The regulation - Regulation, (EU) No 68/2013 - provides a catalogue of agreed-upon descriptions of the various feed materials that appear on the labels of feed for farmed animals and pets.

The European Commission says that farmers and pet owners will now be better informed on what the feed they buy really contains.

Based on cooperation by all interested parties in the feed sector and endorsed by EU Member States, the Regulation will result in clearer business-to-business communication, improved feed safety and better information for consumers, the EC said.

The Commission said that the new Catalogue, for the first time, sets limits for residues of processing aids in by-products for feed use, for example from the food industry. In addition, the safe introduction of former foodstuff into the feed chain is clarified.

This marks significant progress with respect to the sustainability of the whole food chain. Feed materials are the agricultural commodities most frequently imported into the EU.

There is a major trend towards sustainability by using more by-products from the food production and from bio-based industries as animal feed.

Since its first significant expansion two years ago, the EU catalogue of feed materials became a model for the feed industry worldwide with crucial trade partners like China adopting a similar approach. Previously endorsed by experts in the Standing Committee of the Food Chain and Animal Health, the updated catalogue is to be applied by the industry from 19 August 2013 onwards.