Animal Feed

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Updated 5/22/08

Animal Feed
For more information, e-mail Feed Registration or call (877) 301-4555.

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FEED PROGRAM

The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) regulates commercial animal feed including livestock feed, poultry feed, fish feed and pet food at the state level.  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates animal feed at the federal level. 

For consumer protection WSDA ensures that feed products meet the guaranteed analysis stated on their label by conducting periodic product sampling at both the retail and manufacturing level.

For animal and human health protection WSDA conducts inspections at feed manufacturing, warehousing, transport, sales, distribution and animal production facilities to assure compliance with state and federal feed safety and labeling regulations.  WSDA conducts inspections for compliance with the BSE (Mad Cow Disease) Rule as federal inspections under contract with FDA and inspects firms manufacturing medicated feed for compliance with federal Good Manufacturing Practices rules.  WSDA staff also provides technical assistance and educational information to industry, groups and individuals. 

WSDA works with its Feed Advisory Committee and interested public to assist the department in making decisions regarding the Department's activities.

Commercial feed manufacturing, labeling and distribution is regulated by RCW 15.53 Commercial Feed Law,  WAC 16-250 Commercial Feed Rules; WAC 16-252, Commercial Feed Rules – Pet Food and Specialty Pet Food; and WAC 16-256, Commercial Feed Rules – Processed Animal Waste.  RCW 15.53 gives basic requirements and authorizes the department to make additional regulations (WAC) through the rule making process.

WAC 16-250, is the overriding Commercial Feed Rule. WAC 16-250 regulates labeling requirements for all animal feeds, except pet and specialty pet foods.  WAC 16-250 regulates all aspects of customer formula feeds including pet and specialty pet foods.

WAC 16-252, Commercial Feed Rules – Pet Food and Specialty Pet Food regulates dog and cat food plus food for specialty pets. If there is any conflict between the rules in WAC 16-250 and WAC 16-252 when the regulations are applied to pet food or specialty pet food, the WAC 16-252 will take precedence. In addition, where a pet food and/or specialty pet food issue arises on which WAC 16-252 is silent, and a provision in WAC 16-250 addresses the issue, then WAC 16-250 must be followed. The department expects such situations to be extremely rare.

WAC 16-256, Commercial Feed Rules – Processed Animal Waste, apply to the manufacture of processed animal waste and are in addition to the rules found in WAC 16-250.

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Commercial Feed Licensing

RCW 15.53.9013(1) of WSDA’s Commercial Feed Law requires any person who manufactures a commercial feed in this state, is a distributor of a commercial feed, or whose name appears on a commercial feed label as guarantor, must first obtain from the department a commercial feed license for each facility that distributes in or into this state. The annual commercial feed license is obtained by submitting a completed Commercial Feed License Application and a fee. To renew your license, a commercial feed license renewal application form will be sent to you annually. This license is not required of pet and specialty pet food distributors; however each pet food and specialty pet food product must be registered. Some commercial medicated animal feed mills are also licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. All feed mills are subject to random sampling by WSDA of finished feed and feed components to verify their safety and that they meet their guaranteed analysis.

For further information, contact commercial feed licensing staff or call 360-902-2080.

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Pet Food and Specialty Pet Food Registration

In order to legally sell a pet food or specialty pet food in Washington State, the manufacturer or distributor must register the product by submitting an Application for Registration of Pet Food and Specialty Pet Food Products, a copy of the product label, and the registration fee. A New Pet Food Product Addendum form must also be completed whenever a product is being registered for the first time. Please refer to the Application for Registration of Pet Food and Specialty Pet Food Products for the applicable registration fee.

As part of the registration process, these products must meet the label requirements of WSDA’s Commercial Feed Rules - Pet Food and Specialty Pet Food. All Pet Food and Specialty Pet Food Labels must be registered by WSDA prior to any product distribution in Washington State. All products are registered for a two year period.  Any subsequent product registration must be for the same two year period.

Pet food includes pet treats, biscuits, and training foods as well as the more traditional pet foods. Raw meat pet food diets are exempt only if the meat is not ground and not mixed with other ingredients.

For further information, contact feed registration staff or (360) 902-2025.

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Commercial Animal Feed Labeling Requirements

A product label is required on all packaged commercial feed and must accompany all deliveries of bulk commercial feed. The label requirements are found in RCW 15.53.9016 (1) of the Commercial Feed Law and in WAC 16-250-018 through 16-250-110 of the Commercial Feed Rules for all feed except dog, cat, and specialty pet food. Labeling requirements for dog, cat and specialty pet food are in WAC 16-252-025 through 16-252-100 of the Commercial Feed Rules – Pet Food and Specialty Pet Food.

The WSDA non-pet food Label Design and Format Guide is available on the Internet, by contacting WSDA Feed Registration Staff or by calling 360-902-2025.

