ISSUE FOCUS 22 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE December 2022 • Regulation (EC) No 767/2009 (controlling the placing on the market and use of feed)4 • Regulation (EU) No 68/2013 (catalogue of feed materials)5 It is the responsibility of the Feed Business Operator (FBO) to ensure that feed products are compliant. EU laws apply to all EU Member States and EEA (European Economic Area) countries meaning that if an ingredient has a legal status in the EU, then it can be marketed in pet foods, pet supplements and pet treats in all 27 EU Member States. The European Pet Food Industry Federation (FEDIAF) is the trade body representing the European pet food industry. 18 national trade associations and 5 companies (Affinity Petcare, Hill’s Pet Nutrition, Mars PetCare, Nestlé Purina Petcare and Wellpet) are members of FEDIAF6. Their mission is to provide safe products for the benefit of pets, and they believe that pet ownership has the ability to enhance the lives of all Europeans6. FEDIAF often co-operates closely with the EU authorities in order to work towards this goal. FEDIAF have worked to develop various guidelines centred on providing harmonised information on the regulation of pet food products in the EU. Publications include guidelines based on NRC specifications, that can be used by members of the Federation to formulate diets. These guidelines are updated regularly to ensure that manufacturers throughout Europe keep up to date with the latest in scientific and nutritional advancements. The latest version has been released in 2021. FEDIAF also developed the FEDIAF Code of Good Labelling Practice7, a user-friendly guide for consumers which provides on pet food labelling, validated by EU authorities and Member States. The Code is intended to be used by companies and authorities alongside the relevant existing EU legislation. FEDIAF also supports the sustainably production of pet food throughout Europe by the following and are committed to support recycling, ethical sourcing of raw materials and encouraging the efficient use of energy8. HOW APPROVAL IS OBTAINED Pet foods need to be approved by the European Commission (EC) to be commercially marketed. Each ingredient in the formulation needs an approval or notification, based on the type of ingredient it is. Raw feed materials generally only need a notification to be submitted to the EU authorities if not already officially listed as a feed material. A list of the registered feed materials available within the EU can be found in the above-mentioned Catalogue of Feed Materials as well as the EU Feed Materials register website. As per EU Regulation No 767/20099 complete pet food is considered to be pet food that, by reason of its composition, is sufficient for a daily ration10. Other forms of pet food can be wet food, treats and raw chews. Ingredients in these products also need to obtain approval from the regulatory bodies and final products must be compliant with the relevant feed regulations in order to be commercially marketed. As many pet foods will contain ingredients that will be considered as feed additives, these need to be approved by the EC according to Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 on additives for use in animal nutrition11. For new additives, this process requires the submission of a feed additive application to the EC followed by a scientific evaluation by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) before subsequent EC authorisation. It is often in the best interest of the pet food company to seek assistance with these approvals from regulatory consultancies, especially when the product is in a novel form or if the finished product contains an ingredient that for instance would be used as a treatment for an ailment or parasite. FUTURE TRENDS To stay ahead of consumer demands, the pet food industry would need to keep growing. It is estimated that around 30% of global sales are generated in Europe alone. The continent is considered one of the industry leaders in pet food and related prod-
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