Commercial animal feed: what the label must say

It is the law that sets rules for feed bought by the sack for farm animals: what must be registered, what the label must say, and what happens if the analysis does not deliver what was promised. Before going on the title needs clearing up, because it misleads: the Act says “domestic animals,” but its own definition does not include dogs or cats. It is about livestock.

The question is not who qualifies but what is covered, and two definitions decide everything. The first, Article 2(e), defines “domestic animals” exhaustively: “It includes all classes of dairy and beef cattle; swine; horses, donkeys and mules; goats; sheep; rabbits, and poultry dedicated to the commercial production of meat and eggs.” Dogs and cats do not appear. The second, Article 2(d), defines “commercial feed” as any material or mixture distributed to feed those animals, “including mineral, vitamin or mineral-with-vitamin supplements,” but “excluding hay, green grasses, whole and unmixed grains and seeds, and molasses not diluted or mixed with other materials.” If you buy hay or whole unmixed grain, this Act does not cover it.

• That the commercial feed be registered at the Department of Agriculture by the manufacturer or its representative in Puerto Rico, with registration expiring after two (2) years.Verified against the official source
• That the label carry the name and trademark, the specific designation of the animals, ingredients and additives, guaranteed analysis, the manufacturer’s name and address, net weight and registration number.Verified against the official source
• That the animal designation and the guaranteed analysis always appear in Spanish.Verified against the official source
• If it contains medicines, hormones or other drugs: that the label state the technical name and concentration of each, and in Spanish their purpose, instructions for use, ration per animal and warnings.Verified against the official source
• That it be neither adulterated nor falsely labelled: both distributions are prohibited.Verified against the official source

Information pending verification.

1. 1

   Step 1: First, what the title does not say

   It is called the “Commercial Feeds for Domestic Animals Act,” and in ordinary speech “domestic animals” means pets. Not here. Article 2(e) defines it and the list is farm stock: “all classes of dairy and beef cattle; swine; horses, donkeys and mules; goats; sheep; rabbits, and poultry dedicated to the commercial production of meat and eggs.” Dogs and cats are not in that definition, and therefore dog or cat food does not fall under this Act. We say so up front so you do not lose time if that is what you were looking for.

2. 2

   Step 2: The registration number is the first thing to look at

   Article 3(a) admits no exception: “To be distributed in Puerto Rico it shall be an indispensable requirement that every commercial feed be registered at the Department of Agriculture of Puerto Rico by the manufacturer’s representative or agent in Puerto Rico … or by the manufacturer of the commercial feed in Puerto Rico.” And that registration must appear on the sack, because Article 4(a)(7) requires on the label the “registration number assigned by the Secretary.” Registration expires after two years. A fact with teeth that almost nobody knows: the same Article 3(a) empowers the Secretary “to close any mill in Puerto Rico processing commercial feeds for distribution in Puerto Rico without having registered them at the Department of Agriculture, until it complies with that requirement.”

3. 3

   Step 3: The seven things the label must carry

   Article 4(a) lists them: (1) the feed’s name and trademark; (2) the specific designation of the animals it is distributed to feed, and of their sex, growth stage or development or other conditions such as gestation, productivity or non-productivity, or the animal’s use or purpose, when the feed has a specific purpose; (3) the name of each substance, ingredient and additive; (4) the guaranteed analysis; (5) the name and address of the manufacturer guaranteeing composition and analysis; (6) net weight; and (7) the registration number. If any is missing, under Article 5(b)(1) the feed is deemed falsely labelled and its distribution is prohibited.

4. 4

   Step 4: Two things must be in Spanish, no exceptions

   Article 4(a) allows the label to be “printed in Spanish or in English,” but takes two items out of that option. First, the animal designation in clause (2) “must always appear in Spanish, and optionally also in English or any other language the manufacturer wishes.” Second, the guaranteed analysis in clause (4) “must also appear in Spanish.” That is, what animal it is for and what it guarantees to contain must be in the language you buy in. If the sack carries them only in English, that does not comply with the Act.

5. 5

   Step 5: If the feed carries medication, the label must explain it

   Article 4(b) is among the most protective in the text: “When a commercial feed contains medicines, hormones or other drugs, the label must state the technical name and concentration of each of those substances. There shall be stated in the Spanish language the purpose of those substances, clear and specific instructions on how to use the feed, the ration per animal, and the warnings and precautions to be taken to prevent the commercial feed from being used improperly.” Technical name, concentration, purpose, instructions, ration per animal and warnings, all of it, with the explanatory part in Spanish.

