The Food and Drug Administration proposed rules on Friday that would govern the production of pet food and farm animal feed for the first time, according to the New York Times.
The rule would require companies that make animal feed and pet food sold in the United States to identify potential hazards and put in place procedures to prevent and correct them. The regulation would help prevent food-borne illness in both animals and people. Individuals can become sick from handling contaminated animal food and from touching pets that have eaten it.
The rule is one of seven key pillars of the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act, an initiative designed to improve human and animal food safety and reduce food-borne illnesses by giving the FDA greater power to intervene before an outbreak occurs.
The proposal comes six years after the biggest pet food recall in history, when a Chinese producer contaminated dog and cat food with melamine, a compound used in plastics, causing the deaths of animals across the U.S. The ruling gives the FDA more control over food imports as well as broad new powers to set standards to prevent contamination of produce and processed food, the Times reported.
If passed, it would regulate the production of feed for millions of farm animals, including cows, pigs and chickens, as well as, pet food. The FDA is also proposing that animal feed requirements become effective 60 days after the final rule is published in the Federal Register.
"We know from experience that when the system doesn't deliver, people get irate," said Michael R. Taylor, deputy commissioner for foods and veterinary medicine. "It's all about having a systematic plan to make the food safe."
The proposed rule will be published on Oct. 29 and there will be a 120-day comment period. Small and very small businesses will be given more time than bigger companies to comply. The proposal does not address the use of antibiotics given to animals, sometimes in feed. Public health advocates warn that it is contributing to dangerous levels of antibiotic resistance in humans.
