Written answers

Tuesday, 28 June 2005

Department of Agriculture and Food

Animal Feedstuffs

10:00 pm

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 549: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food when she intends to introduce either regulations or legislation to implement the EU regulations on official feed and food controls; the main elements of the regulations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22243/05]

Photo of Mary CoughlanMary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The regulation on official food and feed controls, OFFC, gives the general rules on controls to prevent, eliminate and reduce risks to human and animal health. The controls stipulated within the regulation are to guarantee fair practices in the food and feed trade.

Member states' responsibility to ensure business operators apply EU legislation correctly is clearly defined. The regulation defines the role of the Commission's food and veterinary office, FVO, as auditor of the member states' performance. Performance criteria are introduced for the competent authorities of member states and a harmonised EU-wide approach to the design and development of control systems is also set out.

The regulation on OFFC also provides a framework to support developing countries in meeting EU import requirements and to enable the Commission to fund activities that enhance food and feed safety. It establishes a common regime for controls on food and feed imports, basing the nature and frequency of controls on the basis of risk.

Another regulation establishes the hygiene requirements for animal feed. It completes the "farm to fork" approach, providing rules on the production, transport, storage and handling of animal feed. It also introduces the liability of feed operators to pay for the costs, such as withdrawal from the market and destruction of feed, if something goes wrong with their feed as a result of infringements of the feed safety legislation.

In relation to the elements of work that come within the remit of my Department, statutory instruments are being drafted to give effect, where necessary, to this legislation.

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