The Importance of Animal Feed Regulations

New Zealand has a number of animal feed regulations in place, which help to ensure quality standards of animal feed, benefitting livestock health and protecting the interests of our agriculture industry. 

Animal feed is an important part of our country’s agriculture sector. Feed quality has a direct impact on the health and growth of farm animals, and the produce yielded from them. This is why it’s important we have regulations in place to ensure quality for the animal feed we manufacture, distribute and use. 

As New Zealand’s livestock, poultry and dairy sectors expand, so too does demand for animal feed. Domestically, New Zealand produces 1.1 million metric tons of compound feed, and a estimated similar amount for blended feed, a year. However most of our feed is still imported, with the bulk of it coming from Australia, USA and Argentina. 

New Zealand’s Animal Feed Regulations and Standards

In New Zealand, our Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) is the governing body which oversees all production, processing and selling of animal products in New Zealand, including animal feed. 

Animal feed is classed as a oral nutritional compound (ONC) and so must comply with the Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (ACVM) Act 1997. 

Manufacturers, sellers and importers of these agricultural compounds must ensure they comply with the regulations outlined by this Act. This includes:

• Making sure the product is fit for purpose
• The product is correctly labeled – including use-by dates and ingredients
• The product meets certain nutritional and hygiene safety requirements
• The product doesn’t make erroneous or embellished claims about its benefits

Similarly, those using these products (i.e. farmers), must comply with correct use of the products:

• Checking the product is fit for use before giving to animals
• Following the guidelines and instructions from the labeling
• Using the product as intended and instructed by the manufacturers

For more information on the legislation outlining these regulations, visit the Parliamentary Counsel Office site. 

New Zealand Feed Manufacturers Association & FeedSafeNZ

The New Zealand Feed Manufacturers Association (NZFMA) exists to represent the interests of the animal feed manufacturing companies in this country. 

NZFMA’s work supports New Zealand’s animal feed industry and regulations by spreading awareness of what they are and promoting a culture of compliance for them. This includes liaising with the Government on legislation and helping to establish industry standards for the production and consumption of animal feed. 

The FeedSafe programme was launched in 2015 to ensure quality animal feed is made in this country, by upholding the standards for feed manufacturing as enshrined by our regulations. This includes testing ingredients and processes used by manufacturers. 

New Zealand’s animal feed regulations help make sure the quality of animal feed created and used in this country is up to standard, and supports the health and wellbeing of our animals and the agriculture industry.

For more information on animal feed and related topics, visit the FeedSafeNZ site, regularly updated with content and information.