The Feed Materials Assurance Scheme (FEMAS) Explained

In this episode of The AIC Podcast, Sarah-Jane Godfrey, AIC Technical Manager, explains the ⁠Feed Materials Assurance Scheme (FEMAS)⁠ and its role in the UK feed and food supply chain.

The conversation explains:

• What FEMAS is and how it supports the safe production and supply of feed materials, based on HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) principles.

• How FEMAS underpins traceability and compliance with feed and food safety legislation, protecting animal health and the wider food chain.

• How the Scheme operates in practice, including sector-specific requirements, independent certification, and Participant responsibilities.

• Common areas of non-conformance, such as record-keeping, pest control, and documented procedures, with practical tips to support compliance.

• How FEMAS supports continuous improvement, international trade, and a more sustainable, circular approach to feed production.

This episode is ideal for feed material producers, processors, importers, storage operators, and businesses involved in the feed and wider agricultural supply chains who need clear, practical guidance on assurance, compliance, and feed safety.

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Transcript

Wendy Welcome to the AIC podcast, where we share practical guidance and insight for Members and help the industry understand how the agri food supply chain works. I'm Wendy Ford, I'm the AIC Communications Manager, and today we'll be exploring the Feed Materials Assurance Scheme, also known as FEMAS. I'm joined by AIC Technical Manager Sarah Jane Godfrey, and she'll walk us through what Members and Participants need to know and practical steps to stay compliant. Welcome to the podcast, Sarah Jane. So as one of the technical managers at AIC, you manage the scheme, support participants and work with stakeholders across the agri supply chain. With that in mind, it would be great to hear about you, your background and how you got into the industry.

Sarah-Jane Thank you. Wendy. Yes. So I, joined the AIC, in January twenty twenty four as technical manager. prior to that, I have worked across a variety of roles within the feed industry, including nutrition, technical and marketing, importantly, feed assurance and also some sales roles. And my experience comes from compound feed animal premix and additives. And also I have experience in the, pet food sector, so my current role here is to oversee the scheme. My day to day work is supporting Participants with any technical inquiries related to ongoing compliance and any questions they've got. And also, we, work together with the other schemes to support ongoing development of the, evolution of the schemes going forward. I also work closely with the certification body, supporting their delivery of the Scheme, and also work with them dealing with any specific Participant issues that may arise on a day to day basis.

Wendy Thanks, Sarah Jane. That is a really good scene setter. Now let's start with the basics. What is FEMAS and where does it play its part in the agri supply chain?

Sarah-Jane Okay, so, FEMAS stands for the Feed Materials Assurance Scheme, and it's a Scheme based on HACCP principles and it covers all feed ingredients intended for either direct feeding to animals or for inclusion in compound feed and blends. The way the Scheme is set up is that it provides an assurance framework to ensure that feed materials that are intended for feeding to livestock meet both legislative and also really importantly, industry defined feed safety requirements. This means that as such, FEMAS plays a role in protecting animal health by supporting feed safety and also importantly, consequently, the food we eat for food safety. So, it also helps Participants comply with important legislation. And ultimately, I think it provides real confidence and traceability across the supply chain from the suppliers through to the farmer feeding feed to their animals and ultimately to the end consumer, which is us.

Sarah-Jane I think what's really interesting about FEMAS is the diversity of Participant business types that we have, and they range from specialist additive manufacturers and producers of seaweed meals to millers, food processors, brewers and distilleries. and because of this diversity, alongside the core FEMAS standard, which applies to all Participants, we have developed specific sector notes.

Wendy And can I just pause you there? What are sector specific notes?

Sarah-Jane So these are put in place to ensure that the unique legislative requirements, any risks, the processes and products associated with all these different operations and feed materials are appropriately and comprehensively addressed. We also include a gatekeeper option within FEMAS which allows feed businesses to source non assured feed materials and apply appropriate controls to ensure their safety before they place them on the market as assured. And as part of that process, each gatekeeper application is reviewed carefully by an expert panel, of which I sit on to confirm that it's valid and aligns with principles and requirements of the FEMAS Standard and also legal compliance.

Wendy I think that's really interesting. Is there anything else that you want to highlight about FEMAS that you think is important for our listeners to know?

Sarah-Jane I think it's also important to highlight that FEMAS, alongside AIC's other feed and food assurance schemes. UFAS and TASCC is recognised for the UK Government. This means that fully compliant Participants receive a lower risk rating, which can result in fewer inspections by enforcement authorities, such as trading standards. In addition, other organisations have recognised the feed assurance schemes including Red Tractor, Scottish Quality Crops and Quality Meat Scotland. So when it comes to alignment with other schemes, FEMAS has mutual recognition agreements with a number of overseas feed schemes, as clearly the UK feed industry operates in a global market. We have FEMAS Participants in the fishmeal sector located in Peru and South Africa, and even algae producers located in the USA. So this is important because mutual recognition is one of the key measures in place to ensure ease of trade while maintaining compliance.

Wendy So let's think about the day to day. Where do you see Participants most often struggle or hit snags? Do you have any best practices that other participants could learn from and use in their day to day?

