April 1, 2009: New independent report acknowledges assurance scheme’s ‘significant’ contribution to feed safety 


An independent report evaluating the progress of the Universal Feed Assurance Scheme, UFAS, since its launch in 1998 acknowledges its ‘significant’ contribution to feed safety.
The review - the future of UK feed assurance - commissioned by the Agricultural Industries Confederation’s UFAS Working Group, was undertaken by Roger Dean Associates.
Key findings are that UFAS has:
•    Made a significant contribution to feed safety since its introduction
•    Created increased confidence among enforcement authorities that the feed industries took their responsibilities seriously
•    Prevented a proliferation of retailer-driven feed schemes
Looking to the future, the report recommends that UFAS remains focussed on its original objective of ensuring feed and food safety.
However, it could consider adding optional ‘bolt-ons’ for specific sectors dependent upon market demands. There is also a strong recommendation that better use is made of non-conformance data from inspections to help participants comply with the codes.
John Kelley, managing director of AIC Services, which manages UFAS, says, “This independent evaluation of the work of UFAS is encouraging. It is a tribute to the hard work put in by many in the industry to ensure the UFAS scheme is robust, yet practical in assuring safety throughout the feed sector.
“However, it is acknowledged that UFAS needs to continually evolve to meet consumer, Government and industry requirements.”
As well as reviewing the scheme’s effectiveness and making recommendations, the report also contains appendices giving the historical context in which UFAS was conceived with trend data for the feed and livestock sectors.