Safety

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SETTING HIGH STANDARDS

Feeding pet animals with safe pet food – to ensure a long healthy life – is the prime objective of the European Pet food Industry. This applies to the entire manufacturing process from the selection of feed materials/additives to the finished product.

In 2001, FEDIAF adopted an internal set of standards, which companies adhere to in order to prevent (rather than react to) potential difficulties in the production process to meet their commitment to pet food safety.

FEDIAF’S GUIDE TO GOOD PRACTICE

Regulation (EC) No 183/2005 on feed hygiene acknowledges the importance of good hygiene practices and encourages the development of EU and national Guides to good practice to ease the interpretation and implementation of the EU legal framework. As with the previous versions, the 2017 version was endorsed by the EU. Click here to read the: FEDIAF Safety Guide 2018.

This Guide to Good Practice for the Manufacture of Safe Pet Food developed by FEDIAF lays down good practices on the safety and hygiene of pet food processes and products. This document is meant to be a practical and useful tool for pet food manufacturers to help them in developing a robust pet food safety management system and complying with safety and hygiene legal requirements.

The scope of the Guide covers the production, storage and distribution of wet pet food (e.g. cans, trays and pouches), dry or semi-moist pet food and dog chews in Europe as well as third country imports into the EU. The target species covered by this Guide are as follows: cats, dogs, ornamental fishes and birds as well as small animals (e.g. rodents, reptiles, rabbits, etc.). Products destined to horses are excluded from the scope of this Guide.

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS

The Guide’s scope does not include the production, storage and distribution of medicated pet food. Considerations related to quality aspects – not related to product safety & hygiene – are out of the scope of the document and can be found in relevant certification codes.

The Guide does not replace national regulatory requirements and is based on full self-responsibility of the individual pet food manufacturer using the following reference documents and legal acts:

  • Current best practices in the pet food industry, 
  • Existing European legislation including the Regulation of the European Parliament and the Council laying down requirements for Feed hygiene affecting pet food, 
  • Requirements of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) as mentioned within CODEX Alimentarius Commission, Recommended International Code of Practice, CAC/RCP 1-1969,Rev. 4-2003 
  • EN ISO 9001:2015 (E) and EN ISO 22000:2005 (E) 
  • Requirements of standards developed by other stakeholders e.g. related business sectors, retailers.
  • PAS 222

The Guide was successfully developed in accordance with the EU co-regulation approach: European legislation empowers the representative trade association to explain the legal rules, give practical examples and help ensure that the legislation’s objectives are achieved. Such Guides, which are developed by industry, are validated by the EU and Member States. 

Under the following links you can download the Guides. Please, be advised: These publications and their parts are protected by copyright. They may be duplicated for use in companies, by authorities or for private use. Any commercial use is prohibited and may only be allowed on a written application and after a written permission may have been granted by FEDIAF. For other language versions please contact FEDIAF, the English version being the official reference.

TRAINING PACKAGES

FEDIAF also has a training package on the Guide explaining the scope and subject, including practical HACCP examples in pet food production. This training is used by national pet food associations in presentations for member and non-member companies, authorities and third parties.

Training Package (relating to the endorsed 2010 version) – please click below
Introduction 
+ module I “Personnel” 
+ module II “Quality management system”
+ module III “Hazard analysis of critical points”
+ module IV “Traceability” 
+ module V “Plant design and maintenance” 
+ module VI “Pet food design and formulation”
+ module VII “Purchasing and delivery” 
+ module VIII “Production” 
+ module IX “Storage and transport “