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| October 27th, 2010 |
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Number 07 |
EU Member States agree on dioxin measures
EFIP pleads for harmonisation in feed safety management systems
RASFF further grows in importance
EU Member States agree on dioxin measures
Last Friday, the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health has finally agreed on new rules to toughen up regulations following the dioxin scandal in Germany at the beginning of this year. The rules, which will come into force six months after publication (foreseen at the end of 2011), are the result of intense negotiations with national governments and industry bodies over the last seven months.
Under the new regulation, several establishments carrying out activities to place products on the market for use in feed, will have to be approved and registered by the competent authority in each EU country. These activities include: (i) processing of crude vegetable oil (not for those falling under the Food Hygiene Regulation (EC) 852/2004), (ii) oleochemical manufacturing of fatty acids, (iii) manufacturing of biodiesel and (iv) fat blending.
Following the revelation that the German company had incorrectly mixed fatty acids meant to be used for technical application, the plan also lays down that fats intended for feed and food will now be strictly segregated during production and transport from industrial fats in accordance with basic HACCP principles.
All laboratories will be obliged to alert authorities over excessive dioxin levels in produce. In addition, the labeling of the products must explicitly mention their intended use, which will help prevent products unfit for feed use entering the feed or food chain.
The EU plan also implies mandatory testing for dioxin for feed business operators. For processors (refiners) of vegetable oils, the testing will include 100% testing of batches (max 1000 tonnes) of crude coconut oil and products derived from vegetable oils intended for feed except glycerol, lecithin and gums. For producers of animal fat, the testing will include one analysis per 2000 tonnes of animal fats and products derived thereof belonging to category 3 (article 10 of Regulation (EC) 1069/2009). For operators of fish oil, the testing will include 100% testing of batches (max 1000 tonnes) of fish oil if produced from: (i) products derived from crude fish oil, (ii) fisheries with no monitoring history, unspecified origin or from the Baltic Sea, (iii) fish by-products from non EU approved establishments, (iv) from blue whiting or menhaden. For fat blending establishments, the testing will include 100% testing of incoming batches (max 1000 tonnes) or 100% testing of batches (max 1000 tonnes) of blended fats intended for feed. For oleochemical and biodiesel industry as well as producers of feed compound, the testing will include 100% testing of incoming batches (max 1000 tonnes) of (i) crude coconut oil, (ii) products derived from vegetable oils intended for feed except glycerol, lecithin and gums, (iii) animal fats and fish oil not falling under the categories mentioned above and (iv) blended fats intended for feed.
In addition, 100% testing of derived products will be obliged for oleochemical and biodiesel companies, whereas producers of compound feed also have to test 1% of all manufactured compound feed batches.
The regulation also provides for an exception for the maximum batch size. If it can be demonstrated that a homogenous consignment is bigger than the maximum batch size and it has been sampled in a representative way, then the result of the analysis will be considered acceptable.
During the discussions over the last months, both FEDIOL, EFPRA and MVO have plead for proportionate risk-based testing in line with the MVO Code of Practice on Dioxin. Although the active lobby has worked out well at several points, some products with a low risk profile (e.g. soap stocks and acid oils from chemical refining) will be set at a 100% regime in the new regulation, which is excessive. The rules will also include a review of the dioxin testing requirements two years after publication, which is far too long for products for which data collection over several past years have already confirmed their low risk profile.
EFIP pleads for harmonisation in feed safety management systems
The European Feed Ingredients Platform (EFIP) calls for developing a harmonized approach with regard to safety management in the animal feed chain. Mutual recognition of feed safety management systems with similar aims is essential for a well-functioning of the market. Such harmonization should also lead to an effective reduction of the audits that many operators currently face.
The collective knowledge of different feed ingredients sectors has been condensed in the EFIP feed ingredient safety schemes (GTP, EFISC and FAMI-QS). These have been developed by EFIP members based on European Guides, which are endorsed by the European Commission. These schemes include the requirements for a management system, prerequisite programs and hazard analysis, including risk assessments developed by feed experts. In addition, a third-party certification system has been designed to ensure that the system is uniform and consistently applied by the operators in the EU and elsewhere.
The basis of a desired harmonized approach should be the benchmarking and mutual recognition between the different feed management systems. This contributes to reducing the fragmentation among the feed safety systems. Currently, mutual recognitions with feed schemes down the value chain are in progress and the three EFIP schemes have now gathered a number of such agreements all over Europe.
Click here for the press release.
For more information about EFIP: www.efip-ingredients.org.
RASFF further grows in importance
The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), the EU's system for quick exchange of information on risks linked to food and feed, has further grown in importance during 2010. The RASFF Annual Report 2010 notes a record number of notifications of 8582 last year, an increase of 8% compared to 2009. This growth in notifications, taking place for the third consecutive year, is largely down to rejections of consignment at EU borders in the light of strengthening border controls as regard food of non-animal origin, through Regulation (EC) No 669/200.
The RASFF is a tool enabling quick and effective exchange of information between Member States and the Commission when risks to human health are detected in the food and feed chain. All members of the RASFF (EU-27, Commission, EFSA, ESA, Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Switzerland), have a round-the-clock service to ensure that urgent notifications are sent, received and responded to in the shortest time possible. Thanks to RASFF, many food safety risks have been averted before they could do any harm to consumers.
The RASFF report breaks down the overall number of notifications in 2010 into alert, information and border rejection notifications. Alert notifications (576 in 2010) are sent when the food or feed presenting a serious risk is already on the market and immediate action is required. Two-third of the alert notifications in 2010 related to products originating in the EU, and most of these problems were detected by controls carried out on the market. Among the risks most reported through these alerts were the presence of pathogenic micro-organisms, pesticide residues, heavy metals, allergens and mycotoxins.
An information notification (1168 in 2010) concerns a risk which has been identified, but does not require rapid action, e.g. because the food or feed has not reached the market or is no longer on the market or because the risk is of a non-serious nature. About half of the notifications involved products originating in third countries. Among the risks reported for information notifications were the presence of pathogenic micro-organisms, pesticide residues, heavy metals and non-compliance regarding food additives.
Border rejection notifications (1552 in 2010) concern products that were refused at the point of entry into the Community and were given another destination or were destroyed. About one third of the border rejections concerned products with high levels of mycotoxins. The second most frequent reason for rejection was the presence of pesticides above the limits set in legislation.
The (three types of) original notifications gave rise to 5224 follow-up notifications, representing on average 1.6 follow-ups per original notification.
The rapid alert system is a concrete and visible result of European integration. The quick exchange of information about food- and feed-related risks ensures coherent and simultaneous actions by all Member States. This is a major contribution to consumer safety.
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