HACCP in the animal

feed industry
Contents provided a very strong reason for
enhancing the quality programme.
This has resulted in (i) the integration
Abstract 3
of HACCP into the GMP standard;
Feed quality 3 and (ii) upstream extension of quality
The importance of quality assurance 4 assurance to all suppliers of feed
Total quality assurance and control systems 5 ingredients. The quality system used
GMP: Good Manufacturing / Managing Practice 6 in the food processing industry has
thus effectively been adopted in the
Ongoing improvement and enhancement 6
animal feed industry. This underlines
Enhancement of the GMP standard for animal feed 7 Abstract the fact that animal feed is part of
Principles 7 the food chain, a fact expressed in
This brochure gives a brief presenta- the slogan ‘Feed for Food’.
The GMP + standard 8 tion of the quality programme which
Elements of the quality policy 8 applies for the Dutch animal feed The main points of the programme
Risk assessment 8 industry. The goal of this programme are:
Risk management 10 is to produce and supply animal • Food safety has a high priority
feeds which are safe for consumers worldwide.
Risk communication 13
of animal products, for the animals • The animal feed industry, including
Early Warning System 14 and for the environment; in a way ingredient suppliers, is part of the
which engenders confidence in all food chain and is responsible for
stakeholders - the partners in the the safety of its products.
supply chain, consumers and legisla- • Demonstrable and transparent
tors - in other words demonstrably quality assurance constitutes a
and transparently. An important part ‘licence to produce’.
of this programme is the GMP stan- • HACCP is a proactive approach
dard for animal feed, which was set which links the feed chain to the
up in 1992. This GMP standard sets food chain.
out the requirements for the quality • Quality control of raw materials is a
system (comparable with ISO 9002) mutual concern for suppliers and
as well as a number of additional the animal feed industry.
generic control measures for the • Trade and industry are assuming
production of, trade in and transport their responsibility for product
of animal feed materials, focusing on safety.
additives, undesirable substances
and microbiological aspects.
Feed quality
The recent safety crises relating to The animal feed industry is an
feed and food (BSE, dioxin scares) important supplier for stock farmers:

