The 16th Annual International Feed Regulators Meeting (IFRM) organized by the International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) brought together feed industry representatives and government officials from around the world to discuss critical issues facing the feed sector with IFIF and the FAO.
At the meeting, Ruud Tijssens, IFIF chairman, and Daniela Battaglia, animal production officer, Animal Production and Health Division of the FAO, welcomed IFRM delegates and reiterated their commitment to this longstanding partnership and agreed to continue to strengthen their work together to tackle the challenges facing the feed and food chains. Battaglia reaffirmed the importance of “collaboration between the public and private sector to support the responsibilities of the animal production sector in a context of sustainable agriculture and food systems worldwide.”
Tijssens said that “this meeting proved to be an important opportunity for the global feed industry and feed regulators to discuss key issues for the feed and food chains, including important work on nutritional innovation strategies to improve animal health and welfare, an update of Codex Alimentarius work with relevance to feed, as well as a very timely workshop on emerging feed sources and technologies in a circular bio-economy context.”
Tijssens added that “this dialogue is an important example of the private sector collaborating with the FAO and regulators from around the world and we believe that only by working together can we continue to ensure feed and food security and safety while meeting the global demands for food sustainably.”
“The success of this meeting is proof that FAO’s efforts to facilitate dialogue between the public and private sector are worthwhile and given the current challenges, collaboration among all parties at an international and national level to ensure among others, human and animal welfare, and feed and food safety and security is more important than ever,” said Battaglia. “Feed operators can valuably contribute to making the animal production and food sectors more responsible and sustainable and achieve other important goals, such as the containment of antimicrobial resistance and public, animal and environmental health. The IFRM is an important opportunity to exchange ideas among stakeholders from around the world and coordinate our efforts towards common goals.”
Other topics discussed at the 16th IFRM included a panel on the successful work of the International Cooperation for Convergence of Technical Requirements for the Assessment of Feed Ingredients (ICCF), which aims towards convergence of technical requirements specific to feed additive/ingredient authorization across regions, as well as presentations on key feed issues in Thailand and Vietnam.
