WASHINGTON, DC, US — The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) on March 18 applauded the introduction of the Innovative FEED Act in the US House of Representatives.

The AFIA said the bill would modify the “existing, inappropriate regulatory process that has prevented animal food innovators from delivering new animal food solutions to the American marketplace that would improve animal health and production, food safety and on-farm conservation.”

Currently, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates certain new animal food ingredients through what the AFIA describes as a “cumbersome animal drug review process.”

“This bill is necessary to fix a broken regulatory system that has forced animal food innovators to pursue foreign markets and not America first,” said Constance Cullman, president and chief executive officer of the AFIA. “By more appropriately regulating 21st century feed and pet food ingredients, this bill will help usher in the animal nutrition innovations US farmers and ranchers need to enhance animal health and production and support on-farm conservation, while providing pet owners with more nutrition options to support their aging pets.

“We urge the Senate to introduce a companion bill so that we can cut the unnecessary bureaucratic red-tape and provide the FDA the appropriate authority it needs to keep the US at the forefront of animal nutrition advancements.”

She also noted that the change would allow animal food innovators to more transparently label and market their products based on their intended benefits, such as better livestock production and improve animal health and production, and performance, reduced food safety pathogens, improved pet wellness and reduced environmental impact.

The Innovative FEED Act is also supported by the National Milk Producers Federation, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Grain and Feed Association, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, National Animal Supplement Council, North American Renderers Association, Meat Institute, U.S. Poultry & Egg Association, Agricultural Retailers Association, and the American Pet Products Association.