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The Legislative Service Commission staff updates the Revised Code on an ongoing basis, as it completes its act review of enacted legislation. Updates may be slower during some times of the year, depending on the volume of enacted legislation.

Chapter 923 | Livestock Feeds

 
 
 
Section
Section 923.41 | Inspection of commercial feed definitions.
 

As used in sections 923.41 to 923.55 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Animal" means any animate being, other than a human.

(B) "Commercial feed" or "feed" means all materials, except unmixed whole seeds or physically altered entire unmixed seeds, that are not adulterated and that are distributed for use as feed or for mixing in feed for animals. "Commercial feed" or "feed" does not include drugs that are not incorporated into feed and that are not distributed to be mixed in feed. "Commercial feed" and "feed" also does not include negligible amounts of feed ingredients added to a drug solely for the purpose of facilitating administration of the drug to an animal.

(C) "Feed ingredient" means each of the constituent materials used to make a commercial feed.

(D) "Customer-formula feed" means a commercial feed that consists of a mixture of commercial feeds, feed ingredients, or both, each batch of which is manufactured according to the specific instructions of the final purchaser.

(E) "Mineral feed" means a commercial feed intended to supply primarily mineral elements or inorganic nutrients.

(F) "Drug" means any article intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of infectious disease in animals or any article other than feed intended to affect the structure or any function of the animal's body.

(G) "Brand name" means any word, name, symbol, or device, or any combination thereof identifying the commercial feed of a distributor and distinguishing it from that of others.

(H) "Product name" means the name of the commercial feed which identifies it as to kind, class, or specific use.

(I) "Federal act" means the "Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act," 52 Stat. 1040 (1938), 21 U.S.C. 301, as amended.

(J) "Official sample" means a sample of commercial feed taken by the director of agriculture or the director's agent in accordance with section 923.47 of the Revised Code and rules adopted under that section.

(K) "Ton" means a net weight of two thousand pounds avoirdupois.

(L) "Per cent" or "percentage" means the percentage by weight.

(M) "Manufacture" means to grind, mix, blend, or further process a commercial feed for distribution. "Manufacturer" means any person who manufactures.

(N) "Person" includes an individual, partnership, association, firm, or corporation.

(O) "Distribute" means to offer for sale, sell, exchange, or barter commercial feed or to supply, furnish, or otherwise provide commercial feed for animals.

(P) "Distributor" means any person who distributes.

(Q) "Label" means a display of written, printed, or graphic matter on or affixed to the container in which a commercial feed is distributed or on the invoice, delivery slip, or other shipping document with which a commercial feed is distributed.

(R) "Labeling" means all labels or any other written, printed, or graphic matter that accompanies commercial feed.

(S) "Exempt buyer" means a person to whom commercial feed is distributed who is required by rule under division (A)(2) of section 923.44 of the Revised Code to pay the semiannual inspection fee required under that section.

(T) "Misbranded" has the same meaning as in section 923.49 of the Revised Code.

(U) "Adulterated" has the same meaning as in section 923.48 of the Revised Code.

(V) "Pet" means any domestic animal normally maintained in or near a household.

(W) "Pet food" means any commercial feed prepared and distributed for consumption by pets.

Last updated February 8, 2023 at 4:01 PM

Section 923.411 | Rules regarding exemption of agricultural commodities and certain chemical compounds.
 

The director of agriculture may adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code to exempt both of the following from sections 923.41 to 923.55 of the Revised Code:

(A) Agricultural commodities, including hay, straw, stover, silage, cobs, husks, and hulls, when those commodities are not mixed with other materials;

(B) Individual chemical compounds or substances when those compounds or substances are not mixed with other materials.

Section 923.42 | Registration.
 

(A) No person who manufactures commercial feed or customer-formula feed, or whose name appears on the label of any commercial feed or customer-formula feed as a distributor shall distribute in this state any type of commercial feed unless he is registered with the director of agriculture on a form provided by the director that identifies the manufacturer's or distributor's name, place of business, and location of each manufacturing facility in this state.

