Ruff Bars & Ruff Food are FDA Certified - What Does That Mean?
What does it mean to have sell / produce FDA Certified animal treats or food products?
The first step in getting FDA Certification is licensing the products we sell through our local Washington State Department of Agriculture. WSDA is possibly one of the most stringent Ag departments in the U.S. There are specific formats required on labels and regulations of what can and cannot be claimed on both the label and our website. We worked with WSDA to make sure all of our products are labeled correctly. On the WSDA website, you can see some of our previous products listed as 'Canceled' or 'Withdrawn' because our labels or packaging changed, requiring new product names. You can find our product licenses at Product Look Up | Washington State Department of Agriculture. The product lookup Company Name is Big Sky Products LLC dba Ruff Bar.
Following licensing, we worked with WSDA for facility inspections, not an easy task because we work with co-packers in Montana, Utah and Canada. Next was the application process with the FDA, questions and responses. The entire process took months and paid fees. And then we received our FDA Certification!
ATTESTATION: FDA certifies that the above listed product may be marketed in, and legally exported from, the United States (U.S.) at this time. The product described above and the facility which produces it are subject to the jurisdiction of the FDA. The manufacturing facility in which the product is produced is subject to periodic inspections.
This facility is registered as a food facility under section 415 of the FD&C Act because the facility manufactures, processes, packs, or holds animal food for consumption in the U.S. Animal food facilities that are required to register under section 415 of the FD&C Act are subject to Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations, part 507.
A few years ago, we received a call from the FDA about labeling on one of our products. I'm not sure if it was a customer or a competitor, it didn't matter to me. To me, it meant I needed to improve our processes to make sure we not only made a quality product, we complied with rules and regulations. As a company grows and gains more visibility with customers and followers, it's more important than ever to do the things required to protect the consumer.
Business owners have the responsibility be in compliance and pet owners / consumers are responsible for understanding what they are purchasing.
If you would like to understand more, DM me on the @ruff_bar account or email me at info@ruffbar.com.
Warmly,
Sue Moore
