The Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA) Plant Industries Division, Feed Regulatory Program regulates the state’s commercial feed and pet food industries through inspecting firms, sampling and testing products and providing information to consumers. The Program cooperates with FDA to provide education to feed manufacturers and assure feed safety rules are followed by conducting Preventive Controls (PC), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), and Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) inspections of feed manufacturers. These inspections help protect the safety of the food supply for human and animal consumption.

In addition to performing inspections, the Feed Regulatory Program inspectors collect samples of finished feeds, feed ingredients and customer-formulated feeds. The collected samples are tested for adherence to label guarantees, and if testing reveals a deficiency or excess from the guaranteed analysis, a Notice of Withdrawal from Distribution Order is issued immediately.

The Bureau of Feed and Seed conducts the Corn Survey each year during harvest season to report findings of mycotoxins commonly found in corn. If corn is found containing toxin levels exceeding FDA guidelines for safe use for livestock, the facility at which the corn was sampled is notified immediately.