David A. Dzanis, DVM, Ph.D., DACVN.Dr. Dzanis is a board-certified veterinary nutritionist and CEO of Regulatory Discretion Inc. He is also the author of Petfood Industry magazine's monthly column, "Petfood Insights."From the Author - Page 11Pet Food RegulationsGood news for good bugsThe Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) in the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has long objected to use of the terms "probiotics" and "prebiotics" on animal feed and petfood labeling. However, at the 2010 Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) Feed Administrator's Seminar (an annual training program for state regulators), CVM indicated the intent to remove its objection to that verbiage.Pet Food RegulationsTrouble brewing for organic petfoods?The organic petfood market has grown considerably over the past decade. Admittedly, when I first was introduced to the concept, I wasn't convinced that many pet owners would be willing to pay the significantly higher costs associated with organic production compared to its less tangible benefits.Pet Food IngredientsFDA lays out options for new ingredientsAs of the time of this writing, initiation of the US Food and Drug Administration 's (FDA) pilot program to accept generally recognized as safe (GRAS) notifications for animal feed and petfood ingredients is still pending. However, in anticipation of the start of the program later in 2010, several presentations on the subject were given at the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) meeting in January. Most interesting is how GRAS notifications compare and contrast with the other primary means to allow for use of new ingredients.Pet Food RegulationsAAFCO votes on specialty foods, moreThe Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) "mid-year" meeting was held on January 19-21 in Redondo Beach, California, USA (near Los Angeles). The meeting started with a general session, which for many years has been held only during the summer annual meetings.Pet Food RegulationsPetfood news from FDAMany in the industry have been eagerly waiting for news from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on a variety of petfood-related matters. Despite the lack of news on those issues, FDA has announced several items on its website that affect petfood.Pet Food RegulationsColor my worldIn November 2009, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published a proposal regarding the declaration of color additives on animal feed (including petfood) labels. The proposed amendment to Title 21 Code of Federal Regulations Section 501.22 ( Federal Register, Vol. 74, No. 224, pp. 61068-61074 ) would add a subsection (k) to incorporate these labeling changes as mandated by the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 (NLEA).Pet Food RegulationsEthoxyquin reduxI was with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the early 1990s when the debate regarding the preservative ethoxyquin was at its peak, so I became intimately involved with the issue. The controversy never totally went away, but lately there has been a resurgence of discussion and concern among the pet-owning public, particularly pertaining to the presence of undeclared ethoxyquin in petfood formulations.Pet Food RegulationsWhat do AAFCO GMPs mean for petfood?After years of deliberation, the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) passed its Model Good Manufacturing Practice Regulations for Feed and Feed Ingredients at its annual meeting in August. The new regulations will apply to all commercial feeds, including petfoods.Pet Food RegulationsAAFCO marks 100th year, passes new regulationsIn August the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) commemorated its 100th anniversary with its annual meeting, held in Washington, DC, USA, the same location as the first meeting in 1909. The meeting included events to mark the milestone, the introduction of a new AAFCO logo and important votes, such as passage of several new model regulations.Pet Food RegulationsWhat does the Reportable Food Registry mean for petfood?In August, during the 100th anniversary meeting of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), held in Washington, DC, USA, a topic of imminent importance to the petfood industry came up for discussion: implementation of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Reportable Food Registry.Pet Food RegulationsNASC holds annual meetingMany in the petfood industry are aware of the National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) from its participation at the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) meetings over the past number of years. However, some readers may not be wholly familiar with the organization's goals and strategies as they pertain to pet products.Pet Food RegulationsThe GRAS is always greenerRecently the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it will begin accepting generally recognized as safe (GRAS) notifications for ingredients for use in animal feed and petfood. Some people in the petfood industry hailed this as a positive step. Why? What does it mean for petfood?Previous PagePage 11 of 15Next Page