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Q1: What is “certified pet
food”?
A1:
Certified pet food is product intended for
consumption by dogs, cats, and other meat-eating
animals that is manufactured under FSIS voluntary
reimbursable inspection services (9 CFR Part 355)
which provides for the inspection, certification, and
identification of pet food. The Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) regulates all other pet food
that is subject to the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).
Q2:
Can undenatured beef lungs be shipped to a pet food
facility from an official establishment?
A2:
9 CFR 325.8 states that undenatured
lungs or lung lobes may be transported under the
following conditions:
- The boxes or other containers for shipping the non-denatured lungs are:
- Securely closed with nylon filament tape, metallic or non-metallic straps, round wire, or similar closure, and
- Identified in 2 inch high lettering with the statement “Beef Lungs- Not Intended for Human Food.”
- The immediate container is labeled with:
- Name and place of business of the packer, and
- Imported lungs or lung lungs must also have the country of origin
- The containers are sent to, and received by:
- An animal food manufacturer for either use in manufacturing animal food or for use without further processing as animal food, or
- A warehouse for storage and subsequent movement to an animal food manufacturer.
Lung and lung lobes are subject to the FFDCA.
Q3: Can pet food be
manufactured in a federally inspected plant at times
other than the official hours of operation?
A3: No, the
manufacturing of uninspected products, such as pet food,
is limited to those hours during which the establishment
operates under Federal inspection (9 CFR 318.12(a)).
Q4: Can federally inspected
and passed meat or poultry products and pet food be
manufactured in the same facility using the same
equipment?
A4: Under 9 CFR 318.12(a), dog
food and other uninspected products may be manufactured
in the same department as edible product, provided:
- There is sufficient space and adequate equipment
allotted to the production of pet food so that it in no
way interferes with the preparation of, and in no way commingles,
contaminates, or adulterates, inspected product intended for
human consumption.
- Separate equipment is used for production of the pet
food if necessary to avoid adulteration of inspected product, and
- Pet food must be produced under the same sanitary conditions
as the edible product to avoid the creation of
unsanitary conditions.
If the manufacture of the uninspected pet food in the
same facility interferes with the preparation of, poses a
food safety hazard to, or could result in adulteration of
the inspected product, shared use may be denied. In that
situation, separate equipment must be provided for the
uninspected articles in accordance with 9 CFR 318.12(a).
Pet food manufacturing is subject to the FFDCA.
Q5: Except for lungs, can other
condemned or inedible meat/poultry products be shipped
from the official establishment to a pet food
manufacturer without being denatured?
A5: Unless it is identified as
required by regulations to deter its use as human food (9
CFR 325.11(e)(1)-(5) and 381.193), no carcass, or part or
product of a carcass, capable of use as human food that
is adulterated or misbranded can be offered for
transportation in commerce unless it is denatured.
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