Starting late this summer, the FDA's  Center for Veterinary Medicine  is planning to allow animal ingredient suppliers to tap the  Generally Recognized As Safe notification process, according to the April edition of the FDA's Food Chemical News .

Commonly used food ingredients already qualify for the GRAS exemption managed by the  Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition , but the feed industry wants to create a voluntary program to extend the GRAS process to animal feed ingredients.

The feed industry will get its wish, confirmed Sharon Benz, the CVM director of the animal feeds division, in an April 2 interview with Food Chemical News . The CVM is drafting a Federal Register notice that soon will announce the pilot's launch, according to the article.

"This process will provide us with more information on the types of ingredients out there," Benz said in the article. "We think there will be a lot of interest from petfoods."