Starting a new pet food business in the UK
UK Pet Food is a members association and therefore our technical, regulatory and nutritional advice is provided to member companies only. However, we have provided some key information for those starting out below.
Legislation
If you would like to know about the relevant pet food manufacturing legislation, a good starting point would be the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) website.
General information on legislation, labelling and composition of animal feed (including pet/bird food) can be found here.
Codes of Practice
There are also Industry Codes of Practice that should be regarded. These will help you with manufacturing and labelling enquiries, they are recognised in EU legislation.
Pet Food Labelling
For more information on labelling, in addition to the Fediaf Labelling Code, please see our useful factsheet.
Nutritional Requirements
For details of dog and cat nutrition, minimum and maximum levels of recommended nutrients, please check Fediaf's advice.
Approval to use animal products
- You will also need approval from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to process animal by-products (ABPs) into pet food. More information is available from Defra and APHA.
Registering your business
For information on putting your product on the market and to learn more about how to register and apply for approval as a feed business as required under Animal Feed Legislation, please refer to the advice of Food Standards Agency (FSA).