Over the next 14 months, people associated with production animal agriculture will be asking this question. A VFD is a veterinary feed directive. In layman’s terms, this is a veterinary prescription providing for the use of medically important antibiotics in feed provided to food producing animals.
The federal government has outlined a new process for authorizing the use of medically important antibiotics in the feed and water of food producing animals. The FDA’s Guidance No. 213 was finalized over the summer. The VFD final rule includes antibiotics that have been used for many purposes over the years. Many of these uses have not been according to label directions or clearances and hence the FDA has taken steps to ensure the judicious use of these drugs.
The VFD final rule requires veterinarians to only issue VFDs within the context of a Veterinarian-Client-Patient-Relationship and defines guidelines for meeting a VCPR. These definitions include a veterinarian working with the client to make clinical judgments about patients’ health based on a sufficient knowledge of the animals and facilities, and be available for follow-up care. Veterinarians will be required to follow their state’s laws concerning VCPR requirements, and for states lacking these laws the federally defined requirements will be implemented. What this means is that producers will need to work with their veterinarians to establish relationships that allow veterinarians to legally prescribe the use of antibiotics in their livestock’s feeds.
Certain information will need to be included that currently resembles a prescription for pharmacy usage. Included in this information will be pertinent veterinarian, producer, animal and drug listing. Dosages, rates, length of usage and condition being treated will be included. Licensed veterinarians will be authorized to write VFDs for the prevention, control or treatment of a specifically identified disease only, and by approved label directions only. Extra-label use of these antibiotics is prohibited. For example, off label usage for treatment of pink eye and foot rot will be disallowed. Usage of generic antibiotics that are not labeled like their pioneer products will be illegal as well.
Implementation of this rule is scheduled for the end of December 2016. Currently there are some medications for use in poultry and Pulmotil (in swine and cattle) that require a VFD as of October 2015. All involved drug manufacturers will be required to have their labels modified to meet guidelines by December 2016.
A VFD resembling a prescription will be written by veterinarians in paper or electronic format. A copy will be supplied to producers, veterinarians and feed processors/distributors to be kept for two years. A VFD may be written under certain circumstances lasting up to six months.
Certain non-medically important feed additives are not included in this guideline that include, but are not limited to, Ionophore (Rumensin/Monensin), Coccidiostats (Amprolium/Decoquinate)/ Lasolocid) and Bacitracins, and may be used under current applications.
All producers should engage their veterinarians in a discussion about their farming enterprise and providing an overall strategy of how we can ensure that we have these compounds at our disposal.
