About Feed and Seed Program

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

The Feed and Seed program, also known as Agricultural Commodities Assurance program, has contracted with the Food and Drug Administration to conduct Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) inspections at facilities that make or sell feed.  In 2005, staff conducted 25 BSE inspections.  In 2006, that number increased with an added focus on BSE and prohibited materials.  In fiscal year 2009, Feed and Seed staff conducted 250 BSE inspections and 168 BSE grant inspections.  The program is anticipating that the BSE grant program will not be renewed in fiscal year 2011 or that it may be restructured to generate more FDA feed sampling.

Tissue Residue

The Feed and Seed program also helps the federal government investigate tissue residue cases, where antibiotics and other drugs have been detected in animals destined for the human food supply.  When a carcass is examined by a federal inspector, and antibiotic or other drug residue is found, Feed and Seed staff investigates the cause and source of the problem.  Six tissue residue cases were referred to the Feed and Seed program for investigation this year.

Typically, when drug residue is detected, the problem can be traced to a dairy producer or rancher who medicated a sick animal and did not wait long enough for the drugs to be expelled by the animal's body before marketing it.  The Feed and Seed inspector provides information regarding the importance of following label instructions and federal rules, and conveys the consequences of improperly medicating animals.

Pet Food

Most consumers look at nutrition labels on foods they consume.  Some also look at the nutrition labels on their pet's food.  Feed and Seed inspectors make sure that the food we feed our pets contains what is identified on the product label.

Seed Inspections

Seed inspections are important to the agriculture industry and to consumers.  Farmers use germination and purity guarantees to determine crop yield.  If seed does not meet those guarantees, the crop will be less than expected and the farmer may suffer economically.

At the end of fiscal year 2002, the Feed and Seed program began outsourcing its seed analyses to a private seed laboratory.  Outsourcing the seed laboratory work resulted in enough savings to allow the program to fund additional seed inspections and investigations.  Seed compliance rates were 84 percent in fiscal 2007, 87 percent in fiscal year 2008 and 88 percent for fiscal year 2009.  The increase in compliance is due primarily to a change in inspection priorities over the last several years.  Prior to fiscal year 2004, inspectors sampled available seed without targeting any particular type.  In fiscal year 2004, in an effort to be more effective, inspectors were directed to sample seeds with a poor compliance history, such as grass seed.  This strategy is working as compliance rates are increasing, so we will continue to focus our resources on those seeds with a poor compliance history.