Implementation of the Animal Feed Regulatory Program Standards (AFPRS) (U18) FRA-FD-15-021 Proposal Abstract The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) seeks funding from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under RFA-FD-15-021 Competition C. Funding level requested is approximately $2.25 million over five years. In support of the Nationally Integrated Feed Safety System, WSDA's proposal is: 1) to develop animal feed regulatory program based on the FDA eleven Animal Feed Regulatory Program Standards (AFRPS), 2) maintain its ISO/IEC 17025:2005 Accreditation, and 3) mentor other Feed Laboratories to successfully obtain ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation. WSDA is eager to partner with FDA, other feed regulatory programs, and other feed testing laboratories across the nation, in order to support the nationally integrated feed safety system. The WSDA Food Safety & Consumer Services (FSCS) goals for this five year project are: ? Hire a dedicated AFRPS Project Coordinator ? Develop an animal feed regulatory program based on identified improvement topics ? Improve consistency and continuity in our inspection and sampling program ? Conduct biochemical and microbiological analysis of feed samples ? Produce validated defensible testing data for possible regulatory action ? Maintain and enhance the laboratory's feed testing capabilities ? Improve laboratory capacity for feed testing to further enhance public health ? Maintain ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation ? Mentor other feed laboratories to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation ? Advance the Nationally Integrated Feed Safety System The WSDA FSCS meets all eligibility requirements for this funding opportunity: ? WSDA Microbiology Laboratory is the primary feed testing laboratory for the WSDA Food Safety and Consumer Services Division ? The WSDA Feed Program is enrolled in AFPRS and under contract with FDA to conduct feed safety inspections
Implementation of the Animal Feed Regulatory Program Standards (AFPRS) (U18) RFA-FD-15-021 Project Narrative FDA Implementation of the Animal Feed Regulatory Program Standards (U18) RFA-FD-15-021 fits well with Washington State Department of Agriculture's Mission to ?promote consumer and environmental protection.? WSDA Food Safety and Consumer Services Division (FSCS) protects public health by licensing, conducting inspections, and collecting samples at feed facilities as well as conducting label reviews to register pet/specialty pet food products. WSDA further protects public health by responding to food/feed-borne illness outbreaks and other food/feed related emergency situations. WSDA's Microbiology Laboratory within FSCS is the State Central Feed Safety Laboratory to conduct routine surveillance testing of feed products and provides surge testing services to meet the needs in emergency food/feed-borne illness outbreaks. As an ISO17025:2005 accredited laboratory, we have a quality management system in place with dedicated quality assurance staff, a safety officer and procedures in place to assure good laboratory practices. WSDA is willing AND able to participate in the following but not limited major project areas: 1. Maintain ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation, fully participate in FERN activities and share data through eLEXNET, and mentor other labs. The WSDA Microbiology Laboratory became ISO 17025 accredited in December, 2011. As continuous efforts, an accreditation extension visit is scheduled for December, 2015 and accreditation is expected to be extended through February, 2018, and into the future. Our laboratory has been an active FERN member from 2004 and regularly participates in all FERN activities. Our Laboratory implemented LIMS. The LIMS vendor will continue to work with the eLEXNET Data Exchange staff to develop and maintain the electronic transfer from the LIMS to eLEXNET so our testing data related to feed safety will continue to be transmitted to eLEXNET in a timely manner. We will mentor other feed laboratories to ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accreditation. 2. Train lab staff, satisfy the reporting requirement, and provide detailed plan for assessment/improvement. The WSDA Microbiology Laboratory has a training program in place that meets the criteria of ISO/IEC 17025:2005, and training Records are on file to document each analyst's experience and training. We will comply with all reporting requirements outlined in this grant. Our lab has a schedule for audit and review of all parts of the Quality management system, and a comprehensive management review is conducted on an annual basis. The laboratory program manager is scheduled to meet at least quarterly (or more frequently) with other state and federal food safety managers to assess the laboratory program and collaborate on best practices for program enhancement. 3. Develop a sampling plan, analyze feed samples, and increase the lab capability. The WSDA Microbiology Laboratory is involved with developing the sampling plan and supporting the testing portion of the plan, and a team has been appointed to address sampling and meet on a quarterly basis. The lab has capability to analyze feed samples for microbiological hazards, and we are also developing the additional capability in biological testing including toxin and vitamin testing using HPLC.
