EU petfood labeling 2022

EU pet food labeling is governed by Regulation (EC) No 767/2009 of 13 July 2009 on the placing on the market and use of feed — which repealed Council Directive 79/373/EEC (plus Directives 80/511/EEC, 82/471/EEC, 83/228/EEC, 93/74/EEC, 93/113/EC and Decision 2004/217/EC), NOT 'Directive 86/153/EEC' as an earlier version of this topic claimed. Mandatory particulars verified from the Official Journal text: (1) Article 15 (all feed): type of feed ('feed material', 'complete feed' or 'complementary feed' — for pets other than cats and dogs 'compound feed' may be used instead); name/business name and address of the responsible feed business operator; establishment approval number where applicable; batch or lot reference number; net quantity (units of mass for solids); list of feed additives under the heading 'additives'; moisture content per Annex I. (2) Article 17 (compound feed): the species or categories of animals for which the feed is intended; instructions for proper use; minimum storage life ('best before' followed by month, or 'use before' followed by day for highly perishable feed); a 'composition' list of feed materials in DESCENDING ORDER BY WEIGHT (percentage by weight mandatory only for emphasised ingredients); analytical-constituent declarations per Annex VII. (3) Annex VII Chapter II: complete feed for cats and dogs must declare crude protein, crude fibres, crude oils and fats, and crude ash (Annex I allows 'protein', 'fat content', 'incinerated residue'/'inorganic matter' synonyms for pet food). (4) Article 19 (pet food only): a free telephone number or other appropriate means of communication must appear on the label so purchasers can obtain additional information on additives and category-designated feed materials. (5) Article 14: mandatory particulars must appear in the official language (or at least one official language) of the Member State or region where the feed is placed on the market. The Regulation contains no requirement that 'dog food'/'cat food' be the first words of the product name (that claim was fabricated), and no caloric-content declaration mandate — energy declarations in the EU are a FEDIAF guideline practice, not a 767/2009 requirement.