The Innovative Feed Enhancement and Economic Development (Innovative FEED) Act has been introduced in the U.S. House on March 18. The bill would modify the existing 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 feed ingredients through the cumbersome animal drug review process. The Innovative FEED Act aims to cut the bureaucratic red tape by amending the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to more appropriately regulate these ingredients through the existing Food Additive Petition (FAP) process, an internationally recognized pinnacle of safety review. This 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 performance, reduced food safety pathogens, improved pet wellness and reduced environmental impact. The FDA already has the authority to review new animal feed ingredients, but this legislation is necessary to codify in statute the FAP as the regulatory pathway through which these ingredients are reviewed.
Upon introduction of the bill, the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) president and CEO Constance Cullman said that “the American Feed Industry Association thanks Reps. Nick Langworthy, Kim Schrier, Jim Baird, Chellie Pingree, Erin Houchin, Jim Costa and several other bipartisan original sponsors for introducing the Innovative FEED Act. This bill is necessary to fix a broken regulatory system that has forced animal feed innovators to pursue foreign markets and not America first. By more appropriately regulating 21st-century feed and pet food ingredients, this bill will help usher in the animal nutrition innovations U.S. 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 U.S. at the forefront of animal nutrition advancements.”
The Innovative FEED Act is supported by many organizations across the feed and agriculture industry, including 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.