2 3
 unacceptable levels of undesirable animal feed has to be considered as
substances and of disease-causing a potential hazard to public health,
germs which could cause human and one which can lead to declining
health problems. confidence in the safety of food of
• Emotional quality: this is connected animal origin. However, it also has to
with ethics and ethology. An exam- be recognised that feed safety is not
ple might be feed for organic the only element that determines the
farming that does not contain any safety of food of animal origin, but
ingredients of animal origin nor that the use of other products, such
any prophylactic agents, artificial as drugs and growth promoters
colourings, flavouring agents, etc. (hormones and beta-agonists), also
has an impact.
Nutritional value is very important
in intensive livestock farming, the
for the economic value of feeds and Although nutritional and emotional
share of feed in total production
the profitability of livestock farming. quality are important points for a
costs is fairly high, ranging from
However, product liability considera- common policy in the industry, the
40-60%. Accordingly, the price and
tions mean that enhanced safety is main concern is feed safety as part
quality of feeds are very important.
also an essential condition for the of food safety.
Total quality assurance and
continuity of feed suppliers and
But what is feed quality? The answer control systems
livestock farmers. It is clear that control of product
encompasses the following aspects:
safety is a must for gaining and main- The main question for the animal
• Nutritional quality: this refers to
The importance of quality taining public confidence in food feed industry is how to contribute to
the nutritional value of the product,
assurance safety and of avoiding disruption to controlling feed safety and avoid
expressed as available energy, ami-
sales of food products. The quality being put in the dock. It is clear that
no acids and essential constituents A number of food safety crises in the of milk, meat and eggs is even more the animal feed industry, including
such as vitamins, trace elements, recent past have made it clear that important for Dutch agriculture, be- feed ingredient suppliers, is an
etc., all of which are determining
cause about 60% of these products important component in the food
factors for animal performance
are exported. Continuity of exports production chain and bears consi-
and consequently essential to the
demands guaranteed product safety. derable responsibility for product
profitability of stock farming.
Failure to meet this requirement will safety.
• Technical quality: this refers to the
lead to:
characteristics of the feed, such as
• stagnation of sales The retail sector in particular wants
the size and hardness of pellets,
• reduced consumer confidence in product safety to be demonstrably
fineness of crumbs, flavour, etc.
food safety safeguarded throughout the entire
• Safety for animals, the environment
• negative financial consequences production chain, including in the
(related to certain excretory compo-
for many companies animal feed industry. For this reason,
nents in manure) and consumers of
• an increasing need for safety the pig and poultry industries began
animal products. Safety refers to
standards in legislation and in implementing Integral Chain Quality
the absence from the products of
the retail sector. Control programmes at the beginning
4 5
of the 1990s, focusing on controlling • to produce and supply animal feeds rance system for animal feed signifi-
use of drugs, animal living conditions, which are safe for consumers of cantly by adopting:
etc., in stock farming, as well as on animal products, for the animals and • a proactive approach involving
controlling animal feed quality. for the environment; risk analysis in the entire feed
Instead of expensive end-product • to do this in a way that will production chain with HACCP as
inspections, attention turned to engender confidence in all stake- part of the quality system;
controlling the various critical steps in holders – the partners in the supply • upstream extension of the quality
the production process. Since that chain, consumers and legislators – assurance system to suppliers of
time similar integral chain quality in other words demonstrably and feed ingredients;
control programmes have also been transparently. • development of an early warning
developed for the dairy, beef and veal system (EWS) for non-recurring
farming industries. These objectives are clear, but their unacceptable contamination occur-
content is evaluated as time goes by. ring despite all precautionary and
GMP: Good Manufacturing / In the past decade this system has control measures.
Managing Practice been adapted and extended on the
basis of practical experience and Essential elements in this approach
A key point for attention in the quality ongoing insights. Mad cow disease are the systematic working method
control programmes for animal hus- (BSE), dioxin contamination of and the advance actions. These may
bandry mentioned above is the safety Brazilian citrus pulp (1998) and the also help avoid emotional reactions
of animal feed. To meet the animal Belgian dioxin affair (1999) were and uncontrolled decisions.
feed quality control requirements, the particularly important impulses
Product Board Animal Feed in the prompting drastic changes. Principles
Netherlands developed the GMP
Important principles for the success-
standard for animal feed in 1992, a Enhancement of the GMP ful application of the system are as
quality management system for the
standard for animal feed follows:
animal feed industry. This GMP stan-
• Every business in the animal
dard is one of the main elements in The GMP standard for animal feed
feed sector, including suppliers of
the animal feed quality programme. as it stood was mainly focused on
ingredients, has to be aware that it
Livestock farmers participating in the known risk factors such as pesticides,
is supplying goods for the human
quality control programmes referred heavy metals, aflatoxin and salmonel-
food chain and is responsible
to earlier may purchase feeds only la. The quality assurance system for
for the safety of the products it
from GMP-certified feed suppliers. animal feed appeared to be insuffi-
supplies.
ciently geared to avoiding unforeseen
• Every business is able to
More than 95% of Dutch suppliers of sources of contamination, and was
demonstrate that it safeguards
mixed and simple feeds to livestock thus largely reactive in nature.
Ongoing improvement and its products by means of a
farmers have already attained GMP-
enhancement (certified) quality system.
certification, and more and more For this reason, in June 1999 the
• Every business is required to
German and Belgian feed suppliers The main objectives of the Dutch Product Board Animal Feed decided
report imperfections in product
are operating in accordance with it. animal feed quality programme are: to enhance the GMP quality assu-
safety (early warning), so that
6 7
 problems can be tackled at an the HACCP document from Codex
early stage. Alimentarius (WHO), which was
developed by TNO Nutrition and
The GMP + standard Food Research Institute.
By using the HACCP approach, the
Dutch animal feed sector has opted Risk assessment is carried out on
for a quality assurance system which two levels: at chain level (generic)
is also applied in the European food and at individual company level (spe-
industry. In combination with GMP cific). The generic risk analyses are
and upstream quality assurance for performed on each feed ingredient.
feed ingredients, it is even more fully The results of these analyses are
developed, and is therefore called stored in a database (from mid-2001)
GMP+. This is not just a quality ma- which will be updated regularly on
nagement system, but also contains the basis of practical experiences
suppliers are part of the food chain. and ongoing insights.
process management and product
To underline this, the slogan ‘Feed for
control elements. In addition, the risk
Food’ was introduced by the product The generic risk analyses serve three
analytical approach in GMP + is in
board. goals. Firstly, they help companies to
accordance with the principles as
set out in the White Paper on Food carry out their own specific analyses • Determination of the risk level,
Safety of the European Commission Elements of the quality policy at company level. Secondly, they which is the result of the probability
(January 2000). serve as a reference for the inspec- that a hazard will manifest itself and
The renewed quality policy for the
torates. Thirdly, they make the level the severity of the consequences if
animal feed industry is based on an
of risk analysis transparent for the it does.
approach that involves risk analysis.
other stakeholders in the animal • Determination of the relevant risks
This consists of three components:
production chain. and critical points in the production
risk assessment, risk management
and risk communication. process (risk evaluation).
How is a risk analysis carried out?
Risk assessment The steps are as follows: Four risk levels can be determined
• Definition of the product. with the risk assessment model. In
Risk assessment is carried out by • Definition of all steps in the produc- the event of risk level 1, no measures
experts on the basis of scientific tion process and identification of are necessary. In the event of risk
recommendations and the analysis all critical steps that may occur level 2, periodic measures – often
of information. It involves hazard during a hazardous situation, using activities needing to be performed
identification and characterisation, a process diagram. just once – have to be carried out.
exposure assessment and risk • Identification of possible hazards at Risk level 3 requires general
characterisation. In March 2000, each critical step and classification control measures, such as hygiene
the Product Board Animal Feed
This emphasises that the animal of the hazard as chemical, physical programmes, maintenance and
published an HACCP guideline for
feed industry and the ingredient or microbiological. calibration, purchasing procedures,
the animal feed industr y, based on

