Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2008)124 - Placing on the market and use of feed - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2008)124 - Placing on the market and use of feed. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2008)124  |
| date | 03-03-2008 |
Animal production contributes almost half to the output of the agricultural output in the EU. Feed is the major cost factor for the 5 million livestock farmers in the Community. The marketing conditions for feed have a crucial impact on the competitiveness of the livestock sector. The other important feed area is pet food, which is bought regularly by more than 60 million households in the EU keeping pet animals. The EU compound feed industry including pet food has an annual turn over of almost 50 billion €, not accounting the feed material business.
The label serves on the one hand for enforcement, traceability and control purposes and on the other hand to pass information to the user. Being the crucial mean of communication between vender and purchaser labelling should be as simple and clear as possible. The mandatory requirements should be checked against what is necessary to enable the average user to an informed choice. Labelling of feed should be seen in the wider context of user information. The purchase of feed for farm animals is nowadays a business to business activity.
The project is included in the Commission’s rolling programme of simplification. Thus, with the prerequisite of assuring the high level of feed and food safety achieved in the Community the general objectives are to consolidate, revise and modernise the Directives on the circulation and labelling of feed materials and compound feed. The simplification of the existing rules shall not jeopardise the high level of the protection of animal health. The proposal shall achieve legal clarity, a harmonised implementation and facilitate the smooth functioning of the internal market. To increase the competitiveness of the EU feed and farming sector, technical requirements shall be simplified and unnecessary administrative burden removed. Further, users of feed shall be empowered to make an informed choice without being misled.
In concrete, the operational objective on the issue of feed material listing is the smooth functioning of the internal market by clear designations and proper information of the customer. Concerning authorisation procedures it is aimed to ensure that requirements of pre-market authorisations are proportionate to risk and to assure that emerging feed materials are adequately specified for a proper use. For compound feed increased innovation and competitiveness shall be achieved by reducing unnecessary labelling requirements. Concerning pet food the operational objective is to improve the appropriateness of the pet food labels to enable the purchaser of the pet food to prevent misleading labelling.
Council Directive 79/373/EEC lays down the rules for the circulation of compound feedingstuffs. As a special kind of compound feed, Council Directive 93/74/EEC lays down the principles for feedingstuffs intended for particular nutritional purposes (“dietetic feeds”). Council Directive 96/25/EC contains the general rules for the circulation and use of feed materials. Council Directive 82/471/EEC lays down the marketing conditions for the so called “bio-proteins” (certain products used in animal nutrition) belonging to the category feed materials. Further, Council Directive 93/113/EC provides for rules on the use and marketing of enzymes, micro- organisms and their preparations in animal nutrition and the still valid Article 16 of the besides repealed Council Directive 70/524/EEC lays down the provisions for the labelling of feed additives incorporated in compound feed.
These legal provisions are implemented by Commission Directive 80/511/EEC authorising, in certain cases, the marketing of compound feedingstuffs in unsealed packages or containers, Commission Directive 82/475/EEC laying down the categories of ingredients which may be used for the purposes of labelling compound feedingstuffs for pet animals, Commission Directive 94/39/EC, establishing a list of intended uses of animal feedingstuffs for particular nutritional purposes and Commission Decision 2004/217/EC adopting a list of materials whose circulation or use for animal nutrition purposes is prohibited ("negative list").
Consistency with the other policies and objectives of the Union
The proposal is in line with the Commission's Better Regulation Policy and the Lisbon Strategy. The emphasis is on simplifying the regulatory process, thus reducing the administrative burden and improving the competitiveness of the European food industry, while ensuring the safety of food, maintaining high level of public health protection and taking global aspects into consideration.
Consultation of interested parties
The opinion of Member States, Third Country representatives and stakeholders has been sought through consultations, meetings or during bilateral contacts since 2002 with increasing intensity.
In 2003 the Commission assigned an external contractor to carry out a study on a revision of certain parts of the feed legislation. The final report entitled “Assessment of the possible adoption of a new proposal recasting legislation on feed labelling and amending the authorisation/withdrawal procedure for some categories of feed materials” was presented in June 2004.
In November 2005, the Commission launched with the general public an Interactive Policy Making consultation in order to collect information on the possible impacts of the main issues under consideration for the revision of the current legislation.
