FDA finalises guidance on hazard analysis, preventive controls for animal feed
The guide acts as a resource to minimise food safety issues
8 July 2022
2 minute read
By: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalised guidance for industry on hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls for food for animals to help animal feed facilities develop a food safety plan to prevent or significantly minimise hazards that could cause illness or injury to people or animals.
The document provides guidance on:
- How to recognize and evaluate biological, chemical (including radiological), and physical agents that are known or reasonably foreseeable hazards in manufacturing, processing, packing, and holding of animal food,
- Ways to identify and implement preventive controls for hazards that require a preventive control in animal food,
- Components of preventive control management (e.g., monitoring, corrective actions, and verification (including validation), and
- Recordkeeping requirements associated with the food safety plan and the implementation of the food safety plan
The FDA released draft GFI #245 in January 2018 and the agency received numerous comments from stakeholders, which were considered when finalizing the guidance.
One of the most notable changes is that, in response to stakeholder feedback, the FDA removed Appendix E: “Aid to Identifying Animal Food Hazards” and clarified that not all the hazard examples in the guidance are applicable to all animal food or all facilities. Facilities should use the hazard information in the guide as they consider whether particular hazards are known or reasonably foreseeable for their animal food.
The FDA also added more information, resources, and examples of certain hazards in animal food, including information on animal food recalls that occurred since the draft guidance published. Lastly, the FDA made editorial and formatting changes to improve clarity and consistency.
This FDA Food Safety Modernization Act guidance provides detailed information to help animal food facilities anticipate possible food safety hazards, identify risk-based preventive controls to prevent or minimise those hazards, and create and implement a plan to keep unsafe animal food from entering the marketplace.
