What if it takes more than one feed mill to complete a VFD order?
Under the updated veterinary feed directive rule, the same feed mill is supposed to fill the entire order for feed containing a medically important antibiotic.
But what happens if the mill unexpectedly shuts down for mechanical reasons or runs out of the VFD medication?
If VFD feed is urgently needed to adhere to a veterinarian’s treatment plan and the producer must use two mills to obtain the medicated feed, both the producer and feed mills should keep records documenting this special circumstance, William T. Flynn, DVM, MS, deputy director for science policy, FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, said in a recent letter to the Farm Foundation.[i]
It should be clear from documentation that the animals received only the treatment authorized by the VFD, Flynn said. He did not indicate that a new VFD would be needed.
[i] Informal communication from William T. Flynn, DVM, MS, deputy director for science policy, FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine, to Sheldon R. Jones, Farm Foundation, NFP. March 4, 2016.
Posted on October 6, 2016