In January and February 2007, panel discussions were held with the Member States in the margins of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health, with the European Food Safety Authority and with stakeholders represented in the Advisory Group on the Food Chain and Animal and Plant Health. On elements of the draft legislative proposal, the Member States have been consulted in two full day working group meetings in June and July 2007.
For each of the important policy actions proposed in the draft Regulation, as appropriate, several options ranging from repealing requirements (de-regulation), maintaining the status quo, adding new mandatory measures to delegating responsibility to stakeholders (co-regulation) have been examined with regard to their economic, social and environmental impact on the various stakeholders and authorities.
The Commission carried out an Impact Assessment the report of which is presented in parallel to this proposal as a Commission Staff Working Paper. It is also available at ec.europa.eu/food/food/animalnutrition/labelling
Contents
- Legal elements of the proposal
- Budgetary implication
- General context
- Objectives of the proposal
- Existing provisions in the area of the proposal
- The proposal streamlines, simplifies, updates and modernises the above mentioned provisions
- 2. Consultation of interested parties and impact assessment
- Impact assessment
- Summary of the proposed action
- Legal basis
- Subsidiarity principle
- Proportionality principle
- Choice of instruments
- 5. Additional information
- European Economic Area
- Detailed explanation of the proposal
Adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the placing on the market and use of feed. Replacing the existing legislation in the field of marketing and use of certain feed, it simplifies and modernises the provisions to assure adequate information of users and consumers whilst ensuring the effective functioning of the internal market, based on the protection of public health.
Articles 37 and 152 i of the EC Treaty.
The subsidiarity principle applies insofar as the proposal does not fall under the exclusive competence of the Community.
The objectives of the proposal cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States for the following reasons:
The core of the community action is setting the conditions for the circulation and use of feed within the EU which can not be appropriately addressed by MS alone if the common internal market shall function smoothly; experience shows that differences in the transposition of the Directives by Member States hinder a harmonised common market i.e. the free movement of feed. Further, the Union has the right to act in order to improve productivity and income of the European agriculture through uniform production conditions.
Individual action by Member States could lead to differing levels of feed/food safety and confuse consumers. E.g. a fully harmonised legislation on the circulation of feed will ease the feed recalls after detection of a risk.
EU action is justified to pursue the effective functioning of the internal market in relation to circulation and use of feed with respect to the competitiveness of the European feed business and livestock farming. Additionally, harmonised rules are in the interest of the European feed users to be appropriately informed.
The proposal therefore complies with the subsidiarity principle.
The proposal complies with the proportionality principle for the following reasons.
The proposal harmonises the regulatory framework for the marketing and use of certain feed and thus contributes to the functioning of feeding sector in the EU. Under the prerequisite of ensuring feed/food safety, the proposed legislative measures had been scrutinised in comparing the expected benefits with the drawbacks. Moreover in each field it has been thoroughly evaluated that the concrete measures do not impose an excessive or unjustified burden.
The absence of harmonisation would retain individual national marketing and production conditions. Administrative burden is reduced.
Proposed instrument: One Regulation
Considering that the simplification is a crucial element of the proposal, the use of regulations is deemed generally supportive to simplify because it guarantees that all actors have to follow at the same time the same rules (Commission simplification communication COM (2005)535).
Other means would not be adequate for the following reasons.
The Community has developed extensive requirements relating to the circulation and use of feed. These are still laid down in several Directives with many cross references and overlaps within each other. However, the requirements were either adopted as a scattered response to the needs of the Internal Market or the Communities objective to increase feed and food safety. This has resulted in a series of different regimes, which can only be justified for historical reasons.
Further, the national implementation of the Directives lead to disharmonised marketing conditions resulting in barriers in internal EU-trade as proved by several ECJ-cases. The issue of different qualifications of certain feed is chronically preoccupying businesses, national and EU-authorities including the Courts. A uniform classification is hindered as long as the Community rules are laid down in Directives.
Finally, the various amendments made to the Directives concerned were actually drafted in such a way that no real 'marge de manoeuvre' was left to the MS for the transposition, thus being more 'Regulation-like' than in the spirit of Directives. The aim was precisely to avoid divergences in the application by MS. For several years, Community legislation in the field of animal nutrition is drafted in this way, responding to the need of legal certainty wanted by the operators and also often by Member States.
