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)

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AAFCO Past President Spotlight

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.

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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 been

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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 the

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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 of

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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 of

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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 Virtual

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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.

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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 in

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Expert Advice From AAFCO's Past President

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 NASDA

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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 complete

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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.

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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 label

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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 the

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Hemp as a Feed Ingredient; A National Discussion

“Hemp as a Feed Ingredient”: AAFCO and NIHC Co-Hosted a Webinar and National Discussion on Overcoming Challenges and Gaining Approval Multi-industry experts led the conversation and panel CHAMPAIGN, Ill., Aug. 24, 2022 – The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) and National Industrial Hemp Council of America (NIHC) co-hosted a well-timed webinar, “Hemp as

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