The European Commission has implemented two regulations in quick succession that significantly impact the pet food industry: formal authorization of taurine as a pet feed additive and simplified export access for Chinese pet food manufacturers.
Regulation (EU) 2026/1859, published on July 30, 2026, authorizes taurine preparations as a feed additive for canines, felines, mustelids, carnivorous finfish, and other aquatic carnivorous species. Classified as a nutritional additive under the functional group of vitamins and chemically well-defined substances, the authorization is valid until August 19, 2036. The regulation took effect 20 days after publication. This formal EU authorization removes regulatory ambiguity for pet food manufacturers using taurine, an essential amino acid for cats and increasingly recognized for canine cardiac health benefits.
Separately, Regulation (EU) 2026/1428, which took effect on July 22, 2026, clarifies the list of animal-origin products from China that can be imported into the EU without special veterinary residue declarations. Pet food meeting the definition of (EC) No 1069/2009 is now placed on the exemption list, meaning qualifying Chinese pet food no longer requires special declarations at EU borders. The regulation also simplifies access for functional ingredients widely used in pet supplements, including chondroitin sulfate, glucosamine, and chitosan.
Together, these regulations reduce both formulation ambiguity and trade friction simultaneously. For European manufacturers, taurine’s formal authorization enables cardiac-health formulations with regulatory certainty. For Chinese manufacturers, the simplified export access accelerates the EU-bound pipeline at a time when Chinese pet food exports are gaining global market share across multiple categories.
Sources
- European Commission — European Commission
