to poultry and poultry-processed animal protein to pigs, along with ruminant gelatine, collagen, and protein derived from insects to pigs and poultry.

The TSE Regulation and the Animal By-Product (ABP) Regulations controls the use of animal proteins in feed for food-producing animals. Defra/ the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) have produced detailed guidance notes on both the TSE and ABP Regulations. Amendments to the EU legislation permitting the feeding of pig-processed animal protein to poultry and poultry-processed animal protein to pigs, along with ruminant gelatine, collagen, and protein derived from insects to pigs and poultry apply in Northern Ireland but not in Great Britain.

AIC is closely involved with the UK Government initiative on insect biomass and is engaged in order to express the feed industry views.

Whilst there is no requirement to implement this regulation, which came into force on 21 April 2021, in Great Britain, there are some legislative changes that the Government have made in order to enable ongoing trade with the EU as a Third Country. This includes the requirement that all terrestrial diseases listed under the EU Animal Health Regulation are notifiable in third countries exporting live animals to the EU.

Please note that the guidance listed applies to England. However, and where appropriate, there are links to the controls applying to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales in these different sets of guidance documents.

The purpose of this Regulation is to ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment as well as the free movement of substances, mixtures and articles within scope of the controls.

The Environmental Permitting Regulations (England and Wales) were amended in 2018 to implement the requirements of the ‘Medium Combustion Plant’ (MCP) Directive and additional controls on ‘Specified Generators’.

In July 2020, Defra and the Devolved Administrations issued a joint Circular Economy Package policy statement confirming the UK’s commitment to a more circular economy which will see the UK keeping resources in use as long as possible, extracting maximum value from them, minimizing waste and promoting resource efficiency.

These Regulations establish criteria for evaluating the potential risks, harmonised procedures for risk assessment and authorisation, provisions for the labelling of feed consisting of and containing GMOs and produced from GMOs as well as the traceability and labelling of GMOs and the traceability of food and feed products produced from them. Related information includes the GM Food and Feed – Notification of Existing Products and links to both the GB and EU list of authorised GMO’s.

The UK is committed to moving towards a more circular economy, keeping resources in use as long as possible, extracting maximum value from them, minimizing waste and promoting resource efficiency.

The Regulation provides the framework for the authorisation of feed additives requiring a scientific evaluation demonstrating that the additive has no harmful effects, on human and animal health and on the environment. Related information includes both the EU and GB Registers of Feed Additives.

The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 provides that, from 1 January 2021, certain directly applicable EU legislation will be converted into UK law. 

FSA have launched a web hub providing details of the Scientific Advisory Committee structure.

Current Government animal feed consultations

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is one of the most important challenges facing our species. In political terms it is now attracting as much attention as global warming and failure to address the problem could have far-reaching consequences for human health.

This legislation establishes common objectives and principles to underpin all stages of production, preparation and distribution of organic products and their control as well as the use of indications referring to organic production in labelling and advertising. Related documents include guidance on the operation of the organic controls.

These are reference tools for food and feed legislation applicable in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

This Directive lays down maximum limits for heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium as well as for dioxin, aflatoxin, certain pesticides, and botanical impurities in certain feed materials, feed additives and feedingstuffs and sets maximum limits for the carry-over of coccidiostats in feeds intended for non-target species. It also prohibits the dilution of contaminated feed materials.

Section 2(2) of this Act provides the legal powers to make secondary legislation to fulfil the UK’s EU obligations. This legislation has been revoked.

This legislation establishes a harmonised framework for the organisation of official controls and activities along the entire agri-food chain. Arising from this legislation, the UK Government has produced the Multi-Annual National Control Plan (MANCP) and guidance on the importation of high risk foods and feed in the event of a no deal Brexit.

Comprehensive information on current legislation.

The Regulation on the marketing and use of feed materials and compound feed covers labelling provisions, tolerances for analytical constituents, the Catalogue of Feed Materials and Register of Feed Materials. Related information includes the EU Code of good labelling practice for compound feed for food producing animals and guidelines for the feed use of former foodstuffs.

Programmes for the enforcement of animal feed law (at all stages of production, processing, storage, transportation and distribution, including import and the primary production of feed for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Use of materials from the manufacture or sale of food/drink for human consumption as animal feed (with or without further processing)

Rationale for disease control during visits to livestock farms.