II. Regulatory & International Standards

II. Regulatory & International Standards

One key part of IFIF’s mission is to promote a balanced regulatory framework to support a fair global playing field to facilitate market access and support the competitiveness of the feed and livestock industries.

REGULATORY & INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS PROJECTS
International Feed Regulators Meeting (IFRM)

International Cooperation for Convergence of Technical Requirements for the Assessment of Feed Ingredients (ICCF)
CODEX work relevant to animal feeding

Implementation of the Globally Harmonized System (GHS)

International standards for contaminants in feed

Nutritional Innovation to promote Animal Health and Welfare
Taxonomy Name Updates

IFIF’s work aims to support worldwide trade and ensure that future demands for feed and food can be met efficiently.

Engagement with international institutions is vital for this and IFIF collaborates with the FAO, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the Codex Alimentarius Commission, and other international bodies to help set international regulatory standards for the whole feed chain and support fair trade.

IFIF has a strong collaborative relationship with the FAO dating back many years, and IFIF and the FAO Animal Production and Health Division organize the annual International Feed Regulatory Meeting (IFRM). The IFRM continues as a successful joint effort to bring together government officers, intergovernmental organizations, academia and feed and food companies and organizations from around the world to discuss key issues of relevance, including mutual recognition and global feed safety standards.

IFIF together with regulatory authorities and feed and feed ingredient associations from Canada, the European Union and the United States launched the International Cooperation for Convergence of Technical Requirements for the Assessment of Feed Ingredients (ICCF). This important international cooperation aims to develop and establish common guidance that covers technical requirements for the assessment of feed ingredients, including new uses of existing feed ingredients.

As animal health is also a vital component of the feed chain, IFIF holds a cooperation agreement with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The two organizations work together with the regards to the prevention and management of infectious diseases, including zoonotic disease, as well as the support for the development, updating and implementation of OIE standards and guidelines.

Finally, feed safety is relevant to Codex Alimentarius work as it impacts on the safety of food. IFIF is a Codex Alimentarius recognized NGO and was actively involved in the development of the Codex Code of Practice of Good Animal Feeding, as well as a member of the ad hoc Codex Intergovernmental Task Force on Animal Feeding (TF AF).

Codex work on animal feed continues in individual Committees (within their mandate) and the participation of IFIF feed experts in Codex work contributes to keep feed safety on Codex agenda.

In 2019 IFIF also completed two key projects to support the global feed industry. The first project on developing guidance on implementation of the Globally Harmonized System (GHS), aims to provide guidance and tools to operators and countries on implementing GHS requirements worldwide to support a harmonized approach.

The second Project on developing international standards for contaminants in feed aims to establish or identify and maintain an appropriate international list of contaminants standards for ingredients and their mixtures for safe feed manufacture reflecting a risk based approach.