AFIA webinar to discuss Safe Feed/Safe Food

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) will host a Safe Feed/Safe Food webinar April 7, at 2 p.m. EST, to discuss its recent certification program updates. The webinar -- coordinated by the Safe Quality Food Institute -- will address the major changes to the FSC36 Safe Feed/Safe Food guidance document, how the changes will impact facilities and the purpose behind the newly revised guidance document.

Changes to the program are listed in the FSC36 Safe Feed/Safe Food guidance document and include updates to the registration and certification process, implementation process, introduction to the guidance document, guidance document for FSC36, glossary and use of seal or logo.
"The implementation process now provides facilities with a more user-friendly format by allowing auditors to spend additional time reviewing documentation and manufacturing processes, and streamlining the program to support compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act. In addition, the ‘self-audit’ has been replaced with a ‘surveillance audit,’ which will be completed by the certifying body," said Henry Turlington, AFIA director of quality and manufacturing regulatory affairs.
The new FSC36 Safe Feed/Safe Food guidance document will assist facilities with designing, developing, implementing and maintaining a quality and feed safety program that complies with the desired requirements of the program, and assist auditors with auditing locations seeking certification for FSC36 Safe Feed/Safe Food. There are numerous examples provided within the guidance document to assist facilities with preparation for compliance with the requirements.
Register for the webinar here.

Global Food Safety Initiative recognizes scope extension for feed

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) board of directors has announced that SQF has successfully added the scope of feed to the scopes for which they have already achieved recognition against the GFSI Guidance Document Sixth Edition.

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This is the first GFSI-recognized scheme to cover the scope of feed, which includes the production of animal feed and the processing of petfood products. The GFSI benchmark committee for the scope extension was led by Kevin Swoffer, director of KPS Resources Ltd, who was joined by Marc Cwikowski, director of quality and food safety strategy for The Coca-Cola Company and Bizhan Pourkomailian, food safety and supplier workplace accountability director for McDonald's Europe.
"One of the aims of GFSI is to provide solutions for the food industry from farm to fork," said Frank Yiannas, vice president of food safety for Walmart and vice-chair of the GFSI board. "We are delighted that there is now an option for operators in this sector of the supply chain who wish to be certified against a GFSI-recognized scheme." 
According to LeAnn Chuboff, senior technical director of SQFI, SQF's inclusion of animal feed and petfood production further demonstrates how the program is truly a farm-to-fork certificate solution. "We are encouraged that the SQF code continues to be flexible enough to meet the needs of the industry by strategically augmenting the scope of SQF and thereby ensuring a safer supply chain," said Chuboff.

Livestock Feed and Pet Food Safety Research Round Table to be held August 13

Kansas State University's Department of Grain Science and Industry will host a Livestock Feed and Pet Food Safety Research Round Table at the International Grains Program on August 13. The event is geared toward professionals interested in learning about the latest updates in feed safety research and regulations in the livestock feed and petfood industries.
Petfood and livestock feed professionals will be able to review feed safety research, discuss with experts to identify priorities for future feed safety research, view facilities to conduct unique experiments and listen to a keynote speaker describe how multi-party cooperation has resulted in improvements in food safety.
Attendees will play an active role in a strategic planning discussion to help shape the future direction of research in livestock feed and petfood safety at Kansas State University. With the help of the experts in attendance, the department hopes to further its role as an essential player in feed manufacturing research.

AFIA, FEFANA members discuss feed regulations

Marking the two-year anniversary of the International Safe Feed/Safe Food Certification Program, representatives from the EU Association of Specialty Feed Ingredients and their Mixtures, FEFANA, met with members of the American Feed Industry Association in Arlington, Virginia, USA, to discuss new feed regulation developments.

FEFANA's Feed Additives and Premixtures Quality System, FAMI-QS, and AFIA's International Safe Feed/Safe Food Certification Program are covered by the same rules and scope under FEFANA's Guide to Good Practice. The week-long meeting served as an opportunity for representatives to discuss changes to the programs as well as a training opportunity for US feed-facility auditors from Eurofins Scientific Inc. The training allows auditors to maintain compliance with the standards and inspect US facilities for compliance with the EU standards.  
“The basis for a program to be successful and recognized worldwide is to develop a program that helps facilities provide a safe product and then audit everyone to the same safety level," said Keith Epperson, AFIA’s vice president of manufacturing and training. "Training auditors worldwide is a key focus of FEFANA and ensures everyone certified in the program meets the same code.”

Participation in the GMP+ Feed Safety Assurance (FSA) program has increased, and is expected to grow even more.
The GMP+ FSA scheme ensures the whole feed chain meets the legal regulations on feed safety. On July 1, the GMP+ FSA scheme had 11,285 participants in 67 countries throughout the world, and it currently has 16 trade associations as partners in Germany and the Netherlands. GMP+ International, the administrator of this scheme, expects a further increase in participation due to stricter market requirements and changes in the certification scheme.
In mid-September, the GMP+ FSA scheme will go on a worldwide tour and will launch the Feed Safety Database (FSD). GMP+ certified companies and its partners will be able to use the FSD to minimize the risks to safety in their production process, feed products and feed safety policy.

