Pet animals are non-food producing animals that are fed, bred, or kept, but not normally used for human consumption.

From a purely legal point of view, there is no distinction between farm animal feed and pet food, with the exception of deviating labeling regulations. The main difference is the intended use in the form of feeding to animals that are not used for food production. When using feed additives, it must also be taken into account that not all additives are approved for all target animal species.

As defined in Regulation (EC) 178/2002, feed means "substances or products, including additives, whether processed, partially processed or unprocessed" intended for oral animal feeding.

In general, a distinction is made between straight feed (= feed materials) and compound feed (e.g. complete feed and supplementary feed). In addition, there are feed additives and premixes. Veterinary medicinal products are not subject to feed law.

Feed law is regulated nationally by the Feed Act 1999 and the associated Feed Regulation 2010. The Act and the Ordinance regulate, in particular, the responsibility of the authorities, the rights and obligations of both the control bodies and the feed businesses, national deviations from EU law and possible sanctions in the event of a breach of feed law provisions. Substantive provisions are found almost exclusively in the relevant EU legal texts, with the essential requirements for use and placing on the market summarized in Regulation (EC) 767/2009. A feed may only be placed on the market and used if it complies with the national and EU legal rules; above all, it must be safe and have no harmful effects on animals, humans or the environment.

In the case of the production of pet food and business transactions with other commercial enterprises (B2B), feed businesses require registration with the Federal Office for Food Safety (BAES). This does not apply to the sale of pet food to end consumers or pet owners (B2C). Furthermore, it should be noted that pet food using animal components (ABP = animal by-products) may only be produced if an approval as an ABP plant is also available. Approval as a TNP plant is granted by the competent veterinary authority. Due to the approval requirements, it is not possible to produce pet food using animal components (offal, meat, minced meat, etc.) for commercial purposes in a kitchen that is also used for food preparation for humans. Of course, this does not apply to the preparation of food for one's own pet.

Farms in Austria can register via the online portal of the Federal Office for Food Safety. The requirement of an approval according to the Feed Hygiene Regulation (EC) 183/2005 will hardly be encountered in practice, it is much more likely that due to the use of animal by-products an approval as an ABP farm according to Regulation (EC) 1069/2009 is required. For this, the veterinary authority of the regionally competent district administrative authorities must be contacted.

In Austria, the Federal Office for Food Safety (BAES) is responsible for controlling the placing on the market of feed, premixtures and additives, as well as for the approval and registration of commercial operations. For more information, check out the BAES website. The production of pet food using animal by-products is subject to control by the competent veterinary authority up to the final product (saleable goods) and is usually carried out by the official veterinarian.

AGES offers a comprehensive range of tests for all types of feed. The central contact for such private-sector orders is the Institute for Animal Nutrition and Feed. The range of our testing methods includes, among others, a number of nutrient-relevant (ingredients and additives), microbiological, molecular biological and microscopic parameters, as well as the detection of carry-over and contamination of feed with undesirable and prohibited substances. For analyses that are not possible at AGES, we maintain close cooperation with international partner laboratories.

In this case, it is also possible to have the feed analyzed at the Institute for Animal Nutrition and Feed of AGES. For information on ordering, sample shipment and processing, please visit our website(Feed Service & Safety - AGES) or use our online order form, which is available under Downloads. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail(futtermittel@ages.at) or by phone(+43 505 5533 216).

The designation of a product as a complete feed is only permissible if the feed in question meets all nutrient requirements in accordance with current requirement standards of the animal in question. This also applies to its content of certain ingredients, additives and composition. In Europe, the guideline of the European Pet Food Association(FEDIAF, Nutritional Guidelines) is often used as a reference for nutrient requirements.

However, other guidelines may also be used, provided they meet international standards and are traceable. In the case of supplementary feeds, it should be noted that these can only cover an animal's requirements in addition to other feeds. Complete and supplementary feeds are compound feeds, whereas straight feeds are only one component of a compound feed and are not suitable for completely meeting the animal's needs. Reward products or "treats" can be compound feeds or straight feeds (e.g., pig ears) and must be considered when measuring the total daily ration.

The greatest challenge for pet owners is BARF products (raw feeding), as it is usually difficult to estimate how much of the total requirement will be covered. Apart from the hygienic risks (salmonella) due to raw animal products, in such cases the sufficient supply of additives (trace elements, vitamins) is usually not considered enough.

It should be remembered that our pets also regularly change their eating habits. If the usual food is suddenly refused by your pet, this may be due to the recipe and may be caused by the change of a raw material component. If you suspect, based on appearance or odor, that the pet food is questionable or even spoiled, the first step would be to stop feeding it to your pet. If any health problems or symptoms occur, such as vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, fever, breathing difficulties or cramps, it is advisable to consult a veterinarian.

If desired, the feed can be tested at the Institute for Animal Nutrition and Feed (AGES) for nutrient and additive content or microbiological quality. In the case of existing symptoms in your pet and the suspicion that the feed could be the cause, we also ask for this information or the assessment of the attending veterinarian to be able to offer the most targeted analysis possible. The narrower a suspicion can be narrowed down, the lower the costs for the analysis will usually be.

This claim is made very often, but is not true for commercial pet foods. Often, such claims are also based on misunderstandings with regard to the legally specified terms, such as "animal by-products". All components of a pet food must comply with feed law requirements and, in the case of animal products, come exclusively from animals fit for slaughter, from which food for humans is also obtained.

The pet food industry, under the supervision of the veterinary and feed control authorities, sets very strict hygiene and quality standards, often equivalent to those used in the production of food. As a general rule, in the case of animal products, only those in Category 3 may be processed into pet food. These are raw materials that are de facto of "food quality".

In practice, in addition to skeletal muscle (= meat), this often includes offal, which can no longer be marketed as food to the same extent as in earlier times, but which is a suitable and important source of nutrition for pets.