Maintaining Minnesota's Conformance with the Animal Feed Regulatory Program Standards and Coordinating Minnesota's Preventive Control Activities

Project Abstract
The intended outcome of this project is to advance the efforts for a nationally Integrated Food
Safety System (IFSS) through the advancement of the Animal Feed Regulatory Program
Standards (AFRPS) and to enhance State animal food regulatory programs and work related to
21 CFR Part 507 Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based
Preventive Controls for Food for Animals (CGMP and PCAF).
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) Food and Feed Safety Division (FFSD)
licenses and inspects approximately approximately 1,900 feed entities manufacturing,
distributing, and guarantying feed or feed ingredients in Minnesota. The FFSD has program
responsibility for animal feed and pet food and has a staff complement of 17 for feed-related
activities with eight devoted to field inspection and three assigned to pet food labeling, product
investigation and distribution. The MDA-FFSD also has multiple supporting units that include an
additional 20 staff who fully or partially assist the Commercial Feed Program in day-to-day
operations including compliance and enforcement, response and outreach, data management,
training support, and electronic systems maintenance. These staff also lead and coordinate
updates to procedures and processes including document management as well as achieving
and maintaining conformance with the AFRPS.
The MDA, as part of this application, will create a comprehensive project plan that outlines the
objectives and deliverables needed to maintain conformance with AFRPS and to incorporate
CGMP/PCAF implementation strategies into its regulatory activities, identify and fulfill training
needs and auditing programs to advance inspections under the Food Safety Modernization Act
(FSMA), build infrastructure and program improvement based upon the PCAF rule, maintain
regulatory authorities equivalent to 21 CFR Part 507 and FSMA rules, conduct outreach to
promote compliance with FSMA regulations, and participate in joint workplanning, enforcement,
and information sharing.