FEFANA renews call for EU feed additives regulation to be fit for purpose
The revision of the feed additives legislation has been postponed until the next EU Commission.
The industry has long awaited a substantial overhaul of Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 to facilitate compliance with the EU Farm to Fork Strategy and the EU Green Deal. The existing rules, which are over 20 years old, will not be updated until at least the first quarter of 2025.
The revamp of the regulation began with a fit-for-purpose evaluation in 2017; that was completed in 2020, with a report on that process only released in February this year.
Speaking as part of a panel at the 68th FEFAC annual public meeting on key regulatory and market drivers needed to boost circularity in the EU feed and livestock chain, FEFANA president, Séverine Deschandelliers, said the regulation must be modernized to address the critical loss of competitiveness and ensure the continued availability of feed additives.
2nd panel on key market and regulatory drivers to increase Circularity of the EU feed and livestock chain and reduce carbon emissions on feed ingredients !
— FEFAC (@FEFAC_EU) May 31, 2024
Many thanks for your intervention @EUClimateAction, @Bayer4Crops, @EFFPA_EU, @IFIFfeedpic.twitter.com/LWJpFau9w5
She stressed the need for clarity and flexibility in the definition and function of feed additives, advocating a shift away from a singular focus on animal performance criteria towards a greater emphasis on sustainability and animal welfare aspects.
FEFANA represents the animal feed additives industry in the EU. Its membership comprises manufacturers and traders of feed additives, functional feed ingredients, premixes and other mixtures of specialty ingredients that enter the food chain via feed.
Generic additives
Deschandelliers highlighted the limited protection of investments for companies investing significant capital into the authorization and/or renewal of generic feed additives under the current setup. The lack of protection for non-holder specific authorizations discourages applicants, who bear the costs to generate and deliver all required data without having exclusive rights to the product authorizations.
The arbitrary limitation of the EU authorization period for feed additives to 10 years is also problematic, with this renewal requirement inconsistent with other areas of EU food law.
Additionally, competitiveness is undermined by the slow market access, the lengthy application-to-approval process, and the unpredictability of the procedure.
Another key issue, she said, and one that FEFANA has championed for many years, is the disproportionate and outdated provisions for labeling, which need alignment with other EU legislation.
