7862365916

^:ACTM Acta Sci. Pol, Medicina Yeterinaria 7(4) 2008, 3-11

THE ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN FEED INDUSTRY ON A SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE FEED AND FOOD PRODUCTION

Martin J.M. Tielen

University Utrecht, The Netherlands, European Feed Manufacturers Federation(FEFAC), Member Executive Board of the International Society for Animal Hygiene (ISAH)

Abstract. The European feed industry produces about 140 million ton compound feed each year. Most of the feed is composed by feed ingredients imported from countries all over the world. The safety of this feed ingredients is a serious threat for the safety of food of animal origine.

Key words: feed legislation, feed production, feed safety

INTRODUCTION

The European feed industry produces about 140 million ton compound feed each year. Most of the feed is composed by feed ingredients imported from countries all over the world. The safety of this feed ingredients is a serious threat for the safety of food of animal origine. Some incidents in the past, like BSE and contamination of feed ingredients with dioxine, mycotoxins, nitrofen, heavy metals, pharmaceutical waste (mpa), a.s.o., had a elear political impact on the EU-regulations and ended up in the new General Food Law of the European Union who is in place sińce 1 January 2004. The European Parlament adapted in the framework of this GFL the Feed and Food Hygiene Regulation coming in place from 1 January 2006 onwards. Responsibility for food safety for all partners in the feed and food chain is the bases of this regulation. All oper-ations should apply the HACCP principles to defrne there production process. Transpa-rency and traceability are required to inform the competent authorities about the pro-duct streams.

Above all, traceability in the feed chain is FEFAC’s aim to ensure the safety of feeds for the benefit of consumers (of products of animal origin), animals and the environ-ment.

Corresponding author - Adres do korespondencji: Martin J.M. Tielen, European Feed Manufac-tures Federation(FEFAC), Rue de la Loi 223, 1040 Brussels, B., e-mail: [e-mail]