8 9
 and action values for undesirable
contaminants in feeds;
• implementation of a measuring
strategy (monitoring and verifica-
tion) for checking whether or
not the control measures are
effective.

In an HACCP approach, a well-

considered and reasonable balance
has to be found between preventive
measures and monitoring of feed
ingredients for the presence of risks.
Nevertheless, where there are doubts
about the ability to get a grip on the
etc. These measures are often called risks and controlling them at an risks, precautionary measures such
Point of Attention (POA) or GMP acceptable level, including tracking as avoiding use of a particular
measures. Most of them are already and tracing of products; product must be taken.
included in the GMP standard for • determination of product standards
animal feed. In the event of risk Several control measures and pro- undesirable substances and
level 4, specific control measures are duct standards have already been hygiene (salmonella). These addi-
necessary geared to each particular incorporated in legislation, but they tional control measures have been
situation. are fairly fragmented and do not go stipulated for the production and
far enough. To address this short- supply of compound feedstuffs,
All GMP-certified suppliers of com- coming, the GMP + standard for premixes, straight feeding stuffs
pound feedstuffs, straight feeding Animal Feed offers a coherent frame- and feed ingredients, feed fats (in
stuffs and recycled feed fats are work. The GMP + standard currently addition to those for feed ingre-
required to perform this type of risk comprises the following elements: dients), storage and transhipment
assessment as an integral part of • General requirements for a com- of feeds, and for transport.
their GMP-quality system. pany’s quality system, comparable • Minimum requirements for in-com-
with and based on the ISO 9002 pany inspections, such as quality
Risk management standard, in order to render quality assurance for laboratory analyses,
assurance demonstrable. sampling frequency, etc.
Risk assessment forms the basis for
• Criteria for risk assessment based • A set of product standards,
determining control measures. Risk
on HACCP principles. consisting of European Union legal
assessment is a component of risk
• Several additional sub-codes standards, additional national legal
management, resulting in:
involving generic control measures standards, and several supra-legal
• determination of control measures
in the production process related standards agreed with the partners
for eliminating or reducing these
to the use of additives, drugs, in the chain.
10 11
 certified quality system that complies the stakeholders in the animal feed
with GMP requirements, based on industry and in the related animal
GMP certification, or equivalent ISO food production chain, including the
9002 or HACCP certification which retail sector, and with community
verifies that the supplier meets the organisations, government authorities
relevant GMP requirements. and Parliament.

