Guidance for farmers on record-keeping requirements of Annexe I of the EC Feed Hygiene Regulation (183/2005) and Annexe I of the EC Food Hygiene Regulation (852/2004)

Who will this consultation be of most interest to?
Mainly primary producers (farmers) engaged in animal feed and food activities. Enforcement authorities.

What is the subject of this consultation?
Guidance on record-keeping on farms in Scotland in relation to Annexe I of the EC Feed Hygiene Regulation (183/2005) and Annexe I of the EC Food Hygiene Regulation (852/2004)

What is the purpose of this consultation?
To obtain stakeholder comments and views on the attached two draft guidance documents. The guidance is intended to help farmers comply with the record-keeping requirements of Annexe I (specifically part A, II) of the EC Feed Hygiene Regulation (183/2005) and Annexe I (specifically part A, III) of the EC Food Hygiene Regulation (852/2004) in a less burdensome way.

The Food Standards Agency in Scotland is seeking comments on the attached guidance (see Annexe B) that has been specifically designed for farmers to help them comply with the record-keeping requirements of Annexe I (Part A, II) of the EC Feed Hygiene Regulation (183/2005) and Annexe I (Part A, III) of the EC Food Hygiene Regulation (852/2004).

This guidance is based on similar guidance that was issued in England and Wales for consultation on 17 February 2010 to address the burdens imposed by the record-keeping requirements of the Feed Hygiene Regulations. The background to the English and Welsh consultation is provided below.

The EC Feed Hygiene Regulation (183/2005) came into full effect for all feed business operators on 1 January 2008. The main purpose of the Regulation is to improve feed safety and it includes rules to improve operational standards of feed businesses and traceability measures to ensure that, in the case of a feed contamination incident, feeds can be easily traced and recalled if necessary.

EC Regulation 183/2005 applies to virtually all feed businesses that manufacture, market or use animal feed, including livestock farms, fish farms and arable farms growing and using or selling crops for feed use. One of the requirements of the Regulation is for feed businesses to carry out a certain amount of record-keeping so that if a feed or food related problem occurs, its origins can be quickly identified and appropriate measures taken. Annexe I (part A, II) of EC Regulation 183/2005 sets out a short list of record-keeping requirements that farmers must observe.

In 2005, the Government measured the administrative burdens of Regulations on business in England, including record-keeping requirements. The cost to farmers of complying with the record-keeping requirements of Annexe I of the Regulation, using a standard cost model, was estimated at £58 million per annum in England at 2005 prices.

In early 2009, the Food Standards Agency drafted a four-page guidance document intended to assist farmers in carrying out the record-keeping requirements of Annex I of EC Regulation 183/2005 in a less burdensome way. The independent Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs (ACAF) was consulted and it recommended that the guidance should also be summarised into a one-page document. In addition, the longer version of the guidance will be available from the Food Standards Agency's website for those farmers who might want more detailed information.

The guidance issued in England and Wales has been developed further to include record-keeping burdens imposed by the EC Food Hygiene Regulation (852/2004). Farmers are unlikely to separate the two regimes in their day-to-day management of their farms, particularly when the hygiene and record-keeping requirements of the Food and Feed Hygiene Regulations are similar.

It is the Agency’s policy to minimise the impact of Regulations without compromising consumer safety. In terms of EC Regulation 183/2005 and EC Regulation 852/2004, the Agency proposes to achieve this by issuing step-by-step guidance (as set out in Annexe B) to assist farmers in complying with Annexe I of these Regulations. It is considered that:

• the guidance will help farmers to spend less time on complying with the record-keeping requirements of Annex I of the EC Regulations (183/2005 and 852/2004)
• the final version of the guidance will be presented in the form of an eye-catching leaflet
• the content of the leaflet will be similar to the short guidance as presented in Annexe B
• the Agency will publish the guidance on its website and liaise with farming organisations to distribute hard copies to farms

Stakeholders and enforcement authorities are now invited to consider and comment on the text of the guidance.

The issues on which we would like stakeholders' views are:

• whether the guidance would assist farmers to comply with the record-keeping requirements of Annexe I of EC Regulation 183/2005 and Annexe I of 852/2004 in a less burdensome way
• how the guidance should be publicised
• the time required to comply with the record-keeping requirements by having the guidance to refer to
• the content of the guidance

All responses received as part of this consultation will be given careful consideration.

All comments received will be summarised and published on the Food Standards Agency website within three months as part of the post-consultation action unless stakeholders particularly request that their comments be treated as confidential.

Comments may be made by post, by fax, or by email.

Responses are required by close 21 June 2010. Please state, in your response, whether you are responding as a private individual or on behalf of an organisation or company (including details of any stakeholders your organisation represents).

This consultation has been prepared in accordance with the HM Government Code of Practice on Consultation, which states that a consultation must follow better regulation best practice, including carrying out an Impact Assessment (Regulatory Impact Assessment in Scotland). The assessment is included in the consultation documents.

We are interested in what you thought of this consultation and would therefore welcome your general feedback on both the consultation package and overall consultation process. If you would like to assist us to improve the quality of future consultations, please feel free to share your thoughts with us by using the consultation feedback questionnaire.

In accordance with the FSA principle of openness we shall keep a copy of the completed consultation and responses, to be made available to the public on request. The FSA will publish a summary of responses, which may include personal data, such as your full name. Disclosure of any other personal data would be made only upon request for the full consultation responses. If you do not want this information to be released, please complete and return the Publication of Personal Data Form. Return of this form does not mean that we will treat your response to the consultation as confidential, just your personal data.

Within three months of a consultation ending we aim to publish a summary of responses received and provide a link to it from this page.

If, after three months, the summary is still not showing, please contact the person who was responsible for the original consultation. Alternatively, you can contact the FSA Consultation Co-ordinator by email: consultationcoordinator@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk