A company or self-employed person has to submit a notification of economic activities to the Agriculture and Food Board or apply for a licence before starting any economic activities in the feed sector.
A notice of economic activities must be submitted for the following activities:
- manufacturing animal feed for own use and for placing on the market
- primary production of animal feed, including insects
- processing feed (including direct heat-drying) of plant, mineral, and animal material to be put on the market, provision of packaging services, transport, storage, retail sale, including by means of distance communication, delivery to Estonia from outside the Union and export, storage and transport of animal protein (e.g. fish meal) and feed containing animal protein for own use
- production of compound feed (including compound feed containing animal proteins) for own use and for placing on the market, including production in a specially equipped truck
- placing compound feed (including compound feed containing animal proteins) on the market, provision of packaging services, transport, storage, retail sale, including by means of distance communication, delivery to and export from a country outside the EU
- placing medicated feedingstuffs and intermediate products for medicated feedingstuffs on the market, export, and delivery from a country outside the Union to Estonia without storing these products on own premises
- transport and storage of medicated feedingstuffs and intermediate products for medicated feedingstuffs
- retail sale of medicated feedingstuffs for pets, including by means of distance communication
- manufacturing certain feed additives, placing them on the market, transport to Estonia from a country outside the EU and export
- manufacturing premixtures of feed additives (e.g. trace element compounds other than copper and selenium compounds) for own use, manufacturing for placing on the market, placing on the market, delivering from a non-EU country to Estonia, and export
- transporting and storing feed additives and premixtures
- adding feed additives and premixtures to the drinking water of animals kept for the production of food of animal origin
- producing pet food for placing it on the market, placing on the market except for retail sale, transport, storage, delivery to Estonia from a country outside the Union, and export. Distribution of former foodstuffs (bent pastries, etc.) directly to a feed business operator for feeding to animals
- marketing by-products of food production (beer residues, etc.) for animal feed
- feeding feed, including feed containing animal protein, to animals kept for the production of food of animal origin
A list of specific activities and substances is in Annex 1 of Regulation No 31 of 12/06/2014 from the Minister of Agriculture. ‘A specific list of the activities and substances used in production for which feed business operators have to submit a notification of economic activities, or for which they must have a licence’.
There is no notification obligation for the following activities, and persons who are involved in the following activities do not have to submit a notification of economic activities or apply for a licence:
- marketing the primary production of feed (up to 5 tons per year), left over from production activity, to local farmers;
- retail of pet food;
- producing feed and feeding animals, if:
- the produce is to be consumed by the family;
- the feed is for animals not kept for food production, or whose produce is only for private domestic consumption;
- it concerns marketing small quantities of primary food products directly to the end consumer
it concerns small quantities of primary animal produce by product type, as follows:
- fish – up to 100 kg a day;
- honey – from a maximum of up to 15 hives and colonies;
- eggs – from a maximum of up to 50 hens;
- fresh cow’s milk – up to 100 kg a day or up to 700 kg a week;
- goat’s milk – up to 20 kg a day;
- fresh ewe’s milk – up to 10 kg a day.
Legal bases
Operating in the area of handling feed is regulated by the following legislation:
- Feed Act;
- General Part of the Economic Activities Code Act;
- Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council, laying down the general principles and requirements of food law;
- Regulation No. 183/2005 of the European Parliament and of the Council, laying down requirements of feed hygiene;
- Commission Regulation (EU) No. 68/2013 on the Catalogue of feed materials;
- Regulation (EC) No. 767/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the placing on the market and use of feed;
- Regulation (EC) No. 1831/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council on additives for use in animal nutrition;
- Regulation (EC) No. 999/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council, laying down rules for the prevention, control and eradication of certain transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.
Cross-border operation
If a company is established and operates as a feed handler in an area of activity subject to the obligation to submit a notice of economic activities in another contracting state of the EEA and wishes to permanently operate in the same area of activity in Estonia, the company must submit a notice of economic activities.
Completing and submitting a notice
You can submit the notice of economic activities:
- via the client portal of the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture (the portal can be entered with and ID-card or mobile ID);
- digitally signed by e-mail to [email protected];
- by delivering it to the AFB local institution;
- through a notary.
Companies that have submitted a notification of economic activities and hold a licence are listed in a public database.
Feed business operators do not have to pay a state fee for the processing of notifications of economic activities.
Changing data on a notification of economic activities, suspending or terminating an activity
The Agriculture and Food Board must be notified within five working days of any change to the information in a notification of economic activities, and of the suspension or termination of an activity.
Notifications of changes to information or the suspension/termination of activities are submitted in the same way as the original notifications of economic activities were submitted.
Forms for modifying the data of the notice of economic activities and for the suspension/termination of activities are available on the website of the Agriculture and Food Board. These applications are not necessary if you submit your notice via the customer portal of the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture.
Supervision
The Agriculture and Food Board exercises governmental control over the conformity of the handling and use of feed.
The Agriculture and Food Board checks compliance in relation to feed and feed processing. An inspection fee must be paid for compliance inspections of feed processing. An inspection fee shall not be paid for activities carried out at the level of primary production of feed, including the primary production, drying and marketing of feed material.
Contact details
Substantive information
Kaili Kallit, Agriculture and Food Board, e-mail: [email protected]
Pille Sadrak, Agriculture and Food Board, e-mail: [email protected]
Registry information and technical questions
Client portal of the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, tel: +372 625 6100, e-mail: [email protected]