(B) The director shall assign to each manufacturer or distributor registered under division (A) of this section a permanent registration number.

(C) The director may revoke or suspend a registration or refuse to register a person upon a finding that the manufacturer, distributor, or person violated any provision of sections 923.41 to 923.55 of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under those sections.

No registration shall be revoked, suspended, or refused until the manufacturer, distributor, or person has an opportunity to appear at an adjudication hearing conducted in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

Section 923.43 | Label information.
 

(A) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section for a customer-formula feed, a commercial feed distributed in this state shall be labeled with the following information:

(1) Net weight of contents, which may be stated in metric units in addition to avoirdupois weight;

(2) Product name, and brand name if any, under which the feed is distributed;

(3) Name and principal address of the manufacturer or distributor;

(4) Guaranteed analysis of the feed stated in terms that the director of agriculture, by rule, determines are required to advise the user of the composition of the feed or to support claims made in the labeling. In all cases, the substances or elements shall be determinable by laboratory methods published by the association of official analytical chemists.

(5) Common name of each ingredient used in the manufacture of the feed. The director, by rule, may permit the use of a collective term for a group of ingredients all of which perform the same function or eliminate the listing of feed ingredients when it no longer serves a useful purpose.

(6) Directions for the safe and effective use of any feed that contains any drug and for any other feed that the director, by rule, determines to require such directions;

(7) Any precautionary statements that the director, by rule, determines are necessary for the safe and effective use of the feed.

(B) A customer-formula feed distributed in this state shall be labeled with the following information:

(1) Name and principal address of the manufacturer;

(2) Name and address of the purchaser;

(3) Date of delivery;

(4) Product name, and brand name if any, of each commercial feed and all other ingredients used in the mixture;

(5) Net weight of each commercial feed used and of any other feed ingredient used;

(6) Directions for the safe and effective use of any customer-formula feed that contains any drug and for any other customer-formula feed that the director, by rule, determines to require such directions;

(7) If a drug-containing product is used, a statement of the purpose of the drug, the established name of each active drug ingredient, and the amount of each drug used in the final mixture;

(8) Any precautionary statements that the director, by rule, determines are necessary for the safe and effective use of the customer-formula feed.

(C) Upon the request of the director, each manufacturer or distributor shall furnish the director with the label for any commercial feed he distributes in this state.

Section 923.44 | Inspection fees - reports of tonnage.
 

(A)(1) Except as otherwise provided in divisions (A)(2), (3), and (4) of this section, the first distributor of a commercial feed shall pay the director of agriculture a semiannual inspection fee at the rate of twenty-five cents per ton, with a minimum payment of twenty-five dollars, on all commercial feeds distributed by the first distributor in this state.

(2) The semiannual inspection fee required under division (A)(1) of this section shall not be paid by the first distributor of a commercial feed if the distribution is made to an exempt buyer who shall be responsible for the fee. The director shall establish an exempt list consisting of those buyers who are responsible for the fee.

(3) The semiannual inspection fee shall not be paid on a commercial feed if the fee has been paid by a previous distributor.

(4) The semiannual inspection fee shall not be paid on customer-formula feed if the fee has been paid on the commercial feeds that are used as components in that customer-formula feed.

(B) Each distributor or exempt buyer who is required to pay a fee under division (A)(1) or (2) of this section shall file a semiannual statement with the director that includes the number of net tons of commercial feed distributed by the distributor or exempt buyer in this state, within thirty days after the thirtieth day of June and within thirty days after the thirty-first day of December, respectively, of each calendar year.

The inspection fee at the rate stated in division (A)(1) of this section shall accompany the statement. For a tonnage report that is not filed or payment of inspection fees that is not made within fifteen days after the due date, a penalty of ten per cent of the amount due, with a minimum penalty of fifty dollars shall be assessed against the distributor or exempt buyer. The amount of fees due, plus penalty, shall constitute a debt and become the basis of a judgment against the distributor or exempt buyer.

