International Standards on Good Animal Feeding are on the Horizon

The article first appeared in Better Pork, February 2004.

(Update: For the latest version of the Code of Practice on Good Animal Feeding, go to the Codex Alimentarius website - see Related Links.)

As you are no doubt aware, today's consumers expect the highest quality food products. The Canadian food industry has responded by initiating quality assurance programs at each link in the food chain. Ultimately the goal is to have quality assurance programs at every step of production, literally from the farm right through to the fork of the consumer.

While we have been busily working away at developing and implementing the Canadian Quality Assurance (CQATM) Program in the pork industry, more work is going on behind the scenes at the international level to address feed-related food safety concerns on a global scale. Since June 2000 the Codex Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Animal Feeding has been focusing on developing animal feed production and feeding standards. There has been increasing focus on this issue as recent history has reminded us that the basis for healthy and safe foods is established during the production of animal feed, and it is closely linked to the feeding of animals in our modern production systems.

The Task Force's draft document, Code of Practice on Good Animal Feeding, is comprehensive and addresses all avenues of feed production. The goal of the code is to establish a feed safety system for food-producing animals which covers the whole food chain, taking into account relevant aspects of animal health and the environment in order to minimize risks to the health of consumers. As you might expect, it focuses specifically on feed manufacturing and on-farm feeding practices.

The Code itemizes the minimum standards for good animal feeding practices on-farm and good manufacturing practices during the harvesting, handling, storage, processing and distribution of feed and feed ingredients for food-producing animals. The Code suggests that efforts should be made to identify, control and minimize any undesirable substances in feed ingredients, such as pesticides, pathogens or mycotoxins. It specifically mentions that animal products that could be a source of the BSE agent should not be used for feeding directly to, or in preparing feed for, ruminants. Additives must be subjected to risk assessment for safety and be approved for use in animal feed. In addition, antibiotics should not be used for growth promoting purposes in the absence of a public health safety assessment.

The Code also contains quality assurance requirements for all participants in the feed chain, focussing on, among other things, buildings and equipment, personnel training, storing and transport of feed, as well as sanitation and pest control at all stages in the process. There are also requirements for record keeping which are a vital part of the process in tracing back feed, in case any actual or potential health risks are identified that could lead to the necessary withdrawal or complete recall of products.

For farms where crops are grown and fed, the Code applies to the cultivation, manufacture, management and use of crops and complete feeds, with emphasis on the three types of potential contamination: biological, chemical and physical. Pesticides and fertilizers must be used correctly, and it is important that farm animals are only given feed appropriate for the particular species and class of animal for which it is intended. The Code also emphasizes the basic principles of animal feeding in terms of ensuring proper mixing procedures, adequate hygiene, and routine sampling and analysis of feeds and feed ingredients.

Not surprisingly, one of the major discussion points during the drafting of the Code surrounded the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in feeds. In the current draft of the document, the Task Force suggested that GMO ingredients in animal feed could be subjected to a risk assessment in relation to food safety and, as such, require special labeling.

In May of 2003, the Task Force on Animal Feeding completed what was intended to be the final draft of the proposed code. However, there were a number of controversial areas that could not be resolved, so the Codex commission has extended the task force mandate by one year. The three main sticking points involve the definition of feed additives, labeling of feeds that contain GMOs, and the record keeping required to maintain traceability of feed and feed ingredients.

In order to assist in developing a Canadian position on this issue, comments to the Codex Contact Point for Canada were due by December 12, 2003. The task force is scheduled to meet in May 2004 in an effort to resolve the outstanding issues and conclude the process. If all the remaining concerns can be addressed, the Code of Practice on Good Animal Feeding could be in place by the fall of 2004.

What is the Codex Alimentarius?

The Codex Alimentarius represents the code of food standards throughout the world. It is a detailed 13-volume collection of Standards, Codes of Practice, Guidelines and Recommendations for dealing with food of all shapes and sizes. As the world's authoritative reference on food standards, it is used by national food inspection systems, health authorities, the World Trade Organization (WTO), the food industry, scientists and consumer advocates.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission (commonly referred to as "Codex") was formed in 1962 by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. Codex is an intergovernmental organization whose mandate it is to safeguard the health of consumers, enhance fair international trade practices, co-ordinate work on international food standards, and manage the compiling and updating of food standards.

Currently, Codex consists of 165 member countries, including Canada. To accomplish its mandate, Codex has established 28 different committees and a number of (presently three) ad hoc intergovernmental task forces. While the standing committees are considered permanent, the task forces are organized to address specific Codex issues as they arise.

The Standards are developed through the work of the various committees, working through an eight-step or accelerated five-step process from proposal to adoption. The process provides for input from all interested parties involved in the food chain. The Commission makes every effort to reach agreement on the adoption or amendment of standards by consensus. Voting is rare, and only occurs when efforts to reach consensus have failed.

It is important to note that there is no obligation for countries to adopt Codex standards as a member of either Codex or the WTO. However, if there was a trade dispute, the WTO could sanction penalties against a country that could not justify a more stringent, trade-restrictive requirement than that specified in the Codex standard. The food standards, guidelines and other recommendations of Codex are based on scientific principles of analysis and evidence, involving a thorough review of all relevant information, so that the standards developed assure the safety of the food supply.

Related Links

• Codex Alimentarius