feedsafety

Feed safety encompasses the policies, procedures, and controls applied across the feed supply chain to prevent hazards and ensure that animal feed is safe for livestock and, by extension, for people who consume animal products. It covers ingredients, formulations, processing, storage, transport, and farm handling, as well as the traceability and accountability of suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors.

Hazards include biological agents (such as Salmonella and E. coli), chemical contaminants (mycotoxins like aflatoxin, pesticide and veterinary drug residues, heavy metals), and physical risks (foreign objects). Contamination can occur at any stage from crop production to packaging. Effective feed safety requires routine testing, supplier verification, and preventive controls throughout the production and distribution chain.

Key controls include good manufacturing practices (GMP), hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) or equivalent management systems, traceability, and documented recall procedures. Programs may involve third-party certification (such as FAMI-QS or ISO 22000), supplier audits, accurate labeling, sanitation and pest control, proper storage conditions, and batch-based record keeping to ensure accountability and rapid response if issues arise.

Regulatory and standards frameworks guide feed safety globally. Codex Alimentarius provides international guidelines, while regional authorities define rules for production, testing, and labeling. In the United States, oversight involves the FDA and AAFCO; in the European Union, Regulation 183/2005 on feed hygiene and EFSA risk assessment play major roles. Compliance aims to minimize contamination, enable traceability, and protect animal and public health across markets.