Labels of your products must be submitted with any first-time application for a license.

Purpose of a Feed Label

Feed labels:

• Allow consumers to choose products that meet their needs.
• Contain necessary information to determine if the product will meet the animals' nutritional needs.
• Tell the buyer how to use the product properly for maximum benefits and results.

The uniformity provided by requiring that certain information appear on all labels also helps to prevent unfair competition between feed companies.

Label Requirements for Feed sold in bags or other containers:

While certain types or categories of feed, e.g. pet food, or feeds containing non-protein nitrogen, may have additional requirements, the following basic information must appear on every commercial feed sold in Michigan in a bag or other container, except for customer-formula feeds, and must be legibly printed or written. It may appear on the bag or container itself or on an attached tag or label:

• Net weight of the contents;
  
  
• The product name and brand name, if any;
  
  
• The name and address of the licensee.
  

  Make sure that the name and address on the label are exactly the same as the one used on the license application; see: License Requirements

• "Guaranteed Analysis" of the feed, stated in terms established by regulation as necessary to advise the user as to the feed's composition or to support claims made in the labeling. 
  

  The guarantees must be based on laboratory methods published by the AOAC International

• Complete listing of all ingredients used in the feed.
  

  They must be listed using the official AAFCO-defined ingredient name or the common or usual name of the ingredient, if it is not so defined. Examples of acceptable common or usual names are those for which there is a regulation establishing the ingredient as Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) or as a food additive approved for use in animal feed;

• Adequate directions to provide for the safe and effective use of those feeds containing drugs or other feeds specified in the regulations;
  
  
• Any other precautionary statements necessary for the safe and effective use of commercial feeds;
  
  
• The date of manufacture, processing, packing, or re-packing, or a code representing the actual date or one that makes it possible to segregate specific lots or batches of feed.

Label Requirements for Feed sold in bulk:

A label containing the same information required for feed sold in bags or other containers is required for commercial feed sold in bulk. Instead of being placed on the bag or container, the label must accompany every single bulk shipment of the feed and be supplied to the purchaser at the time of delivery.

 Label Requirements for Customer-formula feeds:

A document, which includes the following information, must be supplied to the purchaser of a customer-formula feed at the time of delivery:

• The name and address of the mixer;
  
  
• The name and address of the purchaser;
  
  
• The date of delivery;
  
  
• The product name and brand name, if any, and the number of pounds of each commercial feed (e.g. soybean meal, base mix, vitamin and/or mineral mix) used in the mixture and the name and number of pounds of the other ingredients (e.g. corn, oats, salt, molasses) added;
  
  
• Adequate directions to provide for the safe and effective use of those feeds containing drugs or other feeds specified in the regulations;
  
  
• Any other precautionary statements necessary for the safe and effective use of commercial feeds.

Typically, a delivery ticket or invoice is used to provide this information with a customer-formula feed.

For more about the requirements concerning label format, expressing guarantees, and any additional special labeling requirements, refer to the Commercial Feed Law.

Truth in labeling - animal's health and feeding

Pet Food and Equine Supplements

Two types of feed products that are often sold with a broad range of label claims are pet foods/treats and horse supplements. The information a manufacturer provides about its products is designed to entice and encourage the customer to buy their feed.  While most of the information is truthful and provides useful information about the product, the buyer should be aware that there are some product labels that make great sounding claims but are, at best misleading, and sometimes false.

Not only does the Michigan Department of Agriculture regulate that can of cat food, bag of dog food, or box of dog treats or snacks in your pantry, so does the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.  The FDA's regulation of pet food is similar to that for other animal feeds.  The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) requires that pet foods, like human foods, be pure and wholesome, be safe to eat, be produced under sanitary conditions, contain no harmful substances, and be truthfully labeled.  In addition, canned pet foods must be processed in conformance with the low acid canned food regulations to ensure the pet food is free of viable microorganisms.

There is no requirement that pet food products have premarket approval by the FDA.  However, the FDA ensures that the ingredients used in pet food are safe and have an appropriate function in the pet food.  Many ingredients such as meat, poultry, grains, and their byproducts are considered safe "foods" and do not require premarket approval.  Other substances such as mineral and vitamin sources, colorings, flavorings, and preservatives may be generally recognized as safe (GRAS) or must have approval as food additives.  For more information about pet foods and marketing a pet food, see FDA's Regulation of Pet Food and Information on Marketing a Pet Food Product.

Certain types of claims are sometimes made about feed products that cause them to be classified as unapproved drugs. If you are not familiar with how labels are written, much of the required information can be very confusing. So how does the concerned consumer know what to look for or what to steer away from in a product?   How does a conscientious pet food or horse supplement manufacturer know what to appropriately tell the consumer about their products?

The Official Publication of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) lists the legally accepted definitions of a majority of the feed ingredients that have been approved for use in animal feeds, along with the name that must be used on every label. It also contains statements of uniform policy used by regulatory officials throughout North and Central America in interpreting many of the regulations dealing with feeds. The publication can be purchased from AAFCO through their website.

Over the past several years, FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine has published several useful articles about pet foods and equine supplements. Among the most useful are those included here:

• Interpreting Pet Food Labels-Part I: General Rules
  FDA Veterinarian, November/December, 1998, by David A. Dzanis, D.V.M., Ph.D., DACVN
  
• Intepreting Pet Food Labels-Part II: Special Use Foods
  FDA Veterinarian, January/February, 1999, by David A. Dzanis, D.V.M., Ph.D., DACVN
  
  When Pet Foods are Drugs
  FDA Veterinarian, September/October, 1993, by David A. Dzanis, D.V.M., Ph.D., DACV
  
• Feed Supplements for Horses: Buyer Beware
  FDA Veterinarian, July/August 1996, by Sharon A. Benz, Ph.D.

Check the FDA Veterinarian Magazine for other useful articles relating to your animal's health and feeding.