Compound Feeds
The Directive on the marketing of compound feeds (79/373/EEC) (pdf 114Kb) is concerned primarily with requirements governing the composition and labelling. The Directive has been given effect in our national legislation under the European Communities (Marketing of Compound Feedingstuffs) Regulations, 1999 (S.I. 435 of 1999) (pdf 493Kb). Legislation covering the approval of manufacturers, and good manufacturing practice in general, is not controlled under this Directive but rather falls under the Food Hygiene Regulations (Regulation (EC) 183/2005 (pdf 190Kb)
The main aims of the Directive are to ensure the safety of feeds and to prevent fraud during marketing. Consequently, feedingstuffs must be wholesome, unadulterated and of merchantable quality. They may not represent a danger to animal or human health and may not be marketed in a manner liable to mislead.
The legislation specifies not only the particulars which must appear on the official label, but also the particulars which may be added. Other information may appear on the packaging provided it is given separately from the proscribed information. Such information must meet specified criteria designed to prevent fraud and to prohibit medicinal or unsubstantiated claims.
The following analytical constituents must be declared on compound feedingstuffs for all species of animals:- crude protein, crude oils and fats, crude fibre, and crude ash. In addition, lysine must be declared on pig feeds and methionine, or its hydroxy analogs, on poultry feeds. In the case of mineral mixtures the macro elements must be declared. The Directive also lays down tolerances to be applied in respect of certain analyses.
EU Legislation
- Council Directive 79/373/EC (pdf 114Kb) on the circulation of compound feedingstuffs (Consolidated);
- Commission Directive 80/511/EEC (pdf 48Kb) authorizing, in certain cases, the marketing of compound feedingstuffs in unsealed packages or containers (Consolidated);
- Commission Directive 82/475/EEC (pdf 57Kb) laying down the categories of feed materials which may be used for the purposes of labelling compound feedingstuffs for pet animals (Consolidated);
- Commission Directive 86/174/EEC (pdf 110Kb) fixing the method of calculation for the energy value of compound poultry feed
National Legislation
- European Communities (Marketing of Compound Feedingstuffs) Regulations, 1999 to 2003 (pdf 493Kb) (Consolidated)
