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  1. Animal Food & Feeds

Food Safety Modernization Act and Animal Food

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) aims to ensure the U.S. food supply is safe by shifting the focus to preventing contamination of the food supply, rather than responding to it. The law applies to human food as well as to food for animals, including pets. FDA’s FSMA page contains the FSMA regulations, programs, guidance, and frequently asked questions. If you are interested in starting a new animal food business and learning about the regulatory requirements to manufacture, process, pack, hold, import, or export animal food, please go to the “How do I Start an Animal Food Business?” page. Please go to the Safe Feed page for additional, specific information about the regulation of animal food including premarket approval and labelling requirements.


Recent News


Food Facility Registration
Preventive Standards
Inspection & Compliance
Imports
Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food
Additional Information


Food Facility Registration

Animal food facilities are required to register with FDA if your company manufactures, process, packs, or stores an animal food in the United States unless an exemption applies to your business.  The requirement to register is a factor in determining what facilities are subject to certain FSMA regulations, including the FSMA Preventive Controls for Animal Food Regulation. Information on food facility registration can be found on CVM’S How to Start an Animal Food Business page.

Preventive Standards

Under FSMA, FDA was given a legislative mandate to require comprehensive, science-based preventive controls across the food supply, including mandatory preventive controls for food facilities. Food facilities are required to implement a written preventive controls plan.

Preventive Controls for Animal Food

In September 2015, FDA published the final Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Food for Animals, also known as the Preventive Controls for Animal Food or PCAF rule.  The PCAF rule established for the first time both current good manufacturing practice (CGMP) and hazard analysis and risk based preventive controls (PC) requirements for animal food.  The CGMP requirements are baseline safety and sanitation requirements for the manufacturing, processing, packing and holding of animal food.  Under the PC requirements, animal food facilities are required to have a food safety plan that includes an analysis of hazards to determine which ones need risk-based preventive controls to significantly minimize or prevent the hazards, and a process to verify appropriate implementation of this controls.  Information on the PCAF rule, including guidance documents and frequently asked questions can be found on the FSMA PCAF page.

Fact Sheet – Enforcement Discretion for Certain FSMA Provisions

FSMA Inflation Adjusted Cut Offs

Inspection & Compliance

FSMA provides FDA with important new tools for inspection and compliance.

Imports

The following are among FDA’s key import authorities and mandates:

Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food

The final Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food (ST) rule advances FDA’s efforts to protect foods from farm to table by keeping them safe from contamination during transportation.  The goal of this rule is to prevent practices during transportation that create food safety risks, such as failure to properly refrigerate food, inadequate cleaning of vehicles between loads, and failure to properly protect food.  The final rule establishes requirements for shippers, loaders, carriers by motor or rail vehicle, and receivers involved in transporting human and animal food to use sanitary practices to ensure the safety of that food.  Information on the ST rule, including relevant guidance document and training for carriers, can be found on the FSMA Sanitary Transportation page.

Additional Information

 

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