ICCF publishes feed ingredients identification and characterization guidance

The International Cooperation for Convergence of Technical Requirements for the Assessment of Feed Ingredients (ICCF) Steering Committee has endorsed the guidance document on ‘Identification and characterization of feed ingredients’.

The document provides guidance for feed manufacturers on the information that needs to be included in a submission package for the pre-market approval or authorization of feed ingredients. It is accompanied by a checklist that provides a summary of the recommendations for the different types of feed ingredients.

The newly-released guidance builds on existing international guidance documents, on the expertise and experience from a panel of experts drawn from the ICCF founding members, and on the comments received during the consultation phase conducted in January 2022. However, applicants are advised to consult relevant legislation and regulatory guidance as well during the development phase of new feed ingredients.

Covered within are all categories of feed ingredients including mixtures, including:

- feed ingredients manufactured by chemical reactions,

- feed ingredients of plant origin,

- feed ingredient containing (a) viable microorganism(s),

- feed ingredient manufactured by fermentation/biological steps, not containing viable microorganism(s),

- feed ingredients of animal origin,

- feed ingredients of mineral origin.

There are also recommendations on how to properly characterise feed ingredients, including feed that contains viable microorganisms, i.e. beneficial microbes, and feed produced through fermentation.

The guidance document is freely available from ICCF’s website​.

ICCF was launched in 2017 by industry bodies from Canada, the European Union and the US with the aim to develop and establish science-based, common technical guidance to support the feed industry in assessing their products and to aid in the preparation of pre-market assessment submissions. Founding ICCF members include the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the European Commission (DG SANTE), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as well as the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA), the Animal Nutrition Association of Canada (ANAC), the EU Association of Specialty Feed Ingredients and their Mixtures (FEFANA) and the International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF).

At the time of ICCF's launch, chair Melissa Dumont said the body's work would benefit 'not only the three regions covered, as the guidance documents will be made available for reference and use by other jurisdictions around the globe'. "This initiative will also help to facilitate free and fair trade of feed ingredients as well as support the feed and food chain as it works to safely and sustainably meet the global growing demand for animal protein," she added.