ACAF Annual Report 2024/25 - Membership and appointments 

Membership and appointments  

Appointments  

The Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs (ACAF) comprises an independent chair and fourteen independent members. All Members are appointed through open competition.  

The Committee is made up of a range of experts, covering relevant scientific disciplines and knowledge of the feed sector who provide insight, advice and the technical knowledge needed to evaluate the safety of animal feedstuffs applications.  

Members of the Committee can be appointed as full members, or associate members.  

Full members are recognised as experts in their field and have specific technical/ scientific expertise to complement the Committee. Associate members are not sufficiently experienced to join as full members and are assigned a mentor during their term.  

Periods of appointment  

Full members and associate members are given a standard first term of three years and one year, respectively. The Chair is given a standard term of five years.  

Members can be reappointed, but the maximum length of continuous service is normally ten years.  

Management of interests  

Interests of Members and any potential conflicts of interest are managed in accordance with The FSAs Approach to Managing the Interests of its External Scientific Advisers and the ACAF Code of Practice.    

A public register is held of all Members’ personal and non-personal interests, which is updated at least annually. The Chair gives Members the opportunity to declare any potential conflicts of interest before any discussions. The Chair and the Secretariat are responsible for determining whether interests pose a conflict, and if so, how this should be managed. All conflicts of interests and the resulting decision are recorded in the meeting minutes.  

For the register of Members’ interests during the 2024/25 FY, refer to Appendix I.  

New appointments in 2024/2025  

Professor Nick Wheelhouse replaced Professor Nicholas Jonsson as Interim Chair on 27th February 2025. 

Dr Barry Bradford joined the Committee 27th March 2025. 

Retirements and resignations in 2024/2025 

Professor Matthew Fisher retired from the Committee on 31st January 2025. 

Dr Oonagh Markey resigned as associate member in June 2024.