Feed

By David Fairfield, Senior Vice President, Feed The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently launched a webpage dedicated to the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus, a highly contagious and deadly swine disease that has never become established in the United States, but has caused significant death of pigs around the world in places such as China, Mongolia, Vietnam and parts of the European Union. The FDA webpage notes that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) oversees the prevention, surveillance and control of foreign animal diseases, including ASF, and that FDA is the ... Read More

By David Fairfield, Senior Vice President, Feed The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed in the July 20 Federal Register to revoke the approved method for detecting residues of carbadox (trade name Mecadox®)  ̶  a new animal drug used in swine feed  ̶   because the agency has concluded that the method does not meet the requirements of the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for detecting residues of carcinogenic concern. Further, if the agency’s proposed revocation of the method is finalized, FDA said it intends to publish a notice of opportunity ... Read More

By David Fairfield, Senior Vice President, Feed The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) will conduct its first-ever virtual meeting on Aug. 5-7, 2020 given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The annual meeting previously had been scheduled to occur in Baltimore, Md. The meeting will consist of half-day sessions and a digital format that allows participation by state and federal animal feed and pet food regulatory officials, as well as regulated stakeholders, such as NGFA. Participants who register for full access ($350 for industry members) will be able to join each ... Read More

By David Fairfield, Senior Vice President, Feed The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on July 13 announced the release of the agency’s New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint. The blueprint outlines the work FDA plans to undertake over the next decade to modernize its food safety approaches and reduce foodborne illness. Based upon input received from industry stakeholders, state regulatory agencies and staff within FDA’s human and animal food programs, the blueprint focuses on four core elements: Tech-Enabled Traceability. FDA will look to advance traceability to help protect ... Read More

By David Fairfield, Senior Vice President, Feed The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on July 10 announced that the agency will resume routine inspections of domestic facilities during the week of July 20, after pausing routine inspection activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March. FDA will use the White House Guidelines for Opening Up America Again, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance, for protecting workplace exposures when scheduling and conducting its field activities. In addition, national, state and county-level data will be ... Read More

By David Fairfield, Senior Vice President, Feed NGFA made several recommendations to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the agency’s proposed rule for Laboratory Accreditation for Analyses of Foods related to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). In a statement submitted July 6, NGFA recommended the following: Urged FDA not to define “food testing” and “testing of food” to include analysis of environmental samples. Recommended that FDA define “suspected food safety problem” to mean “a situation in which there is reasonable belief that a specific article of ... Read More

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) on June 22 announced the availability of a new online system – CVM Export Certification Application and Tracking System (CVM eCATS) – that will for the first time enable animal food, drug and device manufacturers to electronically apply for, track and receive export certificates. FDA anticipates that the newly available electronic certificates will help facilitate exports by assisting industry in fulfilling importing country requirements for certification by CVM of CVM-regulated animal products. In addition, ... Read More

By David Fairfield, Senior Vice President, Feed The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced June 2 it will release in coming weeks its New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint, which will outline the agency’s plans to over the next decade create a more digital, traceable and safer food system. FDA initially proposed the New Era of Smarter Food Safety Blueprint initiative in April 2019, and subsequently conducted a public meeting to solicit stakeholder input on Oct. 21 and provided a comment period for additional feedback ending on Dec. 5. The initiative consists of four key ... Read More

By David Fairfield, Senior Vice President, Feed The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced May 28 that it has updated its African Swine Fever (ASF) strategic plan and expanded it into a full response plan as part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to strengthen capabilities in the event of an ASF outbreak. The new plan — USDA APHIS ASF Response Plan: The Red Book May 2020 — is a comprehensive response plan in the event the United States experiences an ASF outbreak. The plan incorporates and supersedes previous versions of ... Read More