To resume, a new comprehensive Regulation would introduce consistency and clarity throughout the EU feed sector.
The proposal has no implication for the Community budget.
Simplification
The proposal provides for simplification of legislation, administrative procedures for public authorities (EU or national) and administrative procedures for private parties.
Repealing unnecessary possibilities for the Member States to derogate nationally from the general provisions and upgrading useful derogations onto the mandatory European level streamlines the legislation and increases transparency for the concerned parties. The wording will be updated and clarified.
The proposal is included in the Commission's simplification rolling programme and its Work and Legislative Programme 2007 under the reference 2007/SANCO/004.
The proposed act concerns an EEA matter and should therefore extend to the European Economic Area.
Chapter 1 – Introductory provisions
The provisions for circulation and use of feed materials and compound feed shall assure the level of feed/food safety whilst providing for a modern market environment for stakeholders. In doing so, the existing horizontal and special legislation in related areas has to be respected. Clear definitions of the different kinds of feed and expressions are crucial to achieve the objectives.
Chapter 2 – General requirements
General safety and marketing requirements shall be established for all feed. Special obligations for manufactures and other operators are laid down to allow proper control actions and feed safety measures.
The Commission shall be empowered to maintain and update a list of materials whose placing on the market is prohibited.
Chapter 3 – Placing on the market of specific types of feed
Impurity criteria for feed materials shall be laid down and in order to differentiate feed materials from other types of feed the Commission shall be entitled to issue guidelines.
A clarification for complementary feed is particularly important concerning the maximum content of feed additives.
The provisions for feed intended for particular nutritional purposes (dietetic feed) shall be maintained with the possibility to update the list of authorisations in Comitology after consultation of the European Food Safety Authority, if necessary.
Chapter 4 – Labelling, presentation and packaging
The general labelling provisions for all feed materials and compound feed shall assure accuracy and appropriateness. The responsibility for the correctness of the labelling along the food chain has to be clarified. Claims have to be scientifically substantiated on request of the control authorities.
The general mandatory labelling requirements shall be equal for feed materials and compound feed. The indication of feed additives shall be based on safety classification. For pet food flexibility shall avoid that the customer is confused by the additive labelling.
Appropriate specific mandatory labelling requirements shall be laid down for feed materials, compound feed and dietetic feed.
The feed user shall have the right to get on his initiative information supplementary to the mandatory labelling particulars.
For contaminated feed special labelling requirements shall be established.
Derogations from the basic and special labelling requirements shall be foreseen based on positive experiences in the past.
The framework for voluntary labelling of compound feed for food producing animals and for pet food shall be laid down.
Concerning the packaging of feed, the requirement to be placed on the market only in sealed containers shall be possibly derogated under certain conditions.
The principles for the labelling shall apply as well to the presentation and advertising of feed.
Chapter 5 – Community Catalogue for feed materials and Codes of good labelling practice
A more complete list of feed materials with proper product identification would be favourable in terms of market transparency. Considering that a list with specifications of feed materials has no influence on feed safety and that the stakeholders are best aware which priorities in terms of which products to address at first and level of detail listings, it is proportionate to delegate this task to the stakeholders.
Based on the positive experience with the elaboration of industry guides to good feed hygiene practice and the justified interest of stakeholders to get engaged in the field, stakeholders shall be encouraged to elaborate Community Codes to good labelling practice within the framework of the voluntary labelling.
The Commission shall be involved in the elaboration of the voluntary Community Catalogue and the Codes in an advisory and finally approving way. It shall be assured that all relevant stakeholders are involved in the elaboration of theses instruments.
Chapter 6 – General and final provisions
Implementation of the measures proposed in the Regulation will be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the regulatory procedure laid down in Council Decision 1999/468/EC.
The labelling of premixtures as laid down in Article 16 of Regulation 1831/2003 shall be amended in order to remedy some inconsistencies.
Annexes: Technical provisions for the labelling of feed shall be laid down to provide necessary specifications. This includes concrete mandatory and voluntary labelling details for feed materials and compound feed. Further the tolerances for the control of the labelled particulars have to be laid down.