1. SAFE Safe Animal Feed Education Program 2003 California Department of Food & Agriculture Agricultural Commodities & Regulatory Services Branch

2. The purpose of the SAFE program.  Provide education and outreach materials for feed safety and feed quality assurance training.  Maintain a web site with feed safety and feed quality assurance information, with regulatory requirements and multiple links.  Continue the voluntary feed quality assurance inspections.

3. Why have a SAFE program?  The first legislative charge in the California commercial feed law is as follows: “Enable the feed and feeding industry, with the aid of the state, to ensure in every way possible a clean and wholesome supply of meat, milk, and eggs for the benefit of the consumer.”

4. Why have a SAFE program?  There is more livestock feed produced in California than in any other state, and therefore we must continue as a leader in the area of feed safety.  Promoting feed quality assurance is the most effective way of preventing unsafe adulteration of commercial feed.  SAFE is not a new effort, it is the utilization of resources in a more proactive approach to take feed safety and quality assurance programs to the next level.

5. SAFE Program Content: Education and outreach materials  SAFE in cooperation with the California Grain & Feed Association (CGFA) will provide feed quality assurance training programs for commercial feed manufacturers.  SAFE and CGFA will produce a feed quality assurance training manual including CDs or video cassettes for firms to provide onsite training for feed manufacturing staff.

6. SAFE program Content: Education and outreach materials.  The SAFE program will provide feed quality assurance training for on farm feed manufacturers.  This training is especially designed for personnel on a dairy that purchases commodities and mixes their own feed.  The SAFE program will be a source of continuous education for purchasers of commercial feed ingredients.

7. SAFE Program Content Development of a web site  A clearing-house for feed safety information and approved feed ingredients.  Federal and state regulatory requirements with example labels posted on the web site.  SAFE program updates with a list of available classes, training materials and research information.

8. SAFE Program Content: Feed Quality Assurance Inspections  Voluntary feed quality assurance inspections will continue to be performed at feed mills throughout the state.  The inspections are not designed to focus only on the Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP’s).  These inspections advance feed safety into all areas of commercial feed manufacturing, not just medicated feeds.

9. Feed Quality Assurance Inspections  California Commercial Feed Quality Assurance Program Checklist:  The first California checklist was developed several years ago by Special Investigators working in the field.  It has been revised at least six times, adding items such as a bio-security section.  AAFCO members and industry advisors have worked for a couple of years to develop a checklist for feed safety inspections.

10. Feed quality Assurance Checklist  AAFCO Checklist for Best Management Practices Guidance Document for Manufacturing, Packaging and Distributing Animal Feeds and Feed Ingredients. (93 inspection items, posted on website aafco.org)  California Commercial Feed Quality Assurance Program Checklist. (123 inspection items, posted on website cdfa.ca.gov/is/safe)  Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Commercial Feed Mill Inspection. (52 pages, website inspection.gc.ca)

11. Feed Quality Assurance Checklist  The checklists are tools for feed safety inspections.  They are a feed safety outline from which US FDA regulations could be developed.  This fosters practical, effective and realistic regulations based on actual manufacturing and distribution practices.

12. Feed Safety Regulations  State and US FDA Investigators and industry quality assurance personnel could perform inspections and provide input on the strengths and weaknesses of a proposed US FDA checklist.  Next month we plan to have an inspection team use the AAFCO checklist along with the California checklist to identify strengths and weaknesses of each.