FDA urged to implement online process in phases

The National Grain and Feed Association, National Oilseed Processors Association and Pet Food Institute have urged FDA to phase in the implementation of its portal, Reportable Food Registry, through which facilities will be required to report food- or feed-product safety incidents, according to a news report.
FDA had announced that firms would have to report through the portal from September 8, the same day as its launch. In their written statement, the organizations have asked FDA to either extend by 45-60 days the effective date for reporting food- or feed-safety incidents through the electronic portal, or to exercise enforcement discretion for a comparable period to provide a phase-in duration.
A phase-in period would provide the agency and industry time to conduct necessary training on the use of the electronic portal, the groups said, and would give FDA additional time to improve the functionality and usability of the portal itself.

AFIA concerned about climate-change legislation

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) has written a letter to US senators, stating its views on pending climate-change legislation and cap-and-trade issues. The Senate will take up the issue later this year.
Addressed to Senator Barbara Boxer (D-California), chair of the US Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma), the senior Republican on the committee, the letter urged them to consider the effects climate-change legislation and cap-and-trade issues will have on the cost of food, feed and household products.
The letter was signed by the American Meat Institute, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the National Chicken Council, the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, the National Meat Association and the National Turkey Federation along with AFIA.

AFIA launches Web site for safe feed program

The American Feed Industry Association launched a new Web site that provides details about the Safe Feed/Safe Food Certification Program.
An explanation of the program and testimonials from feed-industry experts are among the materials available on the new site, which can be found at www.safefeedsafefood.org.
The Safe Feed/Safe Food Certification Program is a voluntary, third-party-certified program for mills and other facilities that produce livestock feed, petfood and related ingredients. About 330 US and Canadian facilities are certified by the program. An international version of the program will launch later this year.

CVM addresses questions about GRAS program

David Fairfield of the National Grain & Feed Association (NGFA) shared with the Pet Food Institute (PFI) answers to questions he raised with FDA regarding the GRAS notification program for animal feed announced earlier this year.
Geoffrey Wong, leader of the ingredient safety team at the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), provided the answers.

David Fairfield: Is there a planned date for when the program will be launched?
Geoffrey Wong: CVM plans to start the pilot program late summer of 2009. However, this date is not definite and will be impacted by a number of factors, such as receiving proper authorization to publish a Federal Register notice that will announce the pilot program.
DF: As I understand, this program is being characterized as a “pilot” project. I am curious as to what this means, such as will the agency initially be limiting the scope of the program to certain ingredients and to a certain timeframe?
GW: The program is considered a pilot program in the sense that the April 17, 1997 proposed rule has not yet been finalized. We intend to be operating under an interim policy similar to the one described in Section VIII of the April 17, 1997 proposed rule. The scope of the program will include substances intended for use in food for animals.
DF: Will there be an established timeframe for the agency to respond to industry GRAS notice submittals?
GW: CVM does not plan to have formal statutory deadlines of when the agency must respond to a firm’s GRAS notification. Our timeframes for reviewing the notices will be largely impacted by the resources available to CVM to implement the program.
DF: Will animal feed ingredients that receive a “no questions” review from CVM be listed in the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) Official Publication?
GW: The FDA evaluation process for AAFCO feed ingredient definitions is very different from FDA’s process to evaluate GRAS notifications and these processes result in agency conclusions which are not equivalent.

In the AAFCO ingredient definition process, CVM serves as a science advisor to AAFCO to establish ingredient safety, evaluate utility of the ingredient for specific use (claim), and determine if the manufacturer’s process in under control and analytical methods are acceptable. As part of the review, FDA often evaluates proprietary safety data, utility data, and manufacturing data submitted by the firm.
In contrast for GRAS notifications, FDA reviews summarized data and information submitted by the notifier and data and information otherwise available to the Agency, to determine whether there is a basis to question the notifier’s view that the technical element (evidence of safety) and both facets of the common knowledge element regarding the use of the substance are satisfied – i.e., general availability and general acceptance (consensus).
CVM intends to have discussions with AAFCO to understand the manner in which state feed control officials will recognize a response letter from the agency stating that it has no questions regarding the rotifier's determination that the substance is GRAS under the intended conditions of use in animal food.

FDA delays proposed feed regulations until 2010

The Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine issued an update saying that it will be delaying the anticipated release of proposed new feed and feed ingredient regulations until 2010.
The agency noted that its Animal Feed Safety System team has completed writing the proposed regulations and is nearly done with the accompanying preamble, but developing the required economic impact analysis will consume much of this year.
The FDA/CVM update noted that the process-control regulations to be proposed will blend the requirements of a hazard analysis and critical control point and current good manufacturing practice approach. The proposed process-control standards will apply to procurement, manufacturing, packaging, storing and distribution of feed ingredients and mixed feeds.