FDA proposes rules to regulate animal feed

The Food and Drug Administration yesterday proposed rules to regulate the production of pet food and farm animal feed for the first time in the country.

According to officials at the agency, the rules would prevent food-borne illness in both animals and people, as people can become sick from handling contaminated animal food and from touching pets that had eaten it.

The proposal comes six years following the biggest pet food recall in history, when a Chinese producer used melamine in dog and cat food, causing animal deaths across the US, as well a in baby foods (See: FDA warns ethnic Chinese communities against illegal Chinese baby formula and China's tainted milk scandal escalates) 

Melamine is used in the manufacture of plastic.

The public outcry that followed, led to the inclusion of animal food in the Food Safety and Modernization Act, a landmark food safety bill, which passed with broad support in 2010.

It came as the first major overhaul of the Food and Drug Administration's food safety laws since the 1930s.

The law gave the FDA more control over food imports as also broad new powers for setting standards to prevent contamination of produce and processed food.

The rules proposed yesterday offer details how this could be accomplished.

The food, Jerky treats, had also caused pet deaths and since 2007, the FDA had counted around 580 pet deaths.

The affected pets were nearly all dogs, that had been given chicken, duck and sweet potato jerky treats, nearly all of which were imported from China (See: US FDA calls on pet owners to help solve mystery illness in pets).

It remains unclear, though, whether the new regulations could have prevented the deaths since the FDA was not sure yet what the hazard was.

Though the exact cause of the illness has eluded the agency, reports of sickness have fallen dramatically following a recall of some name-brand treats.

According to the FDA, the proposed rules would give its inspectors more power to crack down on offenders during the manufacturing process rather than waiting for contaminated products to reach market.

Michael Taylor, the FDA's deputy commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine, told the Los Angeles Times  as saying this was a critical shift from the past.

He added, the agency currently took evidence and went to court and persuaded the court to act.

He said the proposed rules would give the FDA "tools that permit us to act directly to detain products and suspend a facility.''

The agency would also be able to restrict imports from overseas suppliers found violating the rules.