FDA moves to regulate animal-feed production
The Food and Drug Administration proposed rules yesterday that would govern the production of pet food and farm-animal feed for the first time.
The regulations would help prevent food-borne illness in both animals and people who come in contact with contaminated animal food, officials at the agency said.
The proposal comes six years after the biggest pet-food recall in history, when a Chinese producer contaminated dog and cat food with melamine, a compound used in plastics, causing the deaths of animals across the United States.
The public outcry helped lead to the inclusion of animal food in the Food Safety and Modernization Act, a landmark food-safety bill that passed Congress with broad support in 2010 and was the first major overhaul of food-safety laws since the 1930s. The bill gives the agency more control over food imports and regulation of the standards to prevent contamination of produce and processed food.
The proposal is open for public comment for 120 days. If passed, it would regulate the production of feed for millions of farm animals, including cows, pigs and chickens, as well as pet food.
Much like regulations proposed for human food this year, the rules would require makers of animal food sold in the United States to develop a written plan to prevent food-borne illnesses, like salmonella, and to put it into effect. Producers would need to install protective procedures at critical times during production, where issues are likely to arise.
For example, producers might have to set up a system to monitor whether canned dog food has been cooked long enough at the right temperature, said Michael R. Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine. Producers also would need to keep records to document it.
The rules would require producers to correct problems and re-evaluate their plans at least every three years, while maintaining standards of cleanliness for the facilities and people who work in them.