Contamination and Animal Feed

Control of Contamination

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) focuses on food and feed safety practices. The multiple proposed rules are designed to improve the safety of foods for humans and animals. Most feed manufacturers already focus on controlling contamination hazards through their own animal food safety programs.

There are primarily three sources of contamination: incoming ingredients from suppliers, manufacturing processes, and delivery processes to the customer. The following steps are used to control contamination.

1. Supplier verification program. The potential for contamination is greater for incoming materials. Thus, feed manufacturers focus on controlling the risks from ingredients and their suppliers. Actions to control the potential risks from incoming ingredients may include onsite audits of the suppliers to learn more about the manufacturing processes for the ingredient and the suppliers’ food safety plans; testing programs for incoming ingredients to monitor quality and food safety; requirements for certificates of analysis of shipments for particular nutrients or contaminants to ensure specifications are met; and third-party certifications by the suppliers to ensure effective food safety programs are maintained.

2. Third-party certifications. With an increasing demand for quality and food safety, many feed manufacturers obtain third-party certifications for their feed manufacturing facilities to assure customers that proper processes have been developed and implemented for food safety. Systems are available today that are benchmarked against global standards, such as the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), for animal feed and pet food production. American Feed Industry Association and SQFI worked together to provide the only global standards for animal feed and pet food that are benchmarked by GFSI: FSC 34 Safe Feed/Safe Food Certification and FSC 32 Pet Food Manufacturing Facility Certification.

3. Biosecurity practices. The delivery of finished products may pose a risk for spread of animal disease if proper biosecurity steps are not taken. Feed manufacturers implement stringent biosecurity practices for the delivery of feed to swine farms to prevent the spread of disease across farms, such as PEDv.

The control of potential contaminants is a key component for a successful animal food safety plan. The feed industry has worked closely with FDA to ensure regulatory requirements are met, and the animal food supply is safe for the intended animal and the humans that handle it. As the new requirements for FSMA are defined for animal food, the feed industry will work with FDA to achieve and maintain compliance in a timely fashion. This will take a number of years, as the law and its resulting rules are complicated and demand more processes, paperwork, and patience in the ensuing decade. In the meantime, feed manufacturers will continue to strive to maintain a high-quality and safe food supply for animals.

Dr. Turlington is the director of quality and manufacturing regulatory affairs at American Feed Industry Association. Reach him at [email protected].

References Furnished Upon Request