Animal Feeding Stuffs Legislation of the UK. A Concise Guide

137 Pages·1987·1.497 MB·English

by  D. R. Williams (Auth.)

Animal Feeding Stuffs
Legislation of the UK
A Concise Guide
D. R. Williams BSc, PhD, CChem, FRSC
BOCM Silcock Ltd, Basingstoke RG21 2EQ
Butterworths
London Boston Durban Singapore Sydney Toronto Wellington
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced
or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
photocopying and recording, without the written permission of the
copyright holder, application for which should be addressed to the
Publishers. Such written permission must also be obtained before
any part of this publication is stored in a retrieval system of any
nature.
This book is sold subject to the Standard Conditions of Sale of Net
Books and may not be re-sold in the UK below the net price given
by the Publisher in their current price list.
First published 1987
© Butterworth & Co. (Publishers) Ltd, 1987
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Williams, D. R. (David Rowland)
Animal feeding stuffs legislation of the UK:
a concise guide.
1. Feeds—Law and legislation—Great Britain
I. Title 344.104'49 KD23'6.F4
ISBN 0-408-03070-4
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Williams, D. R. (David Rowland)
Animal feeding stuffs legislation of the UK.
1. Feeds—Law and legislation—Great Britain
I. Title.
KD3420.W55 1987 343.73'07866476 87-6351
ISBN 0-408-03070-4 347.3037866476
Photoset by Butterworths Litho Preparation Department
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Anchor Brendon, Tiptree, Essex
Preface
People who are responsible for ensuring that animal feeding stuffs are
manufactured, sold and distributed in accordance with statutory
regulations have an onerous duty. Most of the legislation is published as
amendments to regulations and the various acts resulting in a proliferation
of major and minor statutory instruments. The advantage of compiling a
book such as this one is that the legislation is collected in one volume and
the numerous individual statutory instruments have been dissected and
categorized according to their relevance to raw materials, straight feeding
stuffs, compound feeds, medicated feeds and additives. Sections of the
book also deal with sampling, the rights of inspectors under different acts
and regulations and a description of codes of practice which are to be
implemented shortly. Labelling requirements are detailed and definitive
lists of raw materials, straight feeding stuffs, nutritional and medicinal
additives are also included.
During the period over which the book was written, new legislation was
being drafted and discussed in the EEC and UK and this is covered in the
appendices. It normally takes more than a year for such legislation to
appear as statutory regulations in the UK.
It is hoped that this book will be a helpful and authoritative guide to feed
manufacturers, raw materials suppliers, technical advisors, enforcement
agencies and students of feed and livestock production.
Whilst writing this book many people have been consulted who have
contributed with advice and material help and I would like to express my
thanks to them.
2 Introduction
Feed manufacturers are faced with increasingly complex legislation arising
from EEC and UK initiatives. Most of this legislation is of a technical
nature applicable to the manufacture, sale and supply of feeding stuffs,
supplements and additives. This guide has been designed to cover the
legislative controls which are specific to the feed industry in the UK and
its main purpose is to provide, in one publication, a ready reference to the
legislative requirements.
The legislation described in the Guide is applicable to feed manufacturers,
including farm mixers - to suppliers of raw materials, additives and
supplements - and also to distributors of feeds, livestock producers and
the enforcement agencies. Others directly involved in the feeding and
health aspects of animal production such as veterinary surgeons and
agricultural advisers may also find this Guide of help especially with
regard to statutory labelling requirements covering both compulsory and
optional information concerning nutritional and other statements and
warranties. Lecturers and students at universities and colleges of
agriculture may also find the book useful.
Although some of the schedules in UK regulations governing animal
feeding stuffs are applicable to pet foods, these are not covered in this
Guide since they are a distinctly different industry compared with the feed
industry for which this publication is written.
This Guide contains the new labelling requirements for additives,
supplements and feeds which arise from the harmonisation of EEC
legislation and the review of medicinal additives and feeds which will be
effective in 1987.
In preparing a concise Guide, it is inevitable that certain legislative
requirements will be omitted, but the selection of material for the Guide is
designed to cover most of the situations encountered in the industry. The
guide is not a legal document and for full details of the legal requirements
the Acts and Regulations must be consulted.
