Ensuring the safety of animal feed

Abstract

<p>A general outline is presented of measures for the production of safe animal feed. This is based on the setting of so-called ‘feed safety objectives’ which make use of principles that relate to animal health, animal welfare, legal aspects of farm practices and human food safety objectives for products of animal origin. Particular emphasis will be put on the types of feed used in relation to feedborne animal diseases caused by infectious and chemical agents and on the relationship between animal feed and zoonotic foodborne diseases. In addition the influence of feed on animal welfare will be discussed. To produce safe animal feed, a pro-active control system is advocated. This approach has been very successful in relation to human food and involves the use of ‘good manufacturing practices’ (GMP) and the ‘hazard analysis critical control point’ (HACCP) concept as the main tools. However, it has been shown that the HACCP-system has certain shortcomings. To counteract these shortcomings, product traceability and hazard early-warning systems have been developed and will also be presented.</p>