(C) No information furnished under this section shall be disclosed by an employee of the department of agriculture in such a way as to divulge the operation of any person required to make such a report.

(D) All money collected under this section shall be credited to the commercial feed and seed fund created in section 923.46 of the Revised Code.

Section 923.45 | Publication of information.
 

The director of agriculture may publish annually in such form as the director considers proper:

(A) Information concerning the sale of commercial feed, including any production and use data the director considers advisable, provided that the data does not disclose the operation of any manufacturer or distributor;

(B) A comparison of the analyses of official samples of commercial feeds distributed in this state with the guaranteed analyses on the label.

Section 923.46 | Moneys collected credited to commercial feed, fertilizer, and lime inspection and laboratory fund.
 

The commercial feed and seed fund is hereby created in the state treasury. The fund shall consist of money credited to it under this chapter and Chapter 907. of the Revised Code.

The director shall keep accurate records of all receipts into and disbursements from the fund and shall prepare, and provide upon request, an annual report classifying the receipts and disbursements that pertain to commercial feed or seed.

Section 923.47 | Right of entry for inspection.
 

(A) For the purpose of enforcing sections 923.41 to 923.55 of the Revised Code and any rules adopted under those sections, the director of agriculture, or his agent, to the extent he considers necessary, upon presenting credentials and a written inspection notice to the person in charge, may enter, during regular business hours, any factory, warehouse, or establishment where commercial feeds are manufactured, processed, packed, or held for distribution or any vehicle used to transport or hold feeds in order to inspect within a reasonable time and manner the factory, warehouse, establishment, vehicle, and any equipment, finished and unfinished materials, containers, and labeling. The inspection may include verification of only such records and production and control procedures as necessary to determine compliance with the good manufacturing practice rules for drug-containing feeds adopted by rule under section 923.48 of the Revised Code. Official samples may be taken during the inspection. Upon completion of the inspection, the person in charge shall be so notified.

If any official sample of commercial feed is taken during the inspection, at the completion of the inspection and prior to leaving the premises, the director or his agent shall give the person in charge a receipt that describes any sample taken and provide him with a portion of any sample if the person in charge so requests.

At any time that the director is refused admittance to inspect, he may obtain a search warrant describing what is to be inspected from a judge of a court of record in the jurisdiction where the inspection is to take place.

(B) For the purpose of enforcing sections 923.41 to 923.55 of the Revised Code and any rules adopted under those sections, the director of agriculture, or his agent, to the extent he considers necessary, upon the presentation of credentials, shall enter during regular business hours upon any public or private premises, including any vehicle used to transport or hold feeds, to obtain official samples of commercial feed and to examine any records that relate to the distribution of feed sampled.

(C) The director shall maintain a laboratory with equipment and personnel necessary to effectively administer and enforce sections 923.41 to 923.55 of the Revised Code and the rules adopted under those sections. The methods of sampling and analysis shall be those adopted by the association of official agricultural chemists and other generally recognized sources prescribed by the director by rule.

(D) The results of all analyses of official samples of commercial feed shall be forwarded to the distributor and to the purchaser.

(E) Analytical tolerances shall be governed by rules adopted by the director.

Section 923.48 | Adulterated commercial feed and agricultural commodities.
 

(A) A commercial feed, or an agricultural commodity such as whole seed, hay, straw, stover, silage, cobs, husks, or hulls, is adulterated if any of the following occur:

(1) It bears or contains any poisonous or deleterious substance that may render it injurious to animal or human health, except that when the substance is not an added substance, the feed or agricultural commodity is not adulterated if the quantity of the substance in the feed or commodity does not ordinarily render it injurious to animal or human health;

(2) It bears or contains any added poisonous, deleterious, or nonnutritive substance that is unsafe within the meaning of section 406 of the federal act, 21 U.S.C. 346, except such a substance that is either a food additive or a pesticide chemical in or on a raw agricultural commodity;