The legislative requirements are constantly changing and it is possible that
further proposals may be made after the main text has been completed. If
such a situation arises before printing, details of the proposals will be
included in the Appendix.
1
2 UK Animal feeding stuffs law
UK laws governing the manufacture and supply of animal feeding stuffs
have been in existence since the last century. It is only during the past
twenty years, however, that increasingly detailed legislation has evolved
to match both the increasing sophistication of the industry and consumer
awareness. This is apparent in the controls on nutritional and animal
health aspects of feed production, and in the control of undesirable
substances such as aflatoxin, which was unknown twenty five years ago.
The accession of the UK to the EEC in 1972 was also a legislative
landmark, although it should be noted that the UK feed laws were at an
advanced state of development compared with those of most European
States and are still probably the best implemented. Most of the UK feed
regulations, with some notable exceptions under the Medicines Act 1968,
are EEC initiated through various Directives. In the UK, the principal
legislative powers for feeds are taken under the Agriculture Act 1970, the
Medicines Act 1968, and the Animal Health and Welfare Act 1984.
The Agriculture Act 1970, in Part IV contains the provisions for
controlling animal feeding stuffs (and fertilisers). Subsequent regulations
under the Act embraced UK and EEC proposals covering obligations
relating to materials sold and prepared for sale, appointment of
enforcement authorities, rules for sampling and analysis, prosecutions and
permissible defences based on mistakes, accident, etc. Of particular
importance is the general requirement of a warranty of fitness of the
feeding stuff and the Act provides for the making of appropriate
Regulations in this respect.
The Medicines Act 1968 includes general provisions relating to medicated
animal feeding stuffs and the licensing of medicinal products for
incorporation in feeds. The requirements of the Act are translated into
regulations which are constantly under review and which form a most
important part of feed legislation.
Closely connected with the Medicines Act is the Animal Health and
Welfare Act 1984 insofar that further controls have been introduced
governing the manufacture, sale and supply of medicated feeds containing
prescription only medicines.
2
UK animal feeding stuffs law 3
During the formulation of UK feed law, the Ministry of Agriculture,
Fisheries and Food consult interested parties of which the UK
Agricultural Supply Trade Association (UKASTA) is the leading
representative of feed manufacturers. The consultation procedures are
both formal and informal and they are a vital part of the legislative
procedure where the technical, commercial, political and other aspects of
proposals are thoroughly examined.
The UK Trade Associations, such as UKASTA, FAC and GAFTA
(representing shippers, brokers and raw material suppliers) represent the
vast majority of operators in the UK and their Associations are also
members of the European Federations of FEFAC, COGECA and
COCERAL, which provide a Brussels platform for direct consultation
with the EEC authorities*. Since much of the feed legislation is now EEC
based, these consultations are also vital since the aim of the EEC is to
harmonise legislation to remove trade barriers. In the early years of the
EEC, harmonisation of laws in countries with disparate traditions and
customs was difficult and there was a high degree of 'optional
harmonisation' or 'optional obedience' as it was in reality! The situation
has now changed and new legislation contains an increasing requirement
for compulsory harmonisation, especially in label declarations for
manufactured feeds, additives and raw materials.
This Guide does not cover in detail the Regulations issued by the EEC on
price and subsidy controls on various commodities that may be used in
feeds, such as skim milk powder, rapeseed, peas and beans, etc. since
these are mandatory and do not form part of the UK feed regulations as
such. Information on these regulations is available from the Intervention
Board for Agricultural Produce, who advise on the price changes as they
occur throughout the year.
* UKASTA - United Kingdom Agricultural Supplies Trade Association
FAC - Federation of Agricultural Co-operatives
GAFTA - Grain and Feed Trade Association
FEFAC - Federation of European Feed Trade Associations
COGECA - General Federation for Agricultural Cooperation in the EEC
COCERAL - EEC Committee of Traders in Cereals and Animal Feeds
3 Acts
2 \ 3.1 Agriculture Act 1970 Part IV
The sales of animal feeding stuffs are controlled by Part IV of the
Agriculture Act which revised and re-enacted the 1926 Fertilisers and
Feeding Stuffs Act by bringing it into line with modern consumer
protection legislation such as the Trade Descriptions Act 1968. A new
Section 74(a) was added to Part IV through its inclusion as a Schedule to
the European Communities Act 1972. This had the effect of extending the
powers of Part IV to include the United Kingdom's obligations as a
member of the EEC.
