The thought of a food product’s contamination brings concern to anyone — consumers, food companies, ingredient companies and trade associations. With the launch of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in 2011, the goal was to improve the consistency of our food system (human food and animal) while reducing issues with safety and health. Unforeseen contamination should be more limited as ingredient sourcing, approvals, and controls are more intense and part of the overall process of FSMA.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) oversee the overall safety of the food system, but ingredients and food companies are actively involved as well. From experience, every ingredient is tested with regularity to ensure safe food and feed. Heavy metals are of concern. They can contaminate soils, drinking water, and ground water; pollute streams; and eventually impact some ingredients. Based upon extensive testing and review, Maximum Tolerable Levels (MTL) are set by national and state regulatory bodies to guide safety. Similarly, nutritional profiles for dogs and cats are also established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) to guide nutritional adequacy.
