Animal feed inspection fee audits explained

Liz Beckman
Animal Feed Program

To protect the health of animals and humans, WSDA’s Animal Feed Program regulates commercial animal feed for household pets, as well as farm livestock and poultry. 

Those who make or distribute – or are listed on the label as responsible for – animal feed in Washington state must be licensed or registered and pay fees. Inspection fees pay for agency services that help the industry comply with state and federal laws, and ensure that animal food is safe. 

We also provide auditing services to our customers. Audits maintain a level playing field for the industry, ensuring that businesses are paying the correct amount of fees – no more, no less. Audits also open a dialog between the department and fee-payers, so we can provide education and technical assistance. 

If you are one of the approximately 240 animal feed registrants or licensees in the state, and we identify your company for an audit, don’t panic. We aim to make the process as efficient, collaborative and transparent as possible. 

Note that we may ask licensees or registrants located outside the state for a desk audit and have you send information to us. 

Steps in the audit process 

First, we will contact your business and schedule the audit. Next we have a conversation to discuss your company’s business and accounting system. This helps determine which records we will need to review. 

Animal feed storage facility.

From the start, and throughout the audit process, we welcome questions. We want to create a mutually beneficial learning experience. 

Records review

We will ask you to make available production records, unique software reports (electronic or hard copy), sales invoices, scale tickets, bills of lading and receipts for the period being audited. 

Based on our initial conversation, we may request other documents used for verification. Some information may not be reviewed in detail because it has little or no effect on inspection fees.

Note that records detailing tonnage of commercial feed distributed within Washington state are not considered public information and therefore, will be kept private.  

After the review

The auditor will ask you to clarify any inconsistencies in a closing conference. 

You’ll receive a preliminary report shortly afterward. Be sure to review this report carefully and ask if any information is unclear. This is your opportunity to make corrections and provide additional documentation if necessary. 

If the preliminary report is revised, we’ll share it with you again. 

If we find that your business is in full compliance, we will send a final audit report within about three weeks.

If the audit reveals inconsistencies with payment of your inspection fees, the final report will include an invoice with a detailed breakdown of fees that you either owe or overpaid. 

If you owe WSDA inspection and late fees, these are due within 30 days of receiving the audit report and invoice. State law authorizes the department to collect this debt. 

If the audit report shows that you have overpaid fees, the department will refund the identified amount and mail you a check. 

Audit follow-up

If you disagree with the results of your audit report, you have the right to an appeal. We must receive your written request for an appeal within 30 days of the final report date. 

Following the audit process, we will send you a survey asking how the process was for you. Results will be kept confidential, so please be candid. We use feedback from these surveys to identify areas we need to improve and ones that are successful. 

Please contact me at lbeckman@agr.wa.gov or by phone at 360-902-1942 if you have questions about this process.

Keeping those who support agriculture safe on the job

Jason Gambill 
WSDA Western Washington Safety Officer

For many WSDA employees, supporting Washington agriculture means spending time out of the office and in the field. So to make sure our employees are safe, WSDA’s safety team has begun a new campaign we call “The day in the life of a WSDA employee.”  

As part of the campaign, agency safety officers are shadowing supervisors and field employees to learn more about their work and safety concerns while offering ways to improve their safety and championing best practices about workplace safety.

Feed inspector Angela Gantuah collecting samples.

Through this new initiative, I recently joined Angela Gantuah, a feed specialist in WSDA’s Food Safety and Consumer Services Division, during a routine inspection of a busy Bellingham chicken feed processing plant.

Traffic collisions are a common factor in workplace injuries, as are tripping hazards like pallets and being struck by objects, like forklifts. Angela and I discussed these hazards, and her strategies for staying safe.

Angela took several samples from peas, fish meal, wheat and other commodities to test for Salmonella and other diseases. Some of her samples were taken from an auger, which was amazing to watch, but can also be a serious workplace hazard. Care has to be taken when working around augers. Again, I discussed this with Angela and offered some tips on keeping safe.

Our agency inspections are essential to the agricultural way of life. Producers require our various inspections in order to export their products to overseas markets. It's my team's job to make sure our inspectors are safe while doing their jobs.

In fact, our team’s motto is “Their Safety Matters.”  I will be shadowing other employees throughout the coming year, playing my part to support WSDA’s staff as they support Washington agriculture.

Safeguarding food and animal feed one of WSDA's key duties

Randy Treadwell and Ali Kashani
Animal Feed /Rapid Response Team

Protecting Washington’s food and animal feed supplies is one of the most important responsibilities of our agency. With human and animal food systems becoming more globalized, public health jurisdictions value partnerships, collaboration and sharing resources to protect consumers.

We represented our state’s animal feed regulatory program and our Washington Rapid Response Team at last month’s annual meeting of the Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) in Pittsburgh. Often called Washington RRT for short, our team is composed of animal feed and food safety professionals.

With our peers, we discussed ways to minimize the number of illness outbreaks related to food and feed products. Speakers from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture played a big role at the conference, updating us about federal efforts to strengthen consumer protections.

Food Safety Modernization Act

Hot topics included the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), multi-agency rapid responses to food and feed emergencies, and disease-preventive controls for human and animal food.  Representatives from the food industry provided their perspectives on new food and feed regulations and the steps they are taking to comply with federal implementation dates under FSMA.

The conference dealt with a host of topics including Whole Genome Sequencing, trends related to marijuana-infused products, avian influenza and produce safety. Of particular note was discussion related to a nationally standardized training curriculum for food and feed regulators, a venture lead by the International Food Protection Training Institute in collaboration with federal and state partners.

AFDO workshops included writing documents under pressure, communicating with the news media during foodborne illness incidents and a leadership development workshop. Many of the presentations are available on the AFDO website.

The world of food and animal feed regulation continues to evolve as products become more complex and are distributed to a wider consumer network. Implementation of new regulations such as FSMA will be a considerable undertaking. Regulatory and food industry partners are taking an active part in shaping a modern integrated food and feed safety system.

We believe that outreach to the food industry and other regulatory bodies, getting to know our partners, and sharing information on best practices will help prevent outbreaks and improve response our time in emergencies.