One of the principal requirements of the Act is that feeding stuffs sold
should be fit for their intended purpose and free from harmful
ingredients. Sections 68(1) and 69(1) require the seller of a feeding stuff to
give a statement in writing (i.e. a statutory statement) as to its
composition and information or instructions as to their storage, handling
and use and to mark them with that information. The contents and form
of the statutory statement are prescribed by the relevant regulations in the
Feeding Stuffs (No. 2) Regulations 1986 and the 1987 amendments.
The Agriculture Act 1970 Amendment Regulations 1982 (SI 1982/980)
These Amendment Regulations form part of a series of Regulations
intended to replace completely the Fertilisers and Feeding Stuffs
Regulations 1973, as amended.
These Regulations amend Part IV of the Agriculture Act 1970 to
implement, or enable the implementation of, certain provisions in the
EEC Directives on the marketing of straight and compound feeding
stuffs.
Regulation 4 amends Section 66(1) of the 1970 Act to introduce a
definition of 'pet animal', and to extend the meaning of 'feeding stuff so
that it includes pet food.
Regulation 5 inserts a new sub-section (1A) in Section 68 enabling
Regulations to provide for the inclusion of permitted particulars in a
statutory statement given by a seller of feeding stuffs, as well as the
particulars required under sub-section (1).
4
Agriculture Act 1970 Part IV 5
Regulation 6 extends Section 73(1) (which prohibits the sale, or possession 3.1
for sale, of feeding stuffs deleterious to prescribed animals) so as to apply
to ingredients deleterious to pet animals or humans. A consequential
amendment has been made to Section 73(2), which provides for defences
to charges under Section 73(1).
Regulation 7 adds a new Section 73A. This makes it an offence to sell or
possess for sale a feeding stuff which is unwholesome for, or a danger to,
prescribed animals or pet animals or a danger to humans. It also provides
for defences in certain circumstances to persons charged with such
offences.
The Feeding Stuffs (No. 2) Regulation 1986
These new Regulations supersede the Feeding Stuffs Regulations 1986.
They implement a number of EEC directives and also incorporate
amendments made to these directives.
The principal directives and amendments are as follows:
Council Directive 70/524/EEC (Official Journal No. L270,14.12.70, p. 1,
(OJ/SE Vol. 18, p. 4)) concerning additives in feeding stuffs as
amended;
Council Directive 74/63/EEC (Official Journal No. L38,11.2.74, p. 31) on
the fixing of maximum permitted levels for undesirable substances and
products in feeding stuffs as amended;
Council Directive 77/101/EEC (Official Journal No. L32, 3.2.77, p. 1) on
the marketing of straight feeding stuffs as amende^;
Council Directive 79/373/EEC (Official Journal No. L86, 6.4.79, p. 30) on
the marketing of compound feeding stuffs as amended;
Council Directive 82/471/EEC (Official Journal No. L213, 21.7.82, p. 8)
concerning certain products used in animal nutrition;
Council Directive 84/587/EEC (Official Journal No. L319, 8.12.84, p. 13)
amending Council Directive 70/524/EEC concerning additives in
feeding stuffs.
The Regulations apply to feeding stuffs for animals of the descriptions
specified in Regulation 3 and for pet animals. Those feeding stuffs (with
the exception of straight feeding stuffs intended for use as pet foods) are
prescribed in Regulation 4 for the purposes of Sections 68(1) and 69(1) of
the Agriculture Act 1970 ('the Act').
The Regulations also provide for:
a) Permitted limits of variation in mis-statements in statutory statements.
b) The manner of packaging and sealing compound feeding stuffs.
c) The meaning of names for the purposes of Section 70 of the Act,
(which creates an implied warranty that material described by a name
to which a meaning has been so assigned accords with that meaning).
d) The control of the moisture content of compound feeding stuffs
containing milk products.
e) The sale and possession for sale of feeding stuffs containing additives,
undesirable substances, aflatoxin B and certain protein sources and
non-protein nitrogenous compounds.
6 Agriculture Act 1970 Part IV
3.1 The sale or possession for sale of feeding stuffs consisting of or containing
Candida yeasts cultivated on n-alkanes is prohibited.
