Fishmeal feed ban still not in effect
Fishmeal feed ban still not in effect
FISHMEAL can continue to be fed to ruminant livestock, as the temporary ban, due to come into effect from Apr 1, has not been laid before Parliament.
According to the Fishmeal Information Network, the ban was expected to come into effect at feed mills during March and on farms from Apr 1. But the soonest this can happen is 21 days after UK agriculture ministers lay a Statutory Instrument before Parliament to implement the temporary EU ban on feeding fishmeal.
"This means there is no ban on the use of fishmeal by livestock producers or by compound feed manufacturers," says a FIN spokesperson. Producers can, therefore, continue to use fishmeal to promote productivity and disease resistance.
Fishmeal suppliers also hope that a reclassification of fishmeal as a product of aquatic rather than animal origin, by the world food safety organisation, Codex, will help persuade the EU to recognise it as such. This should help it to be considered separately from meat and bonemeal in EU BSE control measures. *