WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration has issued a proposed rule for animal food safety as part of the Food Safety Modernization Act.
The rule, Current Good Manufacturing Practice and Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Food for Animals, covers domestic and imported pet food, animal feed and raw materials and ingredients.
The proposal would require firms to create a written safety plan for identifying, monitoring and reducing potential hazards as well as to follow certain good manufacturing practices.
“The FDA continues to take steps to meet the challenge of ensuring a safe food supply,” FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, said in a statement. “Today’s announcement addresses a critical part of the food system, and we will continue to work with our national and international industry, consumer and government partners as we work to prevent foodborne illness.”
The comment period for the rule will last 120 days starting Oct. 29, when the rule will be published in the Federal Register.
The animal feed rule comes as the FDA struggles to figure out why eating jerky treats from China has led to hundreds of dog and cat illnesses and deaths.