ARLINGTON, VA. — On July 30, the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) shared an update impacting the ingredient review process for new pet food and animal feed ingredients.
A fiscal 2022 appropriations bill passed by the House of Representatives addressed the need for the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to update its Policy and Procedures Manual Guide 1240.3605, which would “allow feed ingredients making claims for animal production, animal well-being, food safety and the environment to be regulated as a feed and not a drug,” the organization stated.
The bill also included a $5 million expansion to FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) budget for expanding and accelerating feed and pet food ingredient reviews. This specific amendment was proposed by Rep. Jim Baird of Indiana’s fourth district.
“The inclusion of this report language and additional funding for feed ingredient reviews in the spending bill is a huge win for the feed industry,” said Constance Cullman, president and chief executive officer of AFIA. “While other countries have moved forward with safe ingredients that will enhance the safety, quality, environmental impact and nutrition of feed and pet food, US animal food ingredient manufacturers have been trapped in the lengthy and costly web of reviews at the FDA. We hope this will bring the US feed industry to the same competitive level.”
“We sincerely thank the committee and Representatives Baird, Craig, MN-02, Rouzer, NC-07, Schrier, WA-08, and Johnson, SD, for cosponsoring the amendment,” Cullman concluded.
The CVM was initially granted $5 million to facilitate new animal food ingredient approvals in December 2019 as part of the fiscal 2020 budget. This funding was used to nearly double the staff for reviewing these ingredient submissions.
Read a more comprehensive update on the state of ingredient approvals in the United States, written by Louise Calderwood, director of regulatory affairs at AFIA.
For more regulatory news affecting the pet food market, visit our Regulatory page.
