June 2010 update on the Animal Nutrition Section of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health

Feed additives
Votes were taken on seven Commission proposals concerning feed additives. All received a comfortable majority in favour. Details are given in Annex I, which can be found below.

Marketing and use of feed
A qualified majority vote in favour was given for a Commission proposal that clarifies the status of certain feed products. The document is in two parts:

• a section that removes feed additive status from some ‘grey area substances’ that also have other uses as feed materials (e.g. calcium carbonate and glycerol)
• a part that confirms that substances generally considered to be feed materials are not feed additives (e.g. glucosamine and calcium chloride)

It is expected that the first revision of the European Union Catalogue for Feed Materials will go for a vote at the July meeting.

Undesirable substances
The Commission presented a draft consolidated Annex for the Directive on Undesirable Substances in Feed (2002/32). Minor amendments were agreed; it is expected that this would be voted on at the July meeting.

The committee discussed an updated document defining acceptability criteria for detoxification processes for feed. Member States were generally content with the document. The proposal will be taken to a vote at either the July or September meetings.

No final decision was reached concerning possible controls for non-dioxin like PCBs. Commission and Member States will return to this matter once more data and further advice from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) are available.

There was no significant objection to the Commission’s suggestion that controls for dioxins and PCBs in feed should be based in future on the 2005 WHO toxic equivalent factors (TEFs).

The committee discussed possible controls for Ambrosia plant species (‘ragweeds’) in feed following the recent publication of an Opinion from EFSA’s CONTAM Panel. It was generally agreed that bird feed (but not manufactured feed for livestock) was a significant agent in the dispersal of these weed species that have a significant adverse effect on suffers of hayfever. There appeared to be no clear mandate for statutory maximum limits in birdfeed. The Commission will provide a paper for discussion at the July meeting outlining possible risk management options.

Former colleague
Commission announced that the former head of the Commission’s Animal Nutrition Unit, Mr Jean Thibeaux had died recently. A minute’s silence was held in his memory.

Annex I

Commission proposals that received a qualified majority vote:

Product	Proposal number	Animal category	Purpose
Phytase from Pichia pastoris DSM 15927	SANCO/10671/2010	Laying hens	Modification of authorisation
Phytase from Trichodermia reesei CBS 122002	SANCO/10673/2010	Turkeys	New species authorisation
Saccharomyces cerevisiae NCYC Sc47	SANCO/10870/2010	Calves	New species authorisation
Lasalocid A sodium	SANCO/10868/2010	Turkeys	Reauthorisation
Narasin	SANCO/10670/2010	Broilers	Removal of withdrawal period
Narasin + Nicarbazin	SANCO/10871/2010	Broilers	Reauthorisation
Nicarbazin	SANCO/10869/2010	Broilers	Reauthorisation

SCoFCAH is a European Commission regulatory committee that was established by Regulation 178/2002, a regulation that includes the laying down of principles and requirements of feed law. Meetings of the Committee are chaired by European Commission officials, and attended by Member States’ representatives. The Committee can give an opinion, that is to say a vote, on certain proposed measures, prior to their possible adoption by the Commission.

SCoFCAH has eight sections. The Animal Nutrition Section deals with animal feed and meets about ten times each year. Information about the outcome of each meeting will be published on this website.

For further information about the SCoFCAH Animal Nutrition Section, email: ray.smith@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk