According to article 24(6) of the EU feed marketing Regulation (EC) No 767/2009, “the person who, for the first time, places on the market a feed material that is not listed in the EU Catalogue of feed materials shall immediately notify its use to the representatives of the EU feed business sectors.” This provision applies as from 1 September 2010. The EU legislator mandated the representatives of the EU feed business sectors to publish these notifications on the Internet in the form of a Register and to update this Register on a regular basis.

With a view to facilitate the access to and use of the Register, an online tool has been developed by the representatives of the EU feed business sectors1. It will be accessible at www.feedmaterialsregister.eu as from 1 September 2010. Notifications made by means other than the online registration tool will not be accepted.

The representatives of the EU feed business sectors have strived to make the Register and notification system as “user-friendly” as possible. They have drafted a Q&A concerning the legal requirements for feed business operators as well as a guide to the notifying feed business operators, which will be accessible on the Register’s website. These documents, however, are only indicative as representatives of the EU feed business sectors will accept no liability for the Register’s content. Any question(s) from feed business operators as to their legal obligations shall be referred to the competent authorities.

Who and what should be notified?

It must be stressed that the reference to the “placing for the first time on the market” relates to the first placing on the market of a feed material after 1 September 2010. This applies to any new feed material. In case of doubt, feed business operators are invited to contact EU or national authorities for advice. In practice, a notifying feed business operator placing a feed material on the EU market after 1 September 2010 should do the following:

- Check on the present EU official Catalogue if the name of the feed material he places on the market is listed (Regulation (EC) No 242/2010);

- If the feed material is not listed in the Catalogue:

o Check on the online Register if the name of the feed material is listed and if the feed material meets the characteristics mentioned in the Register;

o If the name of the feed material is listed in the Register but the characteristics of the feed material do not meet the ones mentioned in the Register; he shall introduce a new notification (same name but new characteristics);

1 EU associations sponsoring the Register : AAF, CEFS, CEPS, CIAA, COCERAL, COFALEC, COPA-COGECA, EAPA, EDA, EFPRA, EMFEMA, EUCOLAIT, EUROMALT, European  Flour Millers, EUSALT, FEDIAF, FEDIOL, FEFAC, FERM, IFFO, IMA-Europe and The Brewers of Europe.