In in the Philippines, as in other countries, the feed control program has three phases: laws, regulations and administrative procedures. But the three are so closely tied together that they cannot be separated in the discussion of the various measures for safeguarding feed users. 

The major provisions of the feed law are as follows: 
1 .   Registration and guarantees; 
2 .   Labeling; 
3 .   Creation of the Animal Feed Control Division (now called Animal Feeds 
Standard Division by virtue of Executive Order No. II 6 promulgated in 1986) and Animal Feed Control Advisory Committee (Animal Feed Standardization Committee) in the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI); 
4.    Inspection and sampling; 
5 .   Laboratory analysis and publication of results; 
6.    Quality control services; and 
7.    Penalties and other enforcement procedures. 

To upgrade the quality of medicated and commercial feeds, the BAI has been mandated to implement the following laws and regulations: 

1.  R.A. 1556, as amended, otherwise known as the "Livestock and Poultry Feeds Act," and its implementing rules and regulations (Animal Industry Administrative Order Nos. 35, 35-A and 40; and General Memorandum Order No. 1); 
2.  R.A. 3720, as amended by Executive Order No. 175, otherwise known as "Food, Drugs and Devises and Cosmetics Act," and its implementing rules and regulations; and 
3.     R.A. 6675, otherwise known "Generic Acts of 1988". 

The above-mentioned laws and regulations are administered and implemented by the Secretary of Agriculture through the Director of Animal Industry. The BAI, through its Animal Feed Standards Division (AFSD), oversees the manufacture, importation, distribution, advertisement and sale of livestock, poultry, aqua and specialty feeds, veterinary drugs, and chemical feed additives. 

The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health signed a Memorandum of Agreement to delineate the responsibilities regarding registration of veterinary drugs and products. 

R.A. 3720, as amended by Executive Order No. 175, defines veterinary drzigs andproducts as "any substance, including biological products, applied or administered to food-producing, companion, aquatic, laboratory and exotic animals, whether used for therapeutic, prophylactic or diagnostic purposes or for medication of physiologic functions or behaviors." This law is comprehensive and all-embracing than R.A. 1556, as amended, when it comes to coverage, registration and quality control procedures. 

CLINICAL TRIALS OF VETERINARY DRUGS 
It is now mandatory under Animal Industry Administrative Order No. 9, series of 1994, for veterinary drug and product establishments to observe the guidelines governing the conduct of clinical trials of veterinary drugs and products. This regulation concerns the general and scientific principles for the demonstration of efficacy and for the conduct, performance and control of clinical trials of veterinary drugs and products, particularly, in the contest of authorization of new substances. 
  
IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT 
In conducting clinical trials, due regards shall be taken on the effect of the product on the environment, on residues produced in treated animals and the eventual fate of animals used for food production. 

REGISTRATION AND LICENSING 
To closely monitor and observe the activities of concerned parties in the compound feed industry, the above-mentioned laws require all feed/veterinary drug manufacturers and dealers to register with BAI, either annually or semi-annually.  lt is considered illegal when any person, firm, partnership, corporation, cooperative or association engages in the manufacture or sale of animal feeds/veterinary drugs without having first registered a description of the feed/veterinary drug by name, chemical composition and physiologic/therapeutic benefits. 

No change in the brand of a registered feed/veterinary dru- can be made without a written notification to the proper authorities. The Director of Animal Industry is empowered to caiicel the registration of any feed/veterinary drug that does not conform to the provisions of those aforementioned laws (i.e., labeling and quality standards). 

INSPECTION AND SAMPLING 
In the implementation of the feed/veterinary drug laws, the BAI's feed/veterinary drug inspectors may enter the premises of any registered feed/veterinary drug establishment in order to'inspect animal feed/veterinary drug equipment, conveyances, feed/veterinary drug laboratory reports and other relevant documents and to take small amounts for chemical analysis and feed microscopy. Samples are taken by carefully prescribed methods, so that each sample will truly be representative of the entire "lot" of each brand sampled. 

Analytical methods for feed evaluation are also carefully prescribed. R.A. 1556, as di-nended, mandates that the government and private feed laboratories shall adopt the methods of analysis published in the official methods of Analysis of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists (AOAC) in evaluating the quality of animal feeds. This is another provision for uniformity, as well as accuracy. 
  
CODED SAMPLES 
Collected samples from feed manufacturers and suppliers are properly coded before they are sent to the BAI Central Feed Analysis Laboratory in Dilimaii, Quezon City for chemical/ microscopic evaluation. 

Feed samples are analyzed for their nutrient composition (minimum percentage of crude protein and crude fat, ash, mineral and moisture), purity (absence or presence of adulterants and other extraneous materials, which are harmful to livestock or man) and toxicity (by using experii-nental animals). Results of the analysis are returned to the AFSD for proper decoding and interpretation. 

Decoded results are used to monitor the different feed mills or fari-ns. Feeds failing below minimum standards or substantially below guarantees and containing substances injurious to the animals, may be condemned and impounded. 

In cases of willful or repeated violations of the law, the registration certificates of errin(' persons or entities may be temporarily suspended or cancelled, depending oil tile degree of tile violations. Persons responsible for such violations may also be prosecuted. 

Laws regulating the compound feed industry are as vibrant and dynamic as the industry itself. They do change, depending on the needs of the industry; but the change is always for the better. For after all, these laws are specifically designed to safeguard everyone - the producer, trader, end-user and, ultimately, the consuming public.