The Regulations make minor modifications to Part IV of the Act, and
bring further sections of that Part of the Act within the scope of Section 82
(which provides defences of mistake, accident etc). Limited exemptions
from their application are also provided for.
Additives and 'premixtures' of additives intended for incorporation in
animal feeding stuffs are also under similar controls. The Regulations
provide for:
a) The labelling or marking of the sealed bags or containers in which
additives and premixtures must be sold.
b) Requirements in Schedule 1 as to the contents of statutory statements.
c) Definitions for 'daily ration', 'name', 'premixture' and 'straight feeding
stuff.
d) Maximum and minimum additive contents in feeding stuffs to be
measured by reference to a complete feeding stuff with a moisture
content of 12%.
The Feeding Stuffs (Sampling and Analysis) Regulations 1982 (SI
1982IN9.1144)
These Regulations are made under Part IV of the Agriculture Act 1970
and modify the Act with respect to metrication (Regulation 9), and
prescribe matters for the purposes of the Act, namely:
a) The amount of material for the purposes of the defintion of sampled
portion.
b) The manner of taking samples.
c) The methods of sending samples.
d) The qualifications of agricultural analysts.
e) The methods of analysis.
f) The form of certificate of analysis.
The Regulations introduce methods of analysis and implement in part
Directives establishing Community methods of analysis for the official
control of feeding stuffs. They also implement the Commission Directive
on sampling of feeding stuffs.
The Feedingstuffs (Sampling and Analysis) (Amendment) Regulations 1984
(SI 1984152)
The Regulations implement certain EC directives on, respectively,
methods of analysis and methods of sampling.
Manufacturers of animal feeding stuffs cannot object under the
Regulations to the use of a sampling spear to take samples of their
products unless the material in question is in a package or container which
contains no more than 50 kg of feeding stuff, and the method provided in
Schedule 2 to the 1982 Regulations for determining the amount of protein
in a feeding stuff is modified so as to make it conform more exactly to the
Community method. A consequential amendment is made to paragraph 1
of the method provided in that Schedule for determining ammonia and
volatile nitrogenous bases.
Medicines Act 1968 7
The Feeding Stuffs (Sampling and Analysis) (Amendment) Regulations 1985 3.1
(SI 198511119)
These Regulations amend, for the second time, the Feeding Stuffs
(Sampling and Analysis) Regulations 1982.
The main feature of these Regulations is the introduction of a new method
of analysis of feeding stuffs for the determination of crude oils and fats
involving acid hydrolysis. This new method replaces the methods
originally provided in Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations.
In addition to the implementation described above, the Regulations
correct certain errors which appeared in the methods of sampling and
analysis prescribed in Schedules 1 and 2 to the Regulations of 1982.
3.2 Medicines Act 1968 3.2
The Medicines Act 1968 and Regulations made under it embody a number
of important principles which relate specifically to medicated animal
feeding stuffs. The Sections of special interest to feed compounders are
40, 42 and 130.
Section 40* (as amended), sub-section (1) says nobody may sell, offer for
sale, or supply an animal feeding stuff in which a medicinal product has
been incorporated or in which a substance or article, other than a
medicinal product, has been incorporated for a medicinal purpose unless
there is in existence a product licence for the product, which contains
provisions relating to its incorporation in feed, and the product was
actually incorporated in accordance with those licence provisions, or the
product was incorporated in the feed in accordance with the instructions
of a veterinarian who had the animals (to which the feeding stuffs were to
be given) actually under his care.
Sub-section (2) applies the same requirement to imported medicated feed,
while sub-section (3) covers the actual incorporation.
Section 42 relates to substances other than medicinal products
incorporated into feeds for a medicinal purpose and in this case again such
incorporation may only take place if the substance has a product licence or
an animal test certificate. The concept of a medicinal product can, so far
as the Medicines Act is concerned, be defined in two ways:
a) the straight licensed medicinal product; and
b) a substance incorporated for a medicinal purpose, e.g. copper included
as a growth promoter for pigs.
Sections 130 (7) and 42 (5) establish the important principle that the
addition of a medicinal product or substance for a medicinal purpose to a
feeding stuff does not in itself make that feeding stuff a medicinal product
in its own right.
* As amended by the Medicines (Feeding Stuffs Additives) Order 1975 (SI
1975/1349).