(3) It is, or it bears or contains any food additive that is unsafe within the meaning of section 409 of the federal act, 21 U.S.C. 348;

(4) It is a raw agricultural commodity and bears or contains a pesticide chemical that is unsafe within the meaning of section 408(a) of the federal act, 21 U.S.C. 346a, except when a pesticide chemical is used in or on a raw agricultural commodity in conformity with an exemption granted or a tolerance prescribed under section 408(a) of the federal act and the commodity is subjected to processing, which includes canning, cooking, freezing, dehydrating, or milling, the pesticide residue remaining is not unsafe if it is removed to the extent possible in good manufacturing practice as defined by the director in rules adopted under division (A)(9) of this section and the concentration of the residue in the processed feed is not greater than the tolerance prescribed for the raw agricultural commodity, unless the feeding of the processed feed will result, or is likely to result, in a pesticide residue in the edible product of the animal that is unsafe within the meaning of section 408(a) of the federal act;

(5) It bears or contains any color additive that is unsafe within the meaning of section 706 of the federal act, 21 U.S.C. 376;

(6) It is, or bears or contains any new animal drug that is unsafe within the meaning of section 512 of the federal act, 21 U.S.C. 360b;

(7) A valuable component is omitted or abstracted from it in whole or in part or a less valuable component is substituted for a valuable component;

(8) Its composition or quality falls below or differs from what it is purported or represented to possess by its labeling;

(9) It contains a drug and the methods used in or the facilities or controls used for its manufacture, processing, or packaging do not conform to current good manufacturing practices as determined by the director in rules adopted under this division to assure that the drug meets the requirements of this chapter for safety and has the identity and strength and meets the quality and purity characteristics that it purports or is represented to possess. The director shall adopt good manufacturing practices rules for drug-containing feeds. In doing so, the director shall adopt the regulations for type A medicated articles and for type B and type C medicated feeds established under the authority of the federal act.

(10) It contains viable weed seeds in amounts exceeding limits for weed seeds established by the director by rule.

(B) Pet food is adulterated if any of the following applies:

(1) Any provision of divisions (A)(1) to (10) of this section apply to it.

(2) It contains any animal remains from an animal that has been euthanized by the use of any drug injected intravenously or any drug injected through another nonvascular route.

(3) It contains any dog or cat remains, regardless of how the dog or cat died or was killed.

Last updated February 8, 2023 at 4:00 PM

Section 923.49 | Misbranded commercial feed.
 

A commercial feed is misbranded if any of the following occur:

(A) The labeling is false or misleading in any particular;

(B) It is distributed under the product or brand name of another commercial feed;

(C) It does not meet the label requirements of section 923.43 of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under that section;

(D) It purports to be or is represented as a commercial feed or it purports to contain or is represented as containing a feed ingredient when it does not conform with the definition of that commercial feed or feed ingredient which the director shall establish by rule;

(E) Any word, statement, or any other information required under section 923.43 of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under that section to appear on the label is not prominently placed on the label with such conspicuousness as compared with other words, statements, designs, or devices and in such terms as to render it likely to be read and understood by the ordinary individual under customary conditions of purchase and use.

Section 923.50 | Administrative rules.
 

(A) The director of agriculture shall adopt, and may amend or rescind, rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code as necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

(B) The director, by reference, may adopt:

(1) The official definitions of feed ingredients and official feed terms adopted and published by the association of American feed control officials;

(2) Rules promulgated pursuant to the federal act.

Section 923.51 | Prohibited acts.
 

