European Commission tightens oversight of feed imports: special biosafety task force established

The European Commission has officially announced the creation of a new Task Force whose main objective is to strengthen control over the safety of imported feed and food products. The move aims to ensure strict compliance of foreign products with high EU standards and to protect the competitiveness of European producers.

Priorities of the new structure

The group’s work will focus on three key areas:

• Safety of raw materials and compound feed: ensuring transparency of supply chains from non-EU countries.

• Pesticide residue control: monitoring compliance with permitted levels of chemical substances in plant-based feed components.

• Supervisory coordination: harmonising border checks across the EU to prevent the entry of products that do not comply with EU regulations.

Level playing field

According to Oliver Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, the ultimate goal of the policy is to guarantee the highest level of protection for consumers and farmers.

“Our strict hygiene and safety rules must apply to all products sold within the EU, whether produced inside the bloc or imported. Border controls are a critical filter to confirm that foreign feed complies with our regulations,” the Commission said.

How the mechanism will work

The task force will bring together Commission experts and representatives of EU member states. In addition to strengthening inspections, it will:

• develop recommendations for coordinated action by member states;

• identify legislative gaps and prepare new administrative measures to reinforce oversight.

The group was officially launched at the meeting of the EU Agriculture Ministers’ Council. The step responds to calls from the European farming community and feed producers to protect the internal market from substandard imports and to ensure fair competition.

Tags: EU, imports, restrictions, compound feed