The Animal Nutrition Association of Canada (ANAC) is the national trade association representing Canada's livestock industry.

HIGHLIGHTS

Regulatory Reform - ANAC`s view on modernization of the Feeds Regulations

Few sectors have received as much attention in the last decade as food production. Concern related to food contamination has resulted in increased pressure on the entire agri-food value chain, as consumers seek assurances about the safety of the food supply.

Governments in several countries have responded by modernizing their regulatory practices by adopting a system-based approach to safety and improved risk management. Known as Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP), this risk management approach has resulted in more rigorous industry controls and better allocation of government enforcement resources. 

In Canada, the regulations governing the commercial feed industry have been in place for over a quarter century and have not evolved with the changing environment. This has created an onerous compliance burden for the commercial feed industry, hampering industry productivity and tying up government resources all without improving food safety.

ANAC’s vision is of a new regulatory environment that will increase food safety, foster innovation and make the feed industry more competitive. Our objective is to see the Feeds Act and its regulations aligned with international standards and practices.

Food Safety

The Canadian Feed Industry are Leaders in Food Safety

The Canadian feed industry plays a unique and dynamic role within the food production cycle, and is a vital link in the agri-food chain. Livestock and poultry producers rely on feed manufacturers to provide a reliable and consistent supply of safe, nutritionally balanced feed for their animals.

Food safety is not only a priority for the Canadian feed industry; it is a responsibility. There is growing awareness on the part of consumers, home and abroad, and other stakeholders in the livestock and poultry industries, of their impact on food safety, and of their responsibility to maintain it. More and more, individual stakeholders are implementing good manufacturing practices and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) based programs to ensure that their particular link in the agri-food chain is not a source of biological, physical or chemical contamination.

Principles of Safe Food Applied to Feed

In the 1990s, the feed industry in Canada understood that feed production is an integral part of the food production chain and that principles used for safe food production could be adapted to feed production. The same rigour that is used to ensure the safety of food has been applied to feed through the FeedAssure™ program. FeedAssure™ is modeled after the Food Safety Enhancement Program (FSEP), a successful program developed in 1991 by Agriculture Canada in consultation with the food industry in Canada.