March 26, 2024
AAFCO to Host Pet Food Seminar
Covering the newly updated model regulations for pet food, ingredient definition process and expert panel discussion during Petfood Forum 2024. The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) is hosting a workshop about its newly revised Model Regulations for Pet Food and Specialty Pet Food and the ingredient definition process. The workshop, Pet Food Seminar,
March 4, 2024
AAFCO Shares Concerns Regarding H.R.7380, the Pet Food Uniform Regulatory Reform Act of 2024
Association voices concerns for label transparency and consumer protection. The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), an independent organization that guides state, federal and international feed regulators with ingredient definitions, label standards and laboratory standards, shares its concerns for the current version of the proposed federal legislation that would reduce state oversight and authorityFebruary 8, 2024
AAFCO Receives Unanimous Support from State Agriculture Leaders
NASDA encourages state feed regulatory programs to adopt recommended changes to pet food labels. Heads of departments of agriculture unanimously voted to support the Association of American Feed Control Officials’ (AAFCO) revised Model Regulations for Pet Food and Specialty Pet Food. The vote took place on Wednesday, February 7, 2024, at the National Association of StateFebruary 8, 2024
AAFCO Seeks Public Comments
Organization accepting feedback regarding potential voluntary “Controlled Copper” claim for dog food. The Association of American Feed Control Officials’ (AAFCO) Pet Food Committee (PFC) Copper Claim Workgroup is seeking public comments about establishing a “Controlled Copper” claim for dog food. Comments will be accepted through March 1, 2024. The proposed “Controlled Copper” claim would indicateJuly 31, 2023
AAFCO Membership Approves New Model Pet Food and Specialty Pet Food Regulations
Changes to pet food and specialty pet food packaging will provide consistency and transparency. Pet owners will soon find updated packaging and labels when shopping for pet food and specialty pet food products, including treats and supplements — the first major update in more than 40 years. The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO)July 30, 2023
Q&A with Mark LeBlanc
Why did you first get involved with AAFCO? In 2008, I took over the feed program in Louisiana and had little to no knowledge about the feed regulatory world and had no one to mentor me. Once I became aware of AAFCO, I started attending meetings and was quickly taken under the wings of severalJuly 19, 2023
Q&A With Erin Bubb
Q&A with Erin Bubb Erin is the Plant Industry Division Chief for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and former AAFCO president (2021). Why did you first get involved with AAFCO? My first meeting with the AAFCO “family” was the Feed Administrators Seminar in 2009. I loved what I saw, and I knew I was all-in.May 31, 2023
AAFCO Perspective on a Proposed New Federalized Regulatory System for Pet Food
AAFCO Executive Director Austin Therrell provides a statement Over the past few months the Pet Food Institute (PFI) has proposed a new system to federally regulate pet food. The organization’s concern around the current regulatory process overseen by state governments was first voiced during the Petfood Forum 2023 convention in Kansas City, Mo., and has beenMay 2, 2023
AAFCO Announces Common Food Index
Organization seeks feedback from industry professionals on initial list of 72 food items. In an effort to open up dialogue and facilitate best practices, The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) is instituting a new Common Food Index (CFI) and implementing a process by which items may be added for consideration by stakeholders and theMarch 9, 2023
Expert Panel Upholds AAFCO Guidelines for Copper Concentrations in Foods for Normal Dogs
Panel also stresses need for more stringent regulations concerning food based-causes of disease. The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) recently announced the findings of an expert panel convened in response to a February 2021 article in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) concerning the current AAFCO guidelines for maximum concentrations ofFebruary 9, 2023
Chapter 7 of The Official Publication
In an effort to trim down the size of the Official Publication, the AAFCO Board of Directors is considering the deletion of Chapter 7: AAFCO Meeting Proceedings. This chapter includes all of the committee reports from the previous Annual and Midyear meetings. In the past, these committee reports have been printed in Chapter 7 ofFebruary 1, 2023
AAFCO Deeply Values FDA Partnership, Supporting Virtual Public Meeting
AAFCO Executive Director Austin Therrell provides a statement CHAMPAIGN, Ill., Feb. 1, 2023 – Following the recent Association of American Feed Control Officials’ (AAFCO) Mid-Year Meeting in San Antonio, and noting its timely theme of “Working Better Together,” executive director Austin Therrell shared AAFCO’s support of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine’s (CVM) upcoming VirtualJanuary 12, 2023
New Standards for Human Grade Pet Food
AAFCO has a new standard for human grade pet and specialty pet food products. This new standard, along with AAFCO’s Guidelines for “Human Grade” Claims, outline how all human grade pet food products should be manufactured in accordance with the acceptable regulations for ready-to-eat human food.January 3, 2023
Get to Know AAFCO’s Austin Therrell
Originally published on the AFIA Feed Bites Blog 1. Tell us a little bit about yourself –what drew you to wanting to lead AAFCO? Therrell: I was fortunate to get involved with AAFCO when I was working in the feed regulatory program at the South Carolina Department of Agriculture. AAFCO played a large role inJanuary 1, 2023
Q&A With George R. Ferguson
What a joy it was to serve as AAFCO’s president in 2022. While my time as president has come to a close, I can’t help but reflect on some of the Association’s achievements from the past year. What were the greatest milestones from 2022? From initiating virtual video formats for increased member participation to partnering with NASDADecember 13, 2022
New Comprehensive Animal Feed Ingredient Submission Course
AAFCO recently launched its Comprehensive Animal Feed Ingredient Submission Course – specifically for industry. The course has been designed for domestic and international manufacturers and distributors of ingredients used in premixes, livestock feeds and pet foods in the United States to learn more about the various ingredient approval processes. Participants are strongly encouraged to completeNovember 13, 2022
FSMA
For all the latest related to FSMA, refer to FDA’s FSMA page. Information can be found here related to webinars, fact sheets, etc. To send FDA an electronic inquiry related to FSMA see FDA’s electronic inquiry page located here. Follow the FDA information pages often as information and updates are being released on a regular basis.November 13, 2022
The AAFCO Pet and Specialty Pet Labeling Guide
The AAFCO Pet and Specialty Pet Labeling Guide is available for purchase! This guide was originally developed to help control officials, industry, and other interested parties to better understand and interpret the AAFCO Model Regulations for Pet Food and Specialty Pet Food. This version contains valuable explanations of common labeling issues as well as labelNovember 13, 2022
AAFCO Ingredient Definition Process
The AAFCO definition request process starts with sharing a draft definition for your material with the AAFCO investigator listed on our regulatory page. This draft definition should be written in the same manner as other definitions in the AAFCO Official Publication. (available for 2 week trial purchase on our website for $20). The remainder of theAugust 24, 2022