Community Guides to Good Practice

The European Commission published a Guidance document on the implementation of certain provisions of regulation (EC) No 183/2005 laying down requirements for feed hygiene in July 2019.

This guidance document aims to assist feed business operators and national competent authorities in the food and feed chain to better understand and apply Feed Hygiene Regulation correctly and in a uniform way. In terms of hygiene practices, this regulation encourages the use of Community Guides to Good Practice.

Community Guides to Good Practice

The Feed Hygiene Regulation encourages the development, assessment, dissemination and use of Community guides to good practice for hygiene. These guides are not legally binding but feed business operators are encouraged to use them on a voluntary basis as an aid to compliance with hygiene regulations. There are a number of steps required to produce a Community guide:

1. Consultation of the Committee (SCFCAH)

The feed industry is responsible for taking the initiative to develop a community guide to good practice. An initial proposal should be developed in partnership with interested partners and submitted to the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCFCAH). Based on the information provided, the Commission, in consultation with SCFCAH will determine if the proposed Community Guide is developed by a body representative of the EU feed sector and if it is appropriate to inform this sector. Revisions may be necessary.

2. Development of Community Guides

The Community guides are then developed. Throughout this process, the Commission ensures they are prepared in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders of the European Feed sector, competent authorities and consumer groups; and take into account the relevant requirements laid out in legislation and codes of practice of the Codex Alimentarius.

3. Assessment and recognition of Community guides

SCFACH assess Community guides to ensure they have been developed in consideration of the appropriate criteria; are practicable for the sector; they are suitable as guides to Articles 3 (general obligations), 4 (general and specific hygiene requirements) and 5 (HACCP) of Regulation (EC) No 183/2005.

4. Review of Committee guides

The Commission invite SCFCAH to periodically review any Community guides in cooperation with the interested bodies.

5. Publication and dissemination

The title and references of Community guides will be published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union.

EU Guides

The Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health (SCFACH) have assessed the following guidelines to good practice:

• Community guide to good practice for EU industrial compound feed and premixes manufacturing sector for food-producing animals – European Feed Manufacturers Guide

• Community guide to good practice for feed additive and premixture operators

• Guide to good practice for the manufacture of safe pet food

• European Guide to good practice for the industrial manufacture of safe feed materials

• European Guide to Good Hygiene Practices for the collection, storage, trading and transport of cereals, oilseeds, protein crops, other plant products and products derived thereof

National Guides

A register for National Guides has been set up by the Commission to make them available to Member States and feed and food business operators. These national guides can be found

More information of EU and National Guides can be found here

What we would like you to do

Please answer the following questions in the comments section below:

• Have you heard about community guides before?

• Do you implement to any of them in your everyday work life?

• Did you know these guidelines had to go through this approval process?