Veterinary Health Products to be allowed in Livestock Feed

Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have joined forces to evaluate the incorporation of Veterinary Health Products (VHPs) into Livestock Feeds (Food).

This Project originated from an expressed interest by the industry to allow active VHP ingredients into Livestock feeds. Since the successful roll-out of the more recent VHP Notification Program, many Health Products have been approved for use. But more work is still needed to ensure these beneficial ingredients can be safely and legally added to foods for our animals. The marriage of these two product classifications may be on the horizon and your company can be part of the regulatory decision-making process!

Please note you can amend your SFC license at any time utilizing the My CFIA Portal without incurring an additional fee.

Obtaining a Safe Food for Canadians License:

The first step involved in obtaining a Safe Food for Canadians license is to create a My CFIA Account. It is through the use of the My CFIA account that you can request license and export certifications as well as set up electronic payment methods. While enrolling, you can create one or more profiles for your business. This way if your company involves multiple site locations, you can have a profile for each site.

Within the current framework, VHPs and Livestock Feeds are sorted into distinct categories requiring a separate regulatory pathway to market. Livestock feeds are currently regulated based on two published ingredient lists, requiring notification when for example, ingredients are listed in Part II of the regulations, when ingredients are considered novel or when other languages (besides English and French) are used on the label. VHP Notifications must be submitted for all products, a Notification Number is assigned upon approval.

Under this new investigative project, several common and low risk Organic Acids and Essential Oils are being explored. Industry will be able to make label claims for these ingredients relating to maintaining general health for approved products. Only these types of general health claims are allowed currently allowed for VHPs. [Veterinary Health Products: used to maintain or promote the health and wellness of companion and food-producing animals. VHPs are not for use to treat, prevent, or cure a disease or condition.] Products with more specific: therapeutic, antiparasitic or antimicrobial claims would better meet the classification of a Veterinary Drug and not be allowed within the scope of this Project.

This Project will help regulators gather important data for use in law/decision making and the future of both Veterinary Health Products and Livestock feeds. Ultimately, leading to improved access to Health Products and a wider range of ‘active’ ingredients for livestock. Thus, easing the path to market for VHPs, enabling broader aspects to these types of products and reducing the use of drugs and other antimicrobials for animals. A compendium of ingredients will be published at the conclusion of this program to allow newly approved ingredients to be used in Livestock Feeds.

For this specific project, industry has been provided with a List of Ingredients that will be permitted. This will allow Health Canada to control the project and gather specific evidence on ingredients they have deemed as potentially acceptable. Under the current proposal allowable ingredients may include:

• Organic Acid, such as Acetic acid and Malic acid.
• Essential Oils, such as Peppermint and Rosemary.
• Common Non-medicinal ingredients such as Coconut oil and Silicon dioxide.

Each ingredient may have specific inclusion limits as explained within the Notice or the currently published Permitted Substances List. Please reach out to our team to determine the admissibility of your ingredients.

The following formula criteria must also be met to be eligible for the program:

• Contain at least 1 approved active/medicinal ingredient.
• Contain only approved inactive/non-medicinal ingredients.
• Make only approved general health (VHP style) claims.

The company representative will need to attest that the product is safe and supported by convincing evidence and that the product is effective when used properly per the directions. Under this project, please ensure that all manufacturing processes are evaluated to ensure the final availability or stability is not impacted when any new ingredients are added to your food.

The recommended use of the product is to be marked specifically on the application and you will need to confirm the formula has been sufficiently tested. Products currently marketed as either Food or VHPs will need to be re-submitted to be eligible for this new project. When a VHP product or ingredient is being added to livestock feed, the new label will also be required to carry the VHP Notification number.

The sequence of steps for this proposal, as laid out in the notice are:

1. Pre-screening Process (begins March 2021)
2. Notification Process (begins May 2021)
3. Publication of Compendium (July 2021)

To register, prescreening templates with product information must be submitted to Health Canada between March 15^th and April 2^nd, 2021. Once approved for eligibility by Health Canada a subsequent Notification will need to be sent.

Please contact our team for more information on Veterinary Health Products, Livestock Feeds or to have one of our specialists determine if your formulas are eligible and to enroll in this exciting project!