As of January 1, 2017, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires a Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) for all medically important antimicrobials administered in feed and a veterinary prescription for all medically important antimicrobials administered in water.
For additional details about the changes implemented on January 1, 2017, visit the FDA website at: www.fda.gov/SafeFeed
Starting January 1, 2017, medically important antimicrobials in medicated feed will become veterinary feed directive (VFD) drugs, and the resulting VFD feed must be authorized by a licensed veterinarian and distributed and used in compliance with the VFD regulation. Also, animal producers will no longer be able to use these VFD feeds for growth promotion or feed efficiency. This video explains these changes and provides an overview of the requirements in the VFD regulation.
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Courtesy of FDA
Source: www.fda.gov/safefeed
When does the VFD rule go into effect?
What is the VFD rule?
Why is this change occurring?
What are the changes?
What products does this change affect?
What is a VFD drug?
What is a VFD feed?
Why do veterinarians have to be involved?
Does the VFD rule affect my pet (dog & cat) supplements or health products sold at TSC?
When does the VFD rule go into effect?
January 1, 2017 top
The VFD rule is a rule, implemented by the FDA, that permits veterinarians to authorize the use of certain drugs – drugs the CVM (Center for Veterinary Medicine) has approved as VFD drugs – in or on animal feed. The rule specifies the roles and responsibilities of the three parties involved in the process of Authorizing, Distributing and Feeding of VFD feed – The veterinarian, the client, who’s typically the animal producer, and the distributor. top
Changes are occurring to address the issue of antimicrobial resistance. Bacteria becomes resistant to the antimicrobial drugs used to fight them, which is what the term “antimicrobial resistance” means. This resistance is not just an issue in human medicine. It’s an issue in veterinary medicine, too. Antimicrobial resistance poses a threat to both human and animal health. top
First: Animal producers will not be able to buy medically important antimicrobials over the counter as of January 1, 2017. The use of medical important antimicrobial products will be permitted only when authorized by a veterinarian and used in compliance with a rule known as the Veterinary Feed Directive rule, or VFD rule. top
Second: Statements that the antimicrobial in feed helps with “growth promotion” or “feed efficiency” – these are known as “production claims” – will no longer appear on labels for feed containing medically important antimicrobial drugs used in animal feed or drugs used in water. The change to the labels means that animal producers will no longer be permitted to use feed containing medically important antimicrobials for growth promotion or to increase feed efficiency in their animals. top
What products does this change affect?
The change affects only medically important antimicrobials – the antimicrobials used for human medicine (i.e. Oxytetracycline, Sulfadimethoxine, Neomycin and Aureomycin). The changes do not affect antimicrobial drugs approved for use in animals but not deemed important for human medicine. top
A VFD drug is an animal drug that FDA has approved to be used in feed only under the veterinarian’s supervision. A VFD drug is used to make a medicated feed that can be fed to animals only when authorized by a veterinarian. The veterinarian may make such authorization only under a valid veterinarian-client-patient-relationship (VCPR). This is a set of requirements for the working relationship the veterinarian has with the client – the animals’ owner or caretaker – and, in some cases, the State in which the veterinarian works will establish criteria for the VCPR. Otherwise, FDA establishes such criteria. top
Simply, it’s a feed containing a VFD drug. It can contain a single drug, or a combination of drugs. A Type A medicated article is the product with the most concentrated form of a drug. It’s used to manufacture Type B and Type C medicated feeds. When Type B and Type C medicated feeds contain a VFD drug, they’re called VFD feeds. Similar to Type A medicated articles, Type B medicated feeds contain concentrated levels of drugs and have to be diluted to an approved Type C medicated feed drug level before being fed to animals. top
Why do veterinarians have to be involved?
Veterinarians are involved because they have the medical training necessary to diagnose the disease and to identify the appropriate antimicrobial for the specific situation. The veterinarian’s involvement is expected to help reduce misuse or overuse of antimicrobials, thus helping to ensure judicious use of antimicrobials. top
Does the VFD rule affect my pet (dog & cat) supplements or health products sold at TSC?
No, the only products affected by the VFD rule are those intended for livestock animals (Cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, poultry, etc). Common pet products such as flea and tick, wormers, etc are not affected by the VFD rule. top
