FVO report reveals gaping holes in Spanish feed industry inspection system

The final report of the FVO audit​ was published by the EU Commission this month. 

It reveals gaps in how the Spanish authorities monitor the feed chain and questions, in particular, whether the official system of controls can ensure effective measures are in place at feed mills to minimize cross-contamination in antibiotics or in coccidiostats:

“Feed inspectors largely fail to detect that operators' arrangements for measuring cross-contamination are poorly designed or executed and official sampling for this purpose is rarely performed or it is performed incorrectly.”​

High risk production ​

The official feed chain checks and balances in Spain, notes the review, are also “not able to detect and prevent the use of unsuitable materials and high risk production practices by food surplus recyclers.”​

In addition, the FVO team found a number of food businesses sending co-products for feed usage which were not registered to do so: “This does not allow competent authorities to ensure that all the products intended for use in feed comply with the relevant legal requirements.”​

Enforcement delays ​

Non-compliances detected during official controls are largely followed up, said the reviewers, but measures designed to rectify them are not always enforced efficiently.

The auditors noted: “In Extremadura, the competent authority detected in 2009 a non-compliance related with HACCP in a small feed mill; despite several warning letters sent to the operator over the following years, the said establishment did not correct the deficiencies until 2012. ​ ​

In Andalucía, official controls detected some shortcomings regarding homogeneity and cross-contamination in a feed mill in 2009. The owner of this establishment was given verbal and writing warnings to solve the deficiencies but these were not yet corrected at the time this audit was carried out.”​ ​

Dioxin testing ​

The investigation found that competent authorities have a good knowledge of the processes and risks associated with biodiesel, oleochemical and fat blending operations. 

However, the FVO team said official controls cannot ensure compound feed producers are meeting their obligations in relation to dioxin testing, since neither the producers nor the competent authorities “have found a way to establish a clear link between each consignment of fats received and accompanying laboratory results for a representative analysis of 2,000 tons.” ​ ​

And the auditors found a gap in the system in terms of ensuring that feed makers mandate the laboratories to report any non-compliant result to the relevant competent authority. 

The Spanish ministry of agriculture, food and the environment is currently implementing the recommendations of the FVO report.