Feed Label Laws

Oregon implemented a provisional equine feed label law on June 1 that would allow feed manufacturers to add non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) to the list of nutrient requirements already found on feed bags in that state. Adding NSC to the feed

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Oregon implemented a provisional equine feed label law on June 1 that would allow feed manufacturers to add non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) to the list of nutrient requirements already found on feed bags in that state. Adding NSC to the feed label would assist owners when choosing feed for horses that have metabolic problems or laminitis and cannot tolerate high-carb feed.
 
Kathryn Watts, BS, research director for Rocky Mountain Research and Consulting, Inc., in Center, Colo., and Stephen Duren, PhD, of Performance Horse Nutrition in Weiser, Idaho, feed consultant for LMF Feeds, are working together to push for NSC to be added to feed labels.


“Oregon has allowed a provisional label, and California and Washington are still thinking about it,” said Watts. Feed labels are regulated by each state’s own regulatory and testing laboratory, and each state determines what will be on their feed labels unless it is overruled by federal law. Oregon’s new feed label applies only for feeds tested and sold in Oregon.


Oregon’s guidelines for the new label state that if the product makes a low-NSC claim, the maximum percentage of NSC guaranteed shall be 11%. The methods used to determine the level will be decided by expert laboratories. The guidelines in their entirety can be seen at https://egov.oregon.gov/ODA/AHID/commercial_feed/low_nsc605.pdf.


One problem with adding NSC to the feed label is that state regulatory feed labs would have to add this to their existing long list of tests. Many feed labs cannot test for NSC, or choose not to test for it, because there is no standard method of measurement. Watts said changing something as simple as the water temperature when testing can skew results

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Written by:

Marcella Reca Zipp, M.S., is a former staff writer for The Horse. She is completing her doctorate in Environmental Education and researching adolescent relationships with horses and nature. She lives with her family, senior horse, and flock of chickens on an island in the Chain O’Lakes.

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