Sarah-Jane That's a great question. Thank you Wendy. so I think, although the requirements of FEMAS have been well established over the years, there are sort of several reoccurring areas where businesses can encounter difficulties, and some of the most common non-conformances we see relate to relatively simple controls such as pest control. For example, bait stations not being labeled clearly or identified on site maps or just simply incomplete or poorly maintained documentation. And another thing is that we often find during some audits that while procedures are carried out in practice, they're not always clearly documented or kept up to date or applied consistently across sites and some staff, and this is particularly evident when demonstrating effective inspection and cleaning system for sites, buildings, storage areas and some equipment. And I really cannot stress how important it is to have records. Should an issue arise and you need to problem solve.

Wendy Yeah, I think it's simple things like record keeping that can be that tipping point. Are there any other areas of non-conformance that you've seen?

Sarah-Jane Another area of non-conformance that we've noted is the lack of documented procedures for responding to salmonella isolations. And when it comes to compliance, auditors are really looking for effective documented systems that are demonstrated to be understood by all staff. That's really important that you can see that's evident when they come to do the audit and ask you questions.

Wendy That's perfect. So you've highlighted like where the real world pressure points are and some of the stumbling blocks. What are some practical steps and best practice for compliance?

Sarah-Jane So when it comes to compliance and best practice, I think it's really important to make sure that sites are always audit ready and that you've got systems and a culture in place with your employees that really supports that mindset. And also, I know it's easier said than done sometimes, but participants should really not be audit scared. Don't be scared of your audit. Don't be daunted.

Sarah-Jane The role of the audit and auditor is to ask you questions to verify compliance with the Standard, not to find fault with you. So a positive way to think about your audit is that it's an opportunity to demonstrate how well your business works. And very often it's an opportunity to celebrate how well you're doing. And if a non-conformance is found, it's an opportunity to drive the business forward and simply improve processes or controls. So it's a benefit to everybody, and a real top tip is really just to know your processes and responsibilities from the very start to the end of production. So from raw material sourcing to delivery of the final product to the end consumer, so that you're really identifying and assessing risks relevant to food safety. So that all those appropriate controls can be implemented in line with the standard. And finally, I think it's really important to ensure everybody understands their responsibility. And also that feed safety training is in place and ultimately having that management commitment there to deliver resources needed to have compliance with the Standard.

Wendy Thanks, Sarah Jane. There's some really good tips there. If we looked at the AIC schemes, they provide frameworks for managing risk within the supply chain. So at the end of the day, what would you say is the main benefit for businesses taking part in the Scheme? What makes it different to the others?

Sarah-Jane It's been noted by some of our Participants that they comment that the really appreciate the robust scheme audits, that really help them drive continuous improvement in their business at their sites. And that really helps them trade and produce feed materials with confidence. And another aspect of FEMAS, I think is its role in sustainability and contribution to the valuable provision of feed sources for animals. For example, in the milling industry, distillery or brewing industries, a variety of co-products or byproducts are produced and they can be fed to animals. They're not used for human food, so things like wheat feed from flour milling or draff from distilleries industry. We also have FEMAS Participants who take surplus food from the human food chain, who then safely process it into valuable products for use in animal feed. So I think ultimately, FEMAS helps ensure all these valuable feed resources can be safely used within animal feeding, which ultimately supports a more, how should I say, circular economy, for animal feed and a sustainable way to produce our own food.

Wendy So we've unpacked, what the FEMAS scheme is, why it's important, the benefits of the scheme and the stumbling blocks that people, sometimes have in staying compliant. So now let's look into the future. What is the development of FEMAS? What does the future look like?

Sarah-Jane So currently we are reviewing the next version of the FEMAS standards. And we do this alongside the UFAS and the TASCC scheme, technical managers, our review groups. and this is so that we can bring them more in line together, and assist Participants, particularly those that are working across all those other schemes. We tend to work on common wording and that's where we'd like to bring the standards, together. So again, it's just easier and there's more common understanding of how clauses and requirements can be met. In terms of future training, we will be bringing some more online training for Participants on the FEMAS scheme and developing modules for training, of Participants in line with the standards.

Wendy So you've mentioned training there. If listeners want something practical they can use today. Where should they start? What kind of resources, templates or guides would you recommend?

Sarah-Jane Okay, so firstly, read the Standard that is a very good resource to use. And also AIC and the certification body, we can also help. We can't exactly tell you how to, meet individual clause requirements, but we can often provide insights or a little bit of guidance to get you in the right way, in the right direction. it's always a good idea to clarify things at the start, particularly if you're a new Participant early, sort of, rather than dealing with something that becomes more significant later on. I also really strongly advise that you visit the AIC website. We host a range of useful resources, particularly the FEMAS sector specific notes, uh, the FEMAS standard checklist. We also provide other resources such as summaries and links to UK and EU legislation, some guidance and codes of practice, and we've also published some nice helpful videos on the AIC feed safety calculators, which help support Participants feed risk assessments and determine testing frequency for undesirable substances. And finally, the certification body also offers Participant FEMAS Scheme training courses, which provide a valuable insight into how the schemes operate and how to effectively implement the Standards on site. So please do get in touch and use our resources if if you need further guidance.

Wendy That's great. Thank you so much, Sarah Jane, for sharing your expertise on FEMAS. Today, Members can find further updates, guidance, and resources on the AIC website and through our Member communications. Thank you for listening, and we'll be back with another episode soon. If you found this useful, please share it with a colleague and check the show notes for links and definitions. And again, thank you for joining us.

Wendy The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect any organisation they represent. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. Listener discretion is advised. Thank you.