Legislation and Guidance

Please note that the guidance listed applies to England. However, and where appropriate, there are links to the controls applying to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales in these different sets of guidance documents.

The Environmental Permitting Regulations (England and Wales) were amended in 2018 to implement the requirements of the ‘Medium Combustion Plant’ (MCP) Directive and additional controls on ‘Specified Generators’.

The purpose of this Regulation is to ensure a high level of protection of human health and the environment as well as the free movement of substances, mixtures and articles within scope of the controls.

In July 2020, Defra and the Devolved Administrations issued a joint Circular Economy Package policy statement confirming the UK’s commitment to a more circular economy which will see the UK keeping resources in use as long as possible, extracting maximum value from them, minimizing waste and promoting resource efficiency.

The UK is committed to moving towards a more circular economy, keeping resources in use as long as possible, extracting maximum value from them, minimizing waste and promoting resource efficiency.

These Regulations establish criteria for evaluating the potential risks, harmonised procedures for risk assessment and authorisation, provisions for the labelling of feed consisting of and containing GMOs and produced from GMOs as well as the traceability and labelling of GMOs and the traceability of food and feed products produced from them. Related information includes the GM Food and Feed – Notification of Existing Products and links to both the GB and EU list of authorised GMO’s.

The Regulation provides the framework for the authorisation of feed additives requiring a scientific evaluation demonstrating that the additive has no harmful effects, on human and animal health and on the environment. Related information includes both the EU and GB Registers of Feed Additives.

The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 provides that, from 1 January 2021, certain directly applicable EU legislation will be converted into UK law. 

The Veterinary Medicines Regulations (VMR) implement the EU legislation currently in operation relating to medicated feeds and specified feed additives (SFAs) (i.e. coccidiostats, histomonostats and non-antibiotic growth promoters) used in feedingstuffs. However, the EU Regulation on the production of Medicated Feed was agreed in June 2018 and comes into force on 28 January 2022. Amongst other things, it strengthens the action to fight antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The Veterinary Medicines Agency (VMD) has produced detailed guidance for manufacturers and suppliers of medicated feeds.

This legislation establishes a harmonised framework for the organisation of official controls and activities along the entire agri-food chain. Arising from this legislation, the UK Government has produced the Multi-Annual National Control Plan (MANCP) and guidance on the importation of high risk foods and feed in the event of a no deal Brexit.

This legislation establishes common objectives and principles to underpin all stages of production, preparation and distribution of organic products and their control as well as the use of indications referring to organic production in labelling and advertising. Related documents include guidance on the operation of the organic controls.

These are reference tools for food and feed legislation applicable in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Section 2(2) of this Act provides the legal powers to make secondary legislation to fulfil the UK’s EU obligations. This legislation has been revoked.

The TSE Regulation and the Animal By-Product (ABP) Regulations prevent the use of most animal proteins in feed for food-producing animals. Defra/ the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) have produced detailed guidance notes on both the TSE and ABP Regulations and these clarify which animal proteins are permitted to be fed and to which class of livestock.

Comprehensive information on current legislation.

Programmes for the enforcement of animal feed law (at all stages of production, processing, storage, transportation and distribution, including import and the primary production of feed for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

This law supports the EU livestock sector in its quest towards competitiveness and safe and smooth EU market of animals and of their products.

This Directive lays down maximum limits for heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium as well as for dioxin, aflatoxin, certain pesticides, and botanical impurities in certain feed materials, feed additives and feedingstuffs and sets maximum limits for the carry-over of coccidiostats in feeds intended for non-target species. It also prohibits the dilution of contaminated feed materials.

The Regulation on the marketing and use of feed materials and compound feed covers labelling provisions, tolerances for analytical constituents, the Catalogue of Feed Materials and Register of Feed Materials. Related information includes the EU Code of good labelling practice for compound feed for food producing animals and guidelines for the feed use of former foodstuffs.

Rationale for disease control during visits to livestock farms