The aim for the future is a situation Transparency and accountability are
where all foreign suppliers also have very important goals. The product
a certified quality system; however, board uses several means of com-
this cannot be achieved in the short munication, especially publications,
term for all sources, and for this rea- databases and the Internet
son a modified standard (‘Standard (www.pdv.nl), in addition to a quar-
Quality Control of Feed Ingredients occur, and to operate fully in accor- terly newsletter.
for Animal Feed’) has been esta- dance with the descriptions in the
blished for the time being for foreign submitted document.
suppliers of feed ingredients; this • The feed ingredient supplier
must be implemented by 1 July 2001 concerned must agree to a regular
A guideline for tracking and tracing at the latest. verification inspection by an inde-
is being developed to standardise pendent, accredited inspection
the level of accuracy in the forward This standard is also based on the body (EN 45011 or EN 45012)
tracking of supplied products and to tenet of demonstrable risk control which is accepted by the Product
enable received goods to be traced based on HACCP principles. Where a Board Animal Feed.
back to their point of origin. foreign supplier does not have a cer-
tified quality system, the buyer must Experience has shown that a large
The aim is also to extend the obtain a level of comparable certainty number of foreign feed ingredient
quality control of animal feeds at that safety assurance levels meet the suppliers in many countries have
farm level. GMP-requirements for following three conditions: already implemented a quality system
handling feed materials on pig and • The supplier must submit a docu- akin to ISO 9002 or HACCP, or are in
dairy farms are therefore under ment to the buyer containing a the process of developing such a
development. specified minimum amount of system. In these cases, both parties’
information demonstrating how quality systems – the supplier’s and
Since 1 October 2000, GMP-certified the quality of the products is safe- purchaser’s – can be linked up.
suppliers of compound and straight guarded in accordance with the
Risk communication
feedstuffs have been obliged to main principles of HACCP.
purchase feed ingredients only from • The foreign feed ingredient supplier The third part of the quality program-
suppliers able to demonstrably gua- must contractually agree to submit me is communication of the results
rantee product safety. All domestic an updated document to the GMP- and progress of the quality program-
feed ingredient suppliers must have a certified purchaser if modifications me. This entails communication with
12 13
Early Warning System manifesting themselves. Key ele-
ments in such a system include
An early warning system (EWS) is
speed, care, confidentiality,
intended to be a safety net, as a
accountability and responsibility.
supplement to quality management
systems like GMP, ISO 9002 and
HACCP. The goal is to identify, com-
municate and eliminate possible or
potential hazards which may occur
despite all preventive measures
taken.

No quality system is able to avoid

totally all problems which may be
caused by incidental factors (human
error, natural events) or criminal acts.
A proactive approach must be
adopted to prevent potential hazards

14 15
Product Board Animal Feed
The GMP-regulations for the animal feed sector have been developed by the
Product Board Animal Feed. The Product Board Animal Feed is a regulatory
authority under public law. It also serves as a platform for all the links in the
animal feed chain. The Board represents all companies which are active in the
production of and/or trade in animal feed ingredients and the production of
animal feeds.

For more information:

Product Board Animal Feed

Stadhoudersplantsoen 12, Postbus 29739, NL 2502 LS Den Haag
Tel. +31(0)70 370 85 03, Fax +31(0)70 370 82 90
E-mail: [email protected], Internet: www.pdv.nl