There are more than 50 EU laws that apply to pet food – these cover all aspects of the pet food production cycle from the ingredients that can be used to the information which must be on the pet food label. “FEDIAF continuously cooperates with the EU and national authorities to keep these harmonized and up-to-date based on the latest science and regulatory developments,” Julien Taïeb said during his remarks.
Harmonized approach to regulations
As the first pillar of self- and co-regulation, the 2018 version of the Nutritional Guidelines for Cat and Dog Food was presented to representatives from the pet food industry. The document serves as a practical guide for cat and dog food manufacturers and sets nutritional requirements benchmarked against science for use by the whole industry. “Being updated annually with the help of a Scientific Advisory Board composed of European pet nutritionists from universities, our Nutritional Guidelines are the reference document for producing complete pet food,” Taïeb said.
The FEDIAF Good Manufacturing Practice Guide is the second pillar. This guide summarizes the requirements any pet food manufacturer must fulfill to put in place a robust pet food safety management system in order to produce safe pet food.
The third pillar is the FEDIAF Labeling Code that covers information on product use, control and enforcement, retail and marketing and provides clear rules and examples on product claims. “EU labeling regulations cannot specify every detail that would cover all commercial situations; the Code thus provides practical guidance on how labeling requirements should be applied and implemented in order to ensure a level playing field for manufacturers or pet food companies,” Taïeb explained.