No person shall commit any of the following acts or cause to be committed any of the following acts:

(A) Adulterate commercial feed or distribute adulterated commercial feed;

(B) Adulterate pet food or distribute adulterated pet food;

(C) Misbrand commercial feed or distribute misbranded commercial feed;

(D) Adulterate any agricultural commodity such as whole seed, hay, straw, stover, silage, cobs, husks, or hulls and feed it to animals or distribute any such commodity that is adulterated;

(E) Remove or dispose of a commercial feed in violation of a withdrawal from distribution order or a condemnation and confiscation order issued under section 923.52 or 923.53 of the Revised Code or any rules adopted under those sections;

(F) Use for the person's own advantage, or reveal except to the director of agriculture or the director's agent or to the courts when relevant in any judicial proceeding under sections 923.41 to 923.55 of the Revised Code or any rules adopted under those sections, any information acquired under the authority of those sections of the Revised Code or rules adopted under those sections that as a trade secret is entitled to protection;

(G) Fail or refuse to register as required under section 923.42 of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under that section;

(H) Fail to pay inspection fees or file semiannual reports as required under section 923.44 of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under that section.

Last updated February 8, 2023 at 4:00 PM

Section 923.52 | Written withdrawal from distribution order; appeal.
 

The director of agriculture may issue and enforce a written withdrawal from distribution order to the manufacturer or distributor of any lot of commercial feed requiring it to be held at a designated place when the director has reasonable cause to believe that the commercial feed is offered or exposed for distribution or distributed in violation of any of the provisions of sections 923.41 to 923.55 of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under those sections. The commercial feed shall be held until a release in writing is issued by the director. A release shall not be issued until sections 923.41 to 923.55 of the Revised Code and the rules adopted under those sections are complied with and until all costs and expenses incurred in connection with the violation have been paid by the manufacturer or distributor. If compliance is not obtained within thirty days of receipt of the withdrawal from distribution order, the director may begin, and shall begin upon request by the manufacturer or distributor, proceedings for condemnation under section 923.53 of the Revised Code.

The manufacturer or distributor may appeal the withdrawal from distribution order in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code.

Section 923.53 | Seizure of commercial feed lot.
 

Any lot of commercial feed not in compliance with sections 923.41 to 923.55 of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under those sections is subject to seizure on complaint of the director of agriculture to a court of competent jurisdiction in the county in which the commercial feed is located. The court, upon a finding that the commercial feed is in violation of sections 923.41 to 923.55 of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under those sections, shall order the condemnation of the commercial feed and it shall be disposed of in a manner consistent with the quality of the feed and the laws of this state. The court shall not order the condemnation of the commercial feed without first giving the manufacturer or distributor an opportunity to reprocess or relabel the feed to bring it into compliance with sections 923.41 to 923.55 of the Revised Code and the rules adopted under those sections.

Section 923.54 | Prosecutions - injunctions.
 

(A) The attorney general, prosecuting attorney, or city director of law to whom the director of agriculture reports any violation of sections 923.41 to 923.55 of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under those sections shall cause appropriate proceedings to be instituted in the proper court without delay and to be prosecuted in the manner required by law. Before any violation of sections 923.41 to 923.55 of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under those sections is reported to a prosecuting authority for the institution of a criminal proceeding, the person against whom the proceeding is contemplated shall be given appropriate notice and an opportunity to present his views before the director.

(B) In addition to the remedies provided and irrespective of whether any adequate remedy exists at law, the director of agriculture may apply to the court of common pleas in the county where any of the provisions of sections 923.41 to 923.55 of the Revised Code or any of the rules adopted under those sections are being violated for a temporary or permanent injunction restraining any person from the violation.

(C) Nothing in sections 923.41 to 923.55 of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under those sections shall be construed to require the director of agriculture to report for prosecution, or issue a withdrawal from distribution order, or institute seizure proceedings for minor violations of sections 923.41 to 923.55 of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under those sections whenever the director believes the public interest will best be served by a suitable written notice or warning.

Section 923.55 | Agreements to cooperate with other states.
 

The director of agriculture may cooperate with and enter into agreements with private associations and with governmental agencies of this state, other states, and the United States for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of sections 923.41 to 923.55 of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under those sections.

Section 923.99 | Penalty.
 

Whoever violates sections 923.41 to 923.55 of the Revised Code or any rule adopted under those sections, is guilty of a misdemeanor of the fourth degree on a first offense; on each subsequent offense the person is guilty of a misdemeanor of the third degree.