Belgian, German feed quality standards agreement renewed and extended to transportation
On February 11, 2009 the Belgian feed quality standards body, OVOCOM, and feed manufacturers' association, BEMEFA together with Qualität und Sicherheit, Germany (QS) renewed and extended for a period of one year their mutual recognition agreement with respect to their quality standards.
The agreement which has been in force since 2005 and which was mainly applicable for compound feed producers and traders, has now been reaffirmed and extended to include transport, storage and transshipment of animal feed. This means that besides the compound feed producers and traders, transport operators and storage providers established in Belgium and Luxemburg, which have a valid GMP certificate, may supply within the QS system and vice versa: QS certified feed materials producers, traders, transport operators and storage facilities established in Germany are allowed to supply to Belgian GMP system.
Practically, this means that Belgian manufacturers of compound feed and premixtures can deliver to QS approved companies without additional audit, if they are GMP recognized and comply with the specifications published by BEMEFA for ‘the production and delivery of vegetal feed materials and compound feed’.
The interchangeability in quality standards is applicable to all kind of animal feed. An intensified mutual information exchange and an effective cooperation in times of crisis have been decided. The certification conditions in the respective systems are also mutually recognized.
BEMEFA, the Professional Association of Manufacturers of compound feed in Belgium, counts180 members. Together they represent 99% of the national production. The sector counts 3000 employees. With a national production of 6 million tonnes and a turnover of 2.5 milliard euro, the compound feed industry is the most important supplier of agriculture production materials.
OVOCOM is the Belgian Platform of Consultation for the Feed Chain. The main purpose of the platform is to ensure the production of safe feed. In this context, Ovocom has developed a quality system for animal feed: the Belgian GMP standard, which covers different quality aspects as product safety and product quality. More than 2000 companies (Belgian or from abroad) are GMP certified. Independent certification bodies control application of the GMP. The GMP label is only granted after a favorable report from an independent control and certification body.
