He said a key priority for the FEFAC in 2019 is the roll out of the PEFCR Feed for Food-Producing Animals, which was published in April 2018.
“We know we need to better explain the key benefits of this methodology and why feed companies should take an interest in using it."
FEFAC believes that all environmental claims related to compound feed production should be supported by the methodology of the PEFCR Feed for Food-Producing Animals.
Feed additives legislation
Though there will be a brake on the release of new legislation due to the European Parliament elections in May 2019, Döring stressed that certain crucial evaluation processes would continue.
“As part of the REFIT process we will see the revision of evaluation fitness check of the pesticides and feed additives legislation. We are also expecting the formal follow up to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling related to new breeding techniques from July 2018 to take shape.”
He also flagged up that, in terms of sustainability, next year will see the launch of the EU food waste methodology.
“Food destined to animal feed does not count as food waste, so [that is] a clear opportunity for feed manufacturers to present themselves as part of the solution to prevent food waste from occurring.”
Pig and insect PAPs
The trade group is also expecting that discussions on the lifting of the ban on feeding pig and insect PAPs to poultry will start early next year.
“For FEFAC it is clear that any legal proposal will need to provide a practically feasible analytical framework for multi-purpose feed mills if the European Commission aims to maximize the uptake [of such PAP material] by the compound feed industry.”
On the soy sustainability front, he also noted that, in spring 2019, the European Commission is scheduled to publish a Communication on stepping up EU Action against Deforestation and Forest Degradation.
“The identification in the recently published EU roadmap of building effective partnerships with producer countries in the tropical domain as a possible action is a clear opportunity, although the negative attention the publication may draw to soy imported from South America remains a clear challenge.”
European Protein Plan
FEFAC, he added, is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2019, and is marking that fact with an event in June in Brussels.
“We already have European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Phil Hogan, confirmed as a keynote speaker. This will surely lead to an interesting discussion as regards the integration of the European Protein Plan in the future Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) as well as [as regards] the implementation of the US/EU soy trade agreement.”
