Good Manufacturing Practices

Good manufacturing practices are designed to ensure that feed is consistently produced to high standards of safety and quality.

The main purpose of GMP is to prevent harm of the consumer, i.e. animals or humans; ensuring the product is free from contamination; and ensuring consistent manufacturing conditions.

What are good manufacturing practices?

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2023/2006 defines good manufacturing practices as:

those aspects of quality assurance which ensures that materials and articles are consistently produced and controlled to ensure conformity with the rules applicable to them and with the quality standards appropriate to their intended use by not endangering human health or causing an unacceptable change on the composition of the food or causing deterioration in organoleptic characteristics thereof

What is required in EC Feed Hygiene Regulation?

the measures and conditions necessary to control hazards and to ensure fitness for animal consumption of a feed, taking into account its intended use

The requirements within the regulation can be summarised as:

• All feed businesses must gain approval or registration by the competent authority. Approval is required for feed business establishments dealing with sensitive substances, i.e. feed additives, premixes and compound feedingstuffs

• All feed businesses will operate in accordance with HACCP principles and harmonised hygiene requirements to reinforce feed business operators’ responsibility

• Introduces community and national guides to good practice in feed production

• Introduces compulsory requirements for feed production at farm level

• Provides a EU framework for guides to good practice in feed production

Although the Feed Hygiene regulation outlines the need for good manufacturing practices, it does not describe how these are implemented. As a result, competent authorities within the European Union and stakeholders have asked the Commission to clarify a number of aspects of the regulation. In response, the Commission published a guidance document in 2019.

What we would like you to do

Please share your thoughts on Good Manufacturing Practices.

• Do you think they are important?

• Have you an idea of the types of practices that may be included?