The UK feed industry has agreed to establish a new Great Britain register of new feed materials, to succeed the EU register following Brexit.
The move by the four major UK feed trade associations – the Agricultural Industries Confederation (AIC), the British Association of Feed Supplement and Additive Manufacturers (BAFSAM); the British Equine Trade Association (BETA) and the Pet Food Manufacturers Association (PFMA) – follows consultations with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS).
In addition to the register, there will be an online platform for the notification of new feed materials.
“This is a significant step forward in ensuring the feed industry can continue to comply with the legal requirement to notify new feed materials to the industry representatives,” comments James McCulloch, head of feed sector at the AIC.
Mr McCulloch notes that the EU feed register meets the EU legal requirement of registering all feed materials, creating a single point of reference for all feed materials that are not listed in the EU Catalogue of feed materials. Post Brexit, the EU register is not recognised within UK legislation, so the four trade bodies chose to develop a GB register for the benefit of the entire industry. Northern Ireland still follows EU regulations.
He says the initiative will benefit UK businesses wishing to place new feed materials onto the market in GB and those feed manufacturers who might be looking for new materials to use. “We are grateful for the significant co-operation shown by all associations in reaching this agreement, Mr MucCulloch states.
The GB Register will consist of the English language entries that were listed on the EU Register of Feed Materials as at January 1st 2021 – the date of UK withdrawal. But the GB Register will not be published immediately as both industry partners and regulators have agreed that the contents should be reviewed prior to publication. The feed industry associations plus the FSA and FSS have established a working group carry out this task and hope to publish the reviewed register in early 2023.
“The home page of the website carries a comprehensive guidance document on the notification process, and links to the GB Feed Materials Register website will be placed on both the FSA and FSS websites,” states Mr McCulloch.
Notification Forms for the GB Register are available via the https://gbfeedmaterialsregister.org.uk/ website, while businesses wishing to notify a new feed material for the Northern Ireland or EU markets should use https://www.feedmaterialsregister.eu site.
Any queries regarding the management of the online register should be directed to contact@gbfeedmaterialsregister.org.uk.