6. 6

   Step 6: If it does not deliver what it promises: the Act has a name for that

   It is not a quality complaint, it is a defined violation. Article 6(b)(2) deems a feed adulterated “if the analysis of an official sample shows the feed’s composition is inferior to that guaranteed on the label.” And Article 7A raises the tone: “Should a commercial feed fail to meet the guarantee, or show deficiency in the guaranteed analysis recorded in its registration or in its labelling, that shall constitute a gross violation of this Act and the manufacturer of that commercial feed shall be subject to answer under the criminal and administrative penalties to be established by regulation.” We do not publish those penalties because the Act leaves them to regulation and we did not read it.

7. 7

   Step 7: The Secretary may publish the results

   This is the public tool that most helps a buyer and almost nobody asks for it. Article 7(a): “The Secretary shall have powers to order the inspection, sampling and analysis of commercial feeds distributed in Puerto Rico, and to publish the results of those inspections and analyses in bulletins, newspapers, magazines, or in any other form deemed convenient for the general public’s knowledge.” And Article 7(b) gives entry, during working hours, to any building, warehouse, ship, vehicle or site where commercial feeds are manufactured, stored, transported, offered for sale or distributed; refusing that entry is a misdemeanour with a fine of up to three hundred dollars or up to thirty days in jail, or both.

8. 8

   Step 8: The detention order and the thirty-day clock

   Article 8(a) gives the Secretary power to issue “a detention order on any lot of a commercial feed that in the Secretary’s judgement is being distributed in violation” of the Act, and prohibits disposing of that lot without prior written authorisation from the Secretary or a court. Whoever distributes it anyway commits a misdemeanour with a fine of two hundred to two thousand dollars or ten to ninety days in jail, or both. 8(b) sets the time to fix it: the Secretary lifts the order “when the violations are corrected to the Secretary’s satisfaction within a period of thirty (30) days from the date of issue”; if not corrected in that period, the lot “shall remain detained subject to confiscation, destruction, or disposal in any form a court may order.”

9. 9

   Step 9: If you are the one registering or distributing: the ten days and the forty cents

   Two concrete things. First, your chance to answer. Article 7(c): when the analysis of an official sample shows adulteration or false labelling, the Secretary notifies you “granting ten (10) days to submit any allegation or to request a portion of the official sample,” and if you request the portion the period extends twenty days from receipt. If you say nothing in that time, “the result of the inspection and analysis of the official sample shall be deemed final and unappealable.” Second, the money. Article 9(a) establishes “an inspection fee of forty cents ($0.40) for each ton of commercial feed distributed in Puerto Rico,” going to the Special Fund of the Laboratory for Analysis and Registration of Agricultural Materials. It is declared quarterly, “within the first thirty (30) days after each quarter ends,” with the signature counting as an oath and payment attached. Raw materials and feeds sold to manufacturers for use in already registered feeds are exempt.

At the Department of Agriculture, where commercial feeds are registered, quarterly tonnage declarations are filed and inspection fees are paid, and from where inspection, sampling and detention orders issue. Registration applications are filed “on the forms the Secretary supplies for that purpose,” under Article 3(b). The Act publishes no office, address, telephone or registration fee, and we do not invent them.

• Looking here for dog or cat food rules: this Act’s definition of domestic animals is a livestock list and does not include them.
• Believing it covers hay or whole grain: the definition of commercial feed expressly excludes them.
• Buying a sack with no registration number: it is an indispensable requirement for distribution in Puerto Rico and must appear on the label.
• Accepting a label only in English: the animal designation and the guaranteed analysis must always appear in Spanish.
• Not reading the warnings on a medicated feed: the Act requires the purpose, instructions, ration per animal and warnings in Spanish.
• Treating a feed failing its guaranteed analysis as a quality complaint: the Act calls it a gross violation and adulteration.
• Letting the ten days pass after a notice: without an allegation, the analysis result is deemed final and unappealable.
• Distributing a detained lot: it is a misdemeanour with a fine of two hundred to two thousand dollars or ten to ninety days in jail.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Agricultura de Puerto Rico

  Agricultura

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov