American Feed Industry Association Urges Balanced Dialogue On Food, Animal Food Regulation

ARLINGTON, Va. - The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) is deeply concerned with the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission's take on the causes of wide-ranging health concerns in American children, largely blaming modern food and agriculture with little regard for the rigorous regulatory systems in place that have allowed the U.S. to be a world leader in safe, affordable and wholesome food. Given the report calls into question many of the same regulatory systems the animal food industry uses and misrepresents how safe ingredients come to market, AFIA President and CEO Constance Cullman issued the following statement:

"Oversimplifying complex public health challenges without a clear understanding of the myriad complexities facing the production of safe and nutritious foods could undermine decades of scientific progress and innovation. The American food and animal food system is among the safest and most affordable in the world, and part of that success comes from the Food and Drug Administration's regulatory approach for approving science-backed tools and ingredients so farmers and manufacturers can utilize proven practices.

"AFIA's main concern with the MAHA assessment is that the rhetoric will hold weight in upcoming policy discussions, unintentionally bringing consequences to U.S. food and animal food security, food waste and potential environmental impact. We hope that as the Trump administration moves forward in the next few months that it will engage food and agriculture value chain stakeholders."

Like human food manufacturing facilities, all feed and pet food manufacturing facilities must abide by stringent regulations in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) which requires facilities, among other things, to: identify hazards that could result in foodborne pathogens and put risk-based preventive controls in place; comply with Current Good Manufacturing Practice requirements; develop and implement animal food safety plans; work with domestic and foreign suppliers to reduce hazards; and be subject to regular inspections. Through FSMA, the FDA can promulgate rules and requirements when presented with new risks, such as the case earlier this year when the continued outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza prompted new rules for pet food manufacturing facilities using raw poultry or cattle ingredients.

The animal food industry also relies on the FDA to review animal food ingredients for safety and effectiveness so that the industry can innovate to provide optimal animal nutrition solutions for animal health and well-being.

Beyond regulations, many animal food manufacturing facilities go above and beyond, seeking third-party certification of their safety systems in place. One example is the Safe Feed/Safe Food certification program, which uses a third-party to inspect participating facilities against comprehensive standards of excellence that go beyond existing regulations to help maximize feed and food safety.

About AFIA

Founded in 1909, the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA), based in Arlington, Va., is the world's largest organization devoted exclusively to representing the business, legislative and regulatory interests of the U.S. animal food industry and its suppliers. The organization's membership is comprised of over 650 domestic and international companies that represent the total feed industry--manufacturers of commercial and integrated feed and pet food, ingredient suppliers, pharmaceutical companies, industry support and equipment manufacturers. AFIA's members manufacture more than 75% of the feed and 70% of the non-whole grain ingredients used in the country. AFIA is also recognized as the leader on international industry developments, and holds membership in the International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF).


Source: American Feed Industry Association news release