The pet food industry in the UK is highly regulated & governed by more than 50 pieces of legislation
Pet food production is highly regulated in the UK to ensure it is of utmost safety, hygiene and quality. Pet food is classified as 'animal feed', meaning all manufacturers, importers and distributors are considered Feed Business Operators (FBOs) and must adhere to relevant legal standards.
UK Government laws are in place to protect animal health, ensure feed safety and provide clear, accurate information to consumers. Different legislation is in place to ensure every stage of the manufacturing process is designed with animal health and safety in mind, and information on pet food labels must be accurate and follow specific industry standards.
Since pet food is manufactured and distributed in the same way as human food and sources its raw materials from the same places as those destined for the human food chain, some legislation governing human food is equally applicable to pet food. These include laws restricting the residue levels of veterinary substances in meat and those of pesticides in cereal products. And since farm animals form part of the human food chain, foods for all animals are governed by the same legislation, meaning that the laws are necessarily stringent.
The manufacture and sale of pet food is comprehensively regulated, both directly and indirectly:
Directly
All animal feed is regulated under the same legislation, with particularly strict rules applying to farm animals due to their role in the human food chain.
Additionally, since pet food is produced and handled in a manner similar to human food, certain laws that apply to human food also extend to pet food.
Indirectly
Pet food enjoys the additional legal protection of the law which was designed to safeguard raw materials destined for the human food chain, from which the pet food industry also sources its raw materials.
Examples of this include the laws restricting the residue levels of veterinary substances in meat and those of pesticides in cereal products. In addition, there is specific legislation governing pet food.