In general, any commercial feed, except a customer-formula feed, distributed in this state must be accompanied by a legible label bearing the following information:

  1. product name and the brand name, if any, under which the commercial feed is distributed;
  2. if a drug is used, the name and concentration of the drug and the word “MEDICATED”;
  3. purpose of feed statement;
  4. guaranteed analysis which must be determinable by laboratory methods such as the methods published by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists;
  5. ingredient statement except in the case of single standardized ingredient feeds which are officially defined by the Association of American Feed Control Officials;
  6. adequate directions for the safe and effective use of all commercial feeds containing additives such as drugs, non-protein nitrogen, supplementary vitamins, minerals or other dietary compounds;
  7. precautionary statements for commercial feed products containing prohibited mammalian protein or animal drugs (such as antibiotics);
  8. name and principal mailing address of the person responsible for distributing the commercial feed;
  9. quantity statement such as net weight, volume or count; and
  10. lot identification.

Customer formula feed labeling for all animals is regulated by the Commercial Feed Law and WAC 16-250 sections 018, 020, 042, 075, 090, and 100 of the Commercial Feed Rules. In general customer formula feed must be accompanied by labeling bearing the following information:

  1. Name and address of the manufacturer;
  2. Name and address of the purchaser;
  3. Date of delivery;
  4. Customer-formula feed name and brand name if any;
  5. Directions for use and precautionary statements;
  6. If a drug is used, a complete medicated feed label; and
  7. Quantity statement.

The product name and net quantity of each commercial feed and each other ingredient used in the customer-formula feed must be on file at the plant producing the product. These records do not have to be delivered with the customer-formula feed, but they must be:

  1. Kept on file for at least one year after the date of the last distribution; and
  2. Available to the purchaser, the dealer making the distribution, and the department on request. 

If the term "organic" is used on any commercial feed label, the feed must be produced under conditions that comply with the 2001 National Organic Program final rule standards for the production and handling of organic crops, livestock and processed food products. The 2001 National Organic Program final rule may be obtained from the WSDA Organic Food Program, and the USDA National Organic Program.

If a pet food or specialty pet food label claims to be organic the application will be reviewed by Pet Food Registration and the Organic Food Program before being registered in Washington state.

For further information, contact feed registration staff or (360) 902-2025.

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Tonnage Reporting Requirements

Beginning July 24, 2005, all licensees and registrants of a commercial feed distributed in or into the state of Washington are responsible for submitting a Commercial Feed Semi-Annual Tonnage Report:

In addition to filing a report, each initial distributor of a commercial feed must pay an inspection fee to WSDA, unless the commercial feed is distributed to a responsible buyer.  In order for this exemption to apply, the responsible buyer must have been approved as a responsible buyer by the WSDA.

For further information, contact the feed registration staff or (360) 902-2080.

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Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy ((BSE) and Good Manufacturing PracticeS for Medicated Feeds (GMP) Inspections

These inspection types focus on careful evaluation of raw materials, correct labeling, preventing cross-contamination and keeping production and distribution records. 

BSE Inspections

WSDA works in cooperation with FDA to inspect renderers, feed manufacturers, distributors and animal production facilities for compliance with regulations that prohibit specific animal proteins in ruminant feeds. These federal regulations are designed to prevent BSE from spreading within the United States and are often referred to as the “Ruminant Feed Ban”.

  1. All feeds containing prohibited material (prohibited mammalian protein) must be prominently labeled with the BSE Cautionary Statement “Do Not Feed To Cattle Or Other Ruminants”.  Pet food products and feed for nonruminant laboratory animals often contain prohibited material but are exempt from this label requirement as long as they are intended for retail sale.  However, if they are sold or are intended for sale as distressed or salvage items, then the BSE Cautionary Statement is required.
  2. Whenever prohibited material is handled by equipment that also handles ruminant feed cleanout procedures that have been tested and found to be effective must be written down and followed.  Each cleanout must be recorded and these records must be kept for one year.
  3. Ruminant feeders are responsible for making sure that ruminants under their care do not have access to feeds, such as pet food, hog feed and poultry feed that may legally contain prohibited materials.

GMP Inspections

Good Manufacturing Practices rules set forth the criteria for determining whether facilities that manufacture medicated feed:

  1. use and maintain equipment that is capable of mixing animal drugs into feed at the potency level approved by FDA;
  2. clean and maintain equipment and plant premises so that drugs are not carried over into non-medicated feeds; and
  3. maintain production records and use lot numbers so that medicated feeds can be recalled if there is a problem.

The WSDA Good Manufacturing Practices Inspection form and FDA Guidance Document # 72 detail the inspection criteria. These regulations apply to all types of facilities and equipment used in the production of medicated feeds.  They also govern those instances in which failure to adhere to the regulations causes non-medicated feeds that are manufactured, processed, packed or held in the same facility to become adulterated.

For further information, contact feed registration staff or (360) 902-2025.

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