New facility certification programme for US pet food sector

At AFIA's Pet Food Conference in Atlanta, Ga., American Feed Industry Association announced a new third-party facility certification programme designed specifically for manufacturing pet food and pet food ingredients.

The Pet Food Manufacturing Facility Certification Program (PFMFCP) and the Pet Food Ingredient Facility Certification Program (PFIFCP) were developed by AFIA's pet food and quality committees with input from third-party food safety experts. These two programmes build upon AFIA's domestic Safe Feed/Safe Food programme, and are designed to monitor the process controls specifically related to the manufacturing of pet food.

"AFIA sees this as a model programme for the entire pet food industry," according to Joel G. Newman, AFIA's president and CEO. "I commend the pet food committee for developing this programme to help 'raise the bar' for their own industry."

The PFMF and PFIF certification programs were designed to meet and in some parts exceed the requirements of the Food Safety Modernization Act regulations. AFIA is seeking recognition from the Food and Drug Administration of these programs and is encouraged that FDA may use these programmes in their risk assessment of the industry for inspection priorities.

For additional information on any of the third-party certification programmes, visit www.safefeedsafefood.org.