Proposed new livestock feed ingredient – Dried sweet potato: Closed Consultation

Current status: Closed

This consultation ran from March 4, 2024 to April 4, 2024.

About the consultation

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) was seeking comments on the following proposed new single ingredient feed (SIF) description for dried sweet potato.

Background

The Feeds Regulations require a proponent to submit a pre-market application for SIFs that are new, have been modified such that they differ from an approved SIF, or are for a new purpose. The CFIA evaluates the information in the application to establish that the SIF is safe, effective, and labelled correctly.

Approved SIFs are currently listed and defined in Schedules IV and V of the Feeds Regulations, with appropriate guarantees, standards, and labelling requirements. The CFIA will be transitioning to the Canadian Feed Ingredients Table (CFIT) that will be incorporated by reference into the proposed Feeds Regulations, 2024 when they come into effect. In preparation for this new approach, the CFIA is consulting on new or amended SIFs so they can be added to the CFIT once it comes into effect. More information on this is available in the Notice to industry: Consultations on new or amended single ingredient feed descriptions.

About the evaluation

The CFIA's Animal Feed Program has completed a detailed evaluation of an application for the approval of a new SIF: dried sweet potato.

The evaluation considered information related to:

• the safety of feeding this SIF to livestock with respect to animal health
• the safety of foods derived from livestock that eat this SIF
• the safety of workers/bystanders exposed to this SIF
• environmental safety
• an evaluation of the fit-for-purpose and efficacy for this SIF, for the intended livestock species

The results of the CFIA's evaluation of available scientific data support the safety and efficacy of dried sweet potato and its intended purpose as a source of energy in livestock feeds.

Therefore, the CFIA recommends dried sweet potato be approved as a new SIF and added to the CFIT, accordingly.

Proposed SIF description

The CFIA intends to add dried sweet potato under Subclass 2.6 (Fruit and vegetable derived products) of Class 2 (Energy feeds) in part 1 of the CFIT with the following description:

Dried sweet potato
is the product that consists of sound tuberous roots of the sweet potato plant (Ipomoea batatas), which have been sorted to meet all standards for human consumption. Sweet potatoes are washed, shredded and dried in accordance with good manufacturing practices.

This ingredient is approved for use as a source of energy in livestock feeds.

It shall be labelled with guarantees for minimum percent crude protein, maximum percent crude fibre, and maximum percent moisture.

An ingredient number will be assigned at the time the SIF is added to the CFIT.

Additional information

Sweet potatoes have been well characterized and are a common vegetable consumed by livestock as well as humans. Fresh sweet potatoes (1-206-009) are already listed and described in the CFIT as an approved source of energy in feeds for all livestock species. Since there is a history of safe use for sweet potatoes and there are no source-specific concerns, dried sweet potato is to be placed into part 1 of the CFIT. This SIF is approved for use as a source of energy for all livestock species in formulations for livestock species. This SIF description is similar to the description for fresh sweet potatoes and has no restrictions on the inclusion rate or intended livestock species.

Who was the focus of this consultation

Animal feed stakeholders, including:

• suppliers of feed ingredients
• commercial feed manufacturers
• feed importers, distributors and retailers
• industry associations
• other government departments
• international trading partners
• veterinarians

All comments are welcome from industry, governments, the public, or other organizations or individuals.

How to participate

The CFIA was seeking feedback on the proposed description for dried sweet potato.

Stakeholders were encouraged to share comments if there was:

• concerns about the accuracy of SIF description
• any scientific data that should be considered before the SIF is approved

The CFIA evaluators will review scientific questions or information for consideration in the evaluation. They will also evaluate non-scientific input and explore appropriate ways of addressing it.

Comments can be sent by email to the Animal Feed Program at cfia.afp-paa.acia@inspection.gc.ca. Please use "dried sweet potato" in the subject line of the email. The CFIA was asking for comments and feedback by April 4, 2024, 30 days from the date of this posting.

Next steps

The CFIA will review all of the comments received. If there are significant concerns raised, the CFIA will evaluate the additional information and may, subject to the commenters consent, forward the comments to the applicant for their response. A what we heard report that summarizes the feedback received will be published.

The SIF will be added to the CFIT at the next update, following publication of the proposed Feeds Regulations, 2024.

Related information

• Feeds Regulations
• Feeds Act
• Consultations on proposed regulatory and policy changes
• Notice to industry: Consultations on new or amended single ingredient feed descriptions

Contact us

Animal Feed Program (AFP)
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
59 Camelot Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0Y9
Email: cfia.afp-paa.acia@inspection.gc.ca