The Product Board Animal Feed (PDV) is going to integrate IFIS into GMP+. It replaces the current quality requirements for feed materials and their production processes. The same will take place in the quality programmes in Great Britain (UFAS from the British AIC), Belgium (GMP from OVOCOM) and Germany (QS). IFIS has therefore become an international standard for feed materials and raw materials for compound feeds.

PDV set up the standard together with AIC, OVOCOM, QS and the European compound feed manufacturers federation (Fefac). The five organisations set up the International Feed Safety Alliance in 2004. IFSA is aimed at the protection of the health of animals and people through its strict requirements on feed materials. Last Spring, the organisations launched IFIS, the IFSA Feed Ingredient Standard. All the organisations have accepted this common, international standard. This promotes the traceability of feed materials and saves costs.

Feed material manufacturers have been able to be certified for IFIS since 1 January of this year. SGS Product & Process Certification, part of SGS Nederland B.V. of Spijkenisse, has now approved Palma of Slovakia as the first to be certified. Palma Tumys produces sunflower and rape seed meal and delivers to, among others, Dutch compound feed companies. In the coming period, certification bodies such as SGS will check manufacturers of feed materials all over the world against the IFIS standard. There is a transitional period for these companies, until the end of 2008, to transfer to the IFIS certificate. After this they may no longer deliver to GMP+-certified (compound feed) companies without this certificate.

This is a joint press release by the Product Board Animal Feed and SGS.