The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is accepting comments on Draft Guidance 203, which outlines steps livestock producers can take to identify and prevent feed contaminants that could jeopardize animal health and food safety, according to Drovers CattleNetwork.
The draft document offers six general principles and practices for ensuring feed safety:
1. Know what feed contaminants may be present in your animals’ feed and the measures known to prevent such contaminants from becoming unacceptable feed risks.
2. Obtain feed from safe and reliable sources.
3. Recognize unexpected changes in the feed at your farm (e.g., changes in color, smell, texture, or appearance).
4. Know where in your production system(s) unacceptable feed risks may occur.
5. Monitor animal feed products for contaminants during receiving, holding and handling.
6. Be aware that other actions, such as limiting access to the premises to authorized personnel, following feed labeling directions, proper personnel training and sampling and testing of feed, can help ensure feed safety.
Submit electronic comments to http://www.regulations.gov. Written comments may be sent to the Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Room 1061, Rockville, MD 20852. All comments should be identified with the docket ID: FDA-2014-D-1180-0002, published in the Federal Register.