For more than 115 years, AAFCO has safeguarded animal and human health. Our members, state agricultural agencies, operate in every state to:
- Regulate pet food and animal feed
- Inspect products to keep the industry compliant and animals safe
- Verify that ingredients, labels, nutritional adequacy and marketing claims are accurate as stated on the packaging
Our mission is now at risk due to language in the House Appropriations Bill and PURR Act of 2025.
Currently under consideration in Congress, the House Appropriations Bill (H.R.4121) and Pet Food Uniform Regulatory Reform Act of 2025 (H.R. 597), or the PURR Act, would establish the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) as the sole regulatory authority over all animal food; eliminating the oversight of labeling and advertising claims from the vast network of state regulators that have been regulating animal food products for over 100 years.
- While we understand the appetite for standardized regulations across the United States, the truth is that regulations are best enforced at the local level with boots on the ground. Today’s state-led regulatory system is more established, accessible and coherent than the bill would suggest.
- It’s not feasible for the FDA to travel and inspect all animal food products across the country. Local regulators have the ability to visit manufacturing facilities, feed stores and pet food retailers on a regular basis to inspect products, review labels and packaging, and ensure that the products sold on shelves are nutritionally adequate and safe for pets.
- The current draft of the PURR Act would allow manufacturers to use the term “Natural” and other marketing claims at will, without any substantiation or fact-checking. How will you know and trust that the food your feeding your animals is what it says it is?
How can you help?
Please join us in reaching out to representatives in Congress to ensure they hear the other side of the story and understand what is at risk if they do not modify the language of the House Appropriations Bill and PURR Act. AAFCO is not opposed to a federal regulatory body overseeing pet food, provided states are allowed to continue supporting and enforcing those regulations nationwide.
Contact the House Appropriations Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee TODAY to voice your concerns about the PURR Act.
If you do reach out to Congress, please let us know at AAFCO@aafco.org.