EU states agree on label rules for animal feed

European Union countries on Thursday agreed on new rules on labelling animal feed, in a move to tighten existing laws after a series of food scares in recent years, the European Parliament said on Thursday. Members of the European Parliament and ministers from the 15-nation bloc agreed to show the percentage by weight of each ingredient in a sack of animal feed, but allowed a 15 per cent margin for error, a statement from the European Parliament said. "The directive is part of a major effort to tighten up EU legislation on animal feed and inform and protect consumers demanded by the parliament in the wake of a series of food scares and scandals including BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) and dioxins-in-feed crisis,"​ it said. The Commission is expected to issue a proposal for a "positive list" of authorised feed stuffs. In December the EU Parliament will hold a third reading of the agreement and needs a majority vote before it is sent to EU government ministers for final approval, the statement said.