Draft Feeding Stuffs (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009

EC Directive 2008/82

Feeding stuffs for particular nutritional purposes (or dietetic feeds) are non-medicinal feeds intended to meet the nutritional requirements of farmed livestock, pet animals and horses whose metabolism may be permanently or temporarily impaired. Examples of particular nutritional purposes include reduction of the risk of milk fever in dairy cows and compensation for malabsorption of nutrients in poultry.

Under the terms of EC Directive 93/74, the composition of dietetic feeds must be capable of achieving the particular nutritional purpose for which they are intended and must have one or more of the ‘Essential nutritional characteristics’ listed in the Annex to the Directive. Conditions of use for such feeds and labelling requirements are also specified in the Annex, now published in consolidated form as Directive 2008/38 of 5 March 2008.

This measure amends the existing entry in Part B of the Annex to Directive 2008/38/EC, which already includes feed with a low level of phosphorus for the particular nutritional purpose ‘the support of renal function in case of chronic renal insufficiency’ for cats and dogs. Chronic renal insufficiency is a condition seen usually in older cats and dogs. This results from deterioration of the kidneys resulting in a partial loss of the ability to remove waste products from the blood stream. The amendment concerns the inclusion of a new essential nutritional characteristic, which has been made following advice from the European Food Safety Authority. This permits certain compound feeds containing the specific authorised feed additive Lanthanum carbonate octahydrate to claim a use in the support of renal function in the case of renal insufficiency.

This amendment will be of benefit to pet food manufacturers, who will be able to market an increased range of products making appropriate claims for the management of renal insufficiency, and purchasers of pet foods, particularly pet owners who will have access to new products containing an authorised feed additive. It will also have animal health benefits, particularly for adult cats. Pet owners may also benefit because they may not have to use more expensive veterinary products and/or veterinary procedures for the management of renal insufficiency.

EC Directive 2008/76

An important safeguard in the protection of animal and human health is the setting of statutory limits for undesirable substances, as defined in regulation 2 of the Feeding Stuffs Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005. For the most part these are naturally occurring environmental contaminants which may be introduced into the feed either during or as a consequence of its treatment, manufacture and storage. The list of undesirable substances covered by the regulations also includes a range of organochlorine compounds, chiefly pesticides such as camphechlor, endosulfan, aldrin and dieldrin.

EC Directive 2008/76 introduces amendments which are being made following an Opinion from the relevant scientific panel of the European Food Safety Authority to existing maximum permitted levels for certain undesirable substances as laid down in Annex I to Directive 2002/32. This measure will:

• add a new level of 350mg per kg for fluorine in feed for fish. This is because of the increasing use of marine crustaceans such as marine krill in fish feed.
• delete the entries relating to apricots, bitter almond and Camelina.
• delete the entries for two named plant species (Lolium temulentum L and Lolium remotum Schrank) on the grounds that they are rarely found in Europe or are already controlled by other more general entries or have an alternative use in oilseed production.
• clarify the existing entry for DDT (sum of DDT, TDE and DDE isomers, expressed as DDT) by substituting 'DDT (sum of DDT-, DDD- (or TDE-) and DDE-isomers, expressed as DDT)' and changing the entry for 'fats' to 'fats and oils'.

The amendments described above will be of benefit to: (a) the manufacturers of fish feed, who will be assured that their products meet the new, scientifically verified limits; and (b) those growing arable crops for feed use and feed manufacturers, who will no longer be required to undertake testing for the possible presence of the named species of weeds. These amendments should also benefit the purchasers and users of feed, who will be assured that the products they use are formulated in line with current scientific knowledge.

The Food Standards Agency Northern Ireland (FSANI) considers that neither of these measures will impose any new or additional costs to business or to those responsible for the enforcement of feed legislation (local authority trading standards departments in Great Britain and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Northern Ireland). For these reasons, an Impact Assessment has not been drawn up for the purposes of this public consultation.

Questions

It would be helpful to have your views on the proposed implementation of both the above mentioned EC Directives in Regulations in Northern Ireland. There will be separate but parallel consultations on draft regulations for England, Scotland, and Wales. Your views are sought on the following questions:

• do you have any comments on the provisions or the wording of the draft Feeding Stuffs (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009?
• do you have any views on the potential impact of the measures (e.g. are there likely to be any additional costs to industry arising from the implementation of both these new measures)?
• We would be grateful if you could quantify any benefits or costs in statistical or financial form.

This consultation has been prepared in accordance with the HM Government Code of Practice on Consultation, which states that a consultation must follow better regulation best practice, including carrying out an Impact Assessment (Regulatory Impact Assessment in Scotland). The assessment is included in the consultation documents.

We are interested in what you thought of this consultation and would therefore welcome your general feedback on both the consultation package and overall consultation process. If you would like to assist us to improve the quality of future consultations, please feel free to share your thoughts with us by using the consultation feedback questionnaire.

Consultation feedback questionnaire (Word)

Consultation feedback questionnaire (pdf)

In accordance with the FSA principle of openness our Information Centre at Aviation House will hold a copy of the completed consultation. The FSA will publish a summary of responses, which may include personal data, such as your full name. Disclosure of any other personal data would be made only upon request for the full consultation responses. If you do not want this information to be released, please complete and return the Publication of Personal Data Form. Return of this form does not mean that we will treat your response to the consultation as confidential, just your personal data.

Data protection form (Word)

Data protection form (pdf)

Within three months of a consultation ending we aim to publish a summary of responses received and provide a link to it from this page.

If, after three months, the summary is still not showing, please contact the person who was responsible for the original consultation. Alternatively, you can contact the FSA Consultation Co-ordinator by email: consultationcoordinator@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk