The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) Feed Manufacturing Committee will meet October 21 in Gaithersburg, Md. to begin discussions with its members and industry advisors on a July draft developed by its chair, Paul Bachman, FDA. The draft of model rules is designed to regulate feed manufacturing at feed, ingredient and pet food facilities. Recent comments from Bachman indicate AAFCO wishes to meld this with FDA's efforts to create a national Animal Feed Safety System (AFSS).

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) says its principal concern about these draft regulations is "the lack of demonstrated need for such a draconian and resource-intensive effort".

AAFCO and industry advisors created a Best Management Practices Guidelines and checklist over the last three years, which AFIA believes is working well. The impetus for AAFCO's latest action is the consensus by the AAFCO membership to regulate feed process control.

Current feed laws are product control laws, except for the provisions adopting the federal current good manufacturing regulations (cGMPs) for medicated feed. Any completed draft model regulations would need to be approved by the AAFCO membership and then be adopted by each state to become effective. This has typically been a long phase-in effort (as pointed out to AAFCO by AFIA) and one which few states have been willing to travel. Only 18 states have embraced AAFCO's new model feed labeling regulations adopted by the organization in 1993.

AFIA's Richard Sellers said, "AFIA's Board of Directors has directed us to be a part of this AAFCO effort and to strongly urge AAFCO's recognition of the feed industry's efforts in the area of safe feed, including the new Safe Feed/Safe Food Certification Program."

For a copy of the draft or more information on AAFCO's efforts, contact AFIA: afia@afia.org