LEFTOVERS FOR LIVESTOCK

It is important to note that most states have an exception
for individuals who want to feed household food scraps
to their own swine. All states except Kentucky, Louisiana,
Michigan, Puerto Rico, and Virginia allow individuals to feed
household food scraps to their own swine without heattreating
the food scraps first. This exception equally applies
in all of the states that ban the feeding of food scraps to
commercial livestock outright.
Before feeding food scraps to livestock, it is important
that you contact your state’s department of agriculture or
board of health to ensure that you or your business is in
compliance with your state’s heat-treatment, licensure, and
commercial feed requirements.
III. Recommendations for Using Food
Scraps as Animal Feed
A multitude of laws and regulations bear on the practice of
feeding food scraps to animals. The requirements under this
framework can be daunting to a facility that is interested
in using excess human food as animal feed. But, taken as
a whole, the relevant laws and regulations point to a core
set of considerations that help livestock facilities develop
a legal food scrap feeding program. The applicability and
importance of these considerations will vary depending on
the type and size of the facility and its role in the larger food
scrap-feeding enterprise. Individuals feeding household
food scraps to their own swine, for example, probably need
not consider many items on this list. But the majority of
food scrap-feeding operations that intend to market their
animal products as food would benefit from reviewing
the recommendations for food scrap feeding included
herein. These recommendations support the development
of scrap feeding programs that are economically viable,
environmentally sensitive, and legally compliant.
Preliminary considerations:
1. Identify the type of animals being fed.
2. Identify the type of food that will be fed to the
animals.
3. Articulate reasons for feeding food scraps to animals
and assess the feasibility of doing so.
Food scrap feeders must identify the type of animals they
will be feeding to understand which federal and state laws
apply to their operation. Moreover, food scrap feeders must
identify the kinds of foods that will be fed to animals. Most
important will be the distinction between animal-derived
food scraps and other food scraps (such as vegetable, fruit,
and bakery waste). This distinction typically determines
whether the scraps (i) can be fed to animals in the first
place, and (ii) must be heat-treated or processed.
11| Leftovers for Livestock: A Legal Guide for Using Excess Food as Animal Feed August 2016