Dog Food Production from Farm to Food Bowl: Evaluating FDA’s Regulatory Oversight and the Impact on Food Safety

Abstract

With the introduction of the Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) regulatory oversight of dog food production is becoming clearer, and it is important for consumers and manufacturers to understand the effect of regulatory oversight on the safety of their pet’s food. This review of guidance documents, laws and regulations, news articles and scholarly research aims to educate the consumer on how their dog’s food is regulated at each stage of its production. Additionally, this review aims to assist manufacturers in understanding the regulations and/or authorities the finished products and ingredients may be subject to thus providing the manufacturers with the tools to perform a more complete and accurate review of their food safety procedures. To convey this information three educational fact sheets were developed that focused on explaining how dog food is produced, educating on the regulatory oversight of dog food production, and illustrating how consumers can protect both themselves and their pets from contaminated pet food. It is recommended that additional materials aimed at consumers be developed to cover trends in dog food diets, pet food labelling including medical claims, and tips on safely creating home-made pet food.