According to Regulation (EC) 178/2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, feed is defined as "substances or products, including additives, whether processed, partially processed or unprocessed, intended for oral animal feeding."

Placing on the market is the holding of feed for the purpose of sale, including offering for sale or any other form of transfer, whether free of charge or not, and the sale, distribution or other forms of transfer themselves (definition according to Regulation (EC) 178/2002).

Every commercial enterprise that markets, trades, manufactures, stores or transports feed must in principle be registered with the Federal Office for Food Safety (BAES) as a feed business operator.

A company that trades certain additives (trace elements, vitamins, ...) or produces compound feed with certain additives (coccidiostats) requires approval from the BAES, which is associated with an on-site inspection. Companies that process fats and whose products are intended (in whole or in part) for the feed chain, e.g. oil mills and fat blenders, are also subject to approval.

Farmers, regardless of whether they only produce feed or also feed it to their own livestock, are also subject to registration. However, this obligation is fulfilled with the existence of an LFBIS number and no separate application for registration is required. However, if certain feed additives are purchased and used, further requirements must be met, which in case of doubt must be clarified with the feed control authority.

You can find out more about the details of placing feed on the market and the associated obligations and requirements in our e-learning course.

Every feed business that puts farm animal feed into circulation, i.e. manufactures, stores, transports, trades, etc., must apply to the BAES for registration. The production or wholesale (B2B) of pet food is also subject to registration.

The direct distribution of pet food to the end consumer, e.g. within the framework of retail trade, is exempt from the obligation to register.

An operating license is required for the production or marketing of certain additives or feeds with certain additives and premixes, as well as for manufacturers and processors of oils and fats. It should be noted that an approval is associated with an on-site inspection and the business activity may only be carried out once the approval notice has been issued.

The essential requirements for the labeling of feed can be found in Regulation (EC) 767/2009 on the use and placing on the market of feed.

The labeling requirements of feed depend, among other things, on the type of feed, the additives used and the target animal species or the nutritional purpose and are regulated in numerous laws and regulations.

You can find out more about the details of feed labeling in our e-learning course in the Labeling module.

In addition, the team of AGES feed experts will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

futtermittel@ages.at or +43 50 555-33216

You are welcome to send us a draft of a label at futtermittel@ages.at, which we will check for conformity with the currently applicable legal regulations for the labeling of feed against payment of the personnel costs. Details about this service can be found on our service page.

All licensed and registered commercial feed businesses, as well as farmers who use certain additives in their own compound feed production, are subject to official feed control by the BAES. An exception is veterinarians who run a home pharmacy and, in the case of dispensing feed, are also inspected as part of the control of the home pharmacy with regard to the fulfillment of feed law requirements.

Depending on the type of operation, different parameters are checked during the on-site inspection. Under the following link you will find checklists which are used during feed inspections:

Control of farm and pet food - Federal Office for Food Safety (baes.gv.at)

Feed, premixtures and additives must not have any harmful effects on animal or human health or the environment and must not be placed on the market in a misleading manner.

If, on the basis of an analysis, a deficiency is found, as a result of which a harmful effect cannot be ruled out, the feed must not (or no longer) be placed on the market or fed to food-producing animals. (e.g. in case of suspected salmonella, mycotoxin content above a limit or guideline value and heavy metal contamination above a limit value).

In this case, AGES is legally obliged to inform the Federal Office for Food Safety (BAES) about the analysis result.

Subsequently, you as the customer for an analysis or as the controlled company are obliged to take measures on your own initiative to remedy a legal deficiency or to comply with the official orders of the BAES.

If you have any questions, in particular on the interpretation of test results, our feed experts at AGES will be happy to help:

futtermittel@ages.at or +43 50 555-33216.

On our service page you will find an analysis catalog with our analytical services and the corresponding order letter as PDF for download.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any detailed questions regarding the order or if you require non-binding price information: futtermittel@ages.at or by telephone +43 50 555-33216.

Please note that we are obliged to provide non-binding price information in advance for orders from consumers.

The feeding of the feed in question must be stopped and a veterinarian should be consulted for clarification. In consultation with the veterinarian, the feed can be sent to our institute (TIF) for examination. In this case it is recommended to contact us in advance.

E-learning modules feed law

Individually prepared training packages for target groups