The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report on hazards associated with animal feed generated from an expert meeting held in 2015.

The need for feed for terrestrial and aquatic animals continues to rise with the increasing demand for foods of animal origin; however, the challenge is not only to meet the growing need for feed but also to ensure its safety and thus contributing to the safety of the entire food chain. Feed safety incorporates the impact on human as well as animal health and welfare, which, in turn, can affect productivity. Hazards in feed may be inherent to feed ingredients as well as introduced during feed production, processing, handling, storage, transportation, and use. Hazards in feed may also result from accidental or deliberate human intervention.

The expert meeting reviewed and discussed potential hazards in feed of chemical, biological and physical origin. It addressed hazards, as well as their occurrence in feed are described, and transfer from feed to food, relevance for food safety, impact on animal health, and emerging issues and trends. In addition, specific consideration was given to feed and products of feed production technologies of increasing relevance, for instance insects, former food and food processing by-products, biofuels by-products, aquatic plants and marine resources.

Download the report here.