VFD Guidance on Minor Species Published

On Jan. 1, the Food and Drug Administration’s new Veterinary Feed Directive regulations for animals became effective. While a good deal of information has been published about the changes regarding the use of antimicrobials in feed and water for major species, there has been little information about how the FDA will regulate VFD drugs in minor species, such as sheep. 

Since there are relatively few products approved to treat and prevent diseases in minor species, FDA has historically provided guidelines to veterinarians and others on how to use products for minor species that are approved for other animals in a safe and effective manner. The guidelines – called Compliance Policy Guides – are non-binding recommendations to FDA personnel on how to regulate VFD products. FDA has recently published a new CPG for minor species. While the law must be followed by everyone (producers, veterinarians, licensed feed mills and feed distributors) the new CPG does provide options for treating and preventing disease conditions in minor species, besides using only specific labeled products.

Officials from FDA’s Center on Veterinary Medicine will attend the ASI Annual Convention in Denver, where they will explain the specifics of how the regulations will apply to all sheep industry sectors from a practical perspective.