PESHAWAR: The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has planned a formal legislation to regulate the manufacture, storage, supply and transport for sale and marketing of feed stuff and compound feed in the province in order to ensure standards of production and quality of feed stuff and compound feed.
Under the draft law, the provincial government will also check adulteration and misbranding of livestock, poultry and fish feed stuff and compound feed ingredients and connected matters.
An Act that may be called the KP Animals Feed Stuff and Compound Feed in Act, 2024 has already been tabled in the provincial assembly. Under the proposed law, the feed stuff or feed ingredient, to be used in manufacture of compound feed include roughages including green fodder, silage, hay and treated or untreated wheat straw and macro-ingredients including cereals coarse grain consisting, maize or corn, broken rice, nakoo, sorghum or milo, wheat and barley, vegetable & animal protein sources, industrial & agriculture products or byproducts and micro-ingredients, and mineral compound or salt include calcium, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, Chlorine, copper, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, selenium, zinc, ferrous, cobalt and other things. In order to meet the nutritive requirements in the given animal compound feed, the manufacturer shall include any feed stuff as mentioned in various sections of the Act.
For this purpose, the Director (District Director Livestock) in each district; be the licensing authority, for manufacture, store, supply, transport for sale and marketing of feed stuff and compound feed.
The licensing authority may issue license in a manner, mode and payment of such fee, as may be prescribed. Unless the license is issued under this Act, no person shall manufacture, store, supply, transport for sale and marketing feed stuff and compound feed after fulfillment of such codal formalities and payment of such fee or license as may be prescribed.
They license may be renewable. But, if a licensee is found to have contravened any of the provision of this Act or the rules, the licensing authority may, on submission of the case by the Inspection Officer, and after affording the license, an opportunity of hearing, suspend the license by an order stating the specific reasons of suspension, along with any remedial step or steps to be taken by the licensee: Provided that the licensee may appear in person or through an authorized agent or council before the licensing authority.
Under the Act, all feed stuff and compound feed shall conform to the prescribed specifications and standards and the manufacturer of any feed stuff and compound feed shall ensure that a label, containing particulars like the name under which the article is sold; complete address of the manufacturer; date of manufacture or packing; date of expiry; nutritive composition of compound feed or feed stuff including its moisture-content; and declaration of aflatoxin level.
The manufacturing, keeping or storage of adulterated and misbranding and hoarding of for use of sale, or is made or sell or offer for sell any feed stuff and compound feed is prohibited under the law and no person would be allowed to contravene any provision of this Act, or the rules, hoarding of the feed stuff or its ingredients.
For the purpose of this Act, the Department of Livestock, Fisheries and Cooperatives may designate any officer of the Directorate General as an Inspection Officer, as it may deem fit, and may define the area of his jurisdiction, within which the Inspection Officer shall exercise the powers and perform his functions.
The Inspection Officer may, and having search warrant, enter upon any premises with the assistance of the local police, used for preparation, manufacture, packing, storage or sale of feed stuff or compound feed for the purpose of collection of sample; or general inspection and examination of feed stuff and compound feed.
An Inspection Officer, after satisfying himself of any gross contravention of provisions of the Act, may seal or seize the premises, or part thereof, for a period not exceeding seventy-two hours, for the purpose of preservation of material evidence or securing case property: Provided that where the Inspection Officer found the quality of feed stuff or compound feed not as per standard, the seized property or premises shall remain seized till the decision of the court.
The Inspection Officer shall take samples of the same batch of feed stuff or compound feed from the authorized agent and the feed mill within a period of fifteen days from the date of purchase. If any such feed stuff and compound feed, on analysis, is found to be not of the quality which it purports to be or if there is any contravention of the provisions this Act, the manufacturer or seller shall be dealt with under Section 21 of the Act.
On first conviction, the manufacture or seller be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two months or with fine which may extend to fifty thousand rupees, but shall not be less than thirty thousand rupees.
On second conviction, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to four months, but shall not be less than fifteen days or with fine which may extend to one hundred thousand rupees, but shall not be less than fifty thousand rupees and on third or any subsequent conviction thereafter, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, but not less than one month or with fine which may extend to five hundred thousand rupees, but shall not be less than one hundred thousand rupees.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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