Today, 17 August 2021, the Commission adopted the decision to amend the feed ban regulation, allowing the use of certain animal proteins to feed non-ruminant farmed animals such as pigs and poultry.
The decision, based on the scientific opinion by the European Food and Safety Authority, follows approval from both the European Parliament and Council as well as the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed in April 2021.
Stella Kyriakides, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said: “I welcome today’s announcement, another small step in our journey towards more sustainable feed chain. This decision, which achieves another milestone in the Farm to Fork strategy’s ambition towards the use of quality and sustainable feed, continues the long legacy of the European Union’s work to uphold the highest standards in animal nutrition”.
The Commission’s proposal come in the wake of advances in scientific knowledge, which showed that certain specific feed ban measures implemented since 2001 were no longer justified. Today’s announcement will contribute to the further improvement and enhancement of the animal feed chain, promoting more sustainable agriculture under the Farm-to-Fork strategy.
The new measures allow broader use of high quality protein derived from pigs, poultry and insects in feed that is locally sourced and produced in the European Union and that will meet nutritional needs of some specific categories of pigs and poultry. In addition, the relaxation of the use of processed animal protein derived from pigs and poultry will contribute to sustainable and competitive European farming.
More information on the Feed Ban Regulation can be found here.