Modernization of a State Feed Regulatory Program: Transitioning to a Risk Basedins

<p>Project Summary/Abstract - LADF Grant Submission for RFA-FD-12-027 The LADF Feed Program has determined that the practice of an inspection program based solely on sample collection for consumer protection is not entirely beneficial to ensuring feed safety across the nation. LADF has committed to improving the inspection capabilities of both the inspection staff and the program itself as a whole. The goals of this program are to increase compliance with feed regulations and decrease the number of violations by the Louisiana feed facilities. By establishing training criteria for the inspection staff and verifying the inspectors knowledge and capability to perform inspection, LADF will be able to monitor the experience of each feed inspector, and in the future, the inspection program as a whole. LADF also hopes to improve communication with other regulatory agencies by working collaboratively to identify a Louisiana feed facility inventory and establish effective ways to utilize the expertise from all parties involved to improve integration as well as decrease the number of violations of regulations by the feed industry. In order for the Louisiana feed industry to gain compliance with the applicable State and Federal regulations, LADF plans to provide an open and transparent stream of communication with the state feed industry by various means of dissemination. Once the industry is aware of the standards that it must meet to manufacture and distribute safe feed, LADF is confident the number of violations previously seen from local feed facilities will begin to decrease. By taking these forward steps towards a risk-based inspection program, the changes that will occur in the LADF Feed Program will prove to be beneficial to ensuring a safe food supply as well as play an active role in an integrated food safety system.</p>