Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 1556)
Republic Act No. 1556 shall be known as the 'Livestock and Poultry Feeds Act.'
The Act is administered by the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources through the Director of the Bureau of Animal Industry.
Livestock includes horses, cattle, carabaos, sheep, goats, swine, rabbits, poultry, and such other animals or birds as prescribed by the Secretary through regulation.
Feeds or feeding stuff include all articles used for feeding that supply proteins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, vitamins, antibiotics, and/or correct nutritional disorders, whether locally produced or imported, mixed or simple ingredients.
Persons or entities desiring to manufacture, import, sell, or distribute feeds must first register with the Office of the Director. Applications require a registration fee and should include clear labeling and ingredient details. Registration may be denied if the brand is confusingly similar, ingredient names are unclear, or the feeds do not conform to the Act.
Manufacture, importation, advertising, sale, or possession for sale of any feeds or feeding stuffs that are not registered with the Director is prohibited.
Labels must show net weight, name and address of manufacturer and supplier, brand, nutritive purpose, minimum crude protein (except mineral mixtures), minimum fat (except mineral mixtures), maximum fiber (except mineral mixtures), maximum moisture, all ingredient names, and importer’s registration number.
An inspector may enter premises where feeds are sold or held for sale during reasonable times, and may collect samples for analysis without cost if there is reasonable cause to believe the feed is being prepared or has been prepared for sale.
Violations are punishable by a fine of not less than one thousand pesos and not more than five thousand pesos, or imprisonment of not more than one year and one day, or both, at the court's discretion.
Yes, by-products of grains such as rice bran, rice crush, corn bran, and corn crush sold in their natural state without further processing or mixing are exempted from registration.
The registration number identifies the registered manufacturer, importer, or store owner responsible for the feeds and ensures traceability and compliance with the Act.
The owner must notify the Director in writing of any brand changes for registered feeds.
All fees and income accrue to the Philippine Livestock Promotion Fund, as provided in Commonwealth Act No. 118, as amended.
The Director may establish rules for grain classification, prevention of misleading claims, definitions for terms used in livestock nutrition, disposition of damaged feeds, methods for sample procurement and analysis, and other necessary rules to implement the Act.
Concentrates refer to various meals and feed materials like linseed meals, cotton-seed meals, dried yeast grains, corn germ meal, meat meals, proprietary poultry feeds, and similar materials used in livestock nutrition, excluding roughages, whole seeds, or pure whole grains sold as such.