What: On January 17, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through its Centers for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) notified manufacturers of cat and dog foods who are covered by the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act Preventive Controls for Animal Food (PCAF) rule and using uncooked or unpasteurized materials derived from poultry or cattle (e.g., uncooked meat, unpasteurized milk, or unpasteurized eggs) to reanalyze their food safety plans to include Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus (specifically H5N1) as a known or reasonably foreseeable hazard. FDA says that it is known that H5N1 can be transmitted to cats and dogs when they eat products from infected poultry or cattle (e.g., unpasteurized milk, uncooked meat, or unpasteurized eggs) that have not undergone a processing step that is capable of inactivating the virus, such as pasteurizing, cooking, or canning.
Why: Under the PCAF requirements, animal food businesses must conduct a reanalysis of their food safety plan when the FDA determines it is necessary to respond to new hazards and developments in scientific understanding. The animal food industry can find guidance related to these requirements in the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine’s Guidance for Industry at #245, “Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Food for Animals.”
SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS:
FSMA Final Rule for Preventive Controls for Animal Food
FDA Outlines Ways to Reduce Risk of HPAI in Cats
CVM GFI #245 Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Food for Animals
Cat and Dog Food Manufacturers Required to Consider H5N1 in Food Safety Plans
CONTACT: Linwood Rayford
EMAIL: linwood.rayford@sba.gov
TOPIC(S): Regulatory Alerts
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