The National Animal Supplement Council is building a coalition to support the Animal Health Supplement Act, which would establish FDA oversight, set manufacturing standards, and create a national registration system for animal health supplements currently regulated under FDA enforcement discretion.
- NASC is collecting signatures at animalhealthsupplementact.org to support the Animal Health Supplement Act, which would formally regulate animal health supplements
- The AHSA covers ingestible products for dogs, cats, horses, and specialty pets that provide non-nutritional health benefits, excluding pet food, treats, topicals, and food-producing animals
- The legislation would establish FDA oversight, set current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) standards, and require product registration through a national listing system
- NASC plans to introduce the bill in 2026 and pursue passage in 2027, targeting the Senate HELP Committee and House Energy and Commerce Committee
- Supporters are encouraged to sign individually and recruit others, regardless of whether they represent companies or are international participants
The National Animal Supplement Council (NASC) is calling on anyone with a stake in animal health supplements to add their name to a growing coalition backing the Animal Health Supplement Act (AHSA). Supporters can sign the community statement of support at animalhealthsupplementact.org.
NASC President Bill Bookout made the request during a live podcast-style webinar co-hosted with the Venable legislative team, which drew just under 500 registrants from the U.S. and abroad.
“The more support we have, the more important this becomes, the more attention it gets from people in elected office, and so it’s extremely important to sign a letter of support,” Bookout said. “You’re not supporting the bill language. You’re supporting the need for a solution to this issue.”
How to help
Bookout asked each person who signs to recruit three others to do the same, and to ask those three to recruit three more. “I don’t care whether you’re international or domestic,” he said. “Sign it as an individual. You don’t necessarily have to sign as a company.”
Pet and horse owners, retail stores and companies are all encouraged to sign. Visitors to the site can also sign up for email updates on the AHSA and download overviews and briefs that NASC has shared with Congress.
“Everybody has a voice and a role in how long this takes,” Bookout said.
Background on the act
Animal health supplements currently have no legally recognized category. Because the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA) does not apply to animals, the products are considered unapproved new animal drugs and are marketed under FDA enforcement discretion, a status any administration could reverse.
AHSA would establish FDA oversight, set current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) standards and require product registration through a national listing system designed to marginalize bad actors and give retailers confidence in the products they carry.
The bill is narrowly focused, noted Bookout. It covers ingestible products for dogs, cats, horses and specialty pets that provide non-nutritional health benefits, and it limits labeling to structure/function claims. Disease claims would remain prohibited. The act does not apply to pet food, treats, topicals, cosmetics, human dietary supplements or food-producing animals, and it does not change state authority to regulate pet food.
According to Bookout, the legislation would formally recognize the system NASC has developed with FDA over 25 years. “We’ve demonstrated that it works. We’ve demonstrated that the industry can function responsibly, and that’s really the basis of our approach, which is co-regulation, not self-regulation,” he said.
He added that consistent federal rules are essential for the industry: “A national industry, which we are, cannot operate in an inconsistent regulatory environment.”
NASC hopes to introduce the bill in 2026 and push for passage in 2027 once the new Congress convenes. The group is targeting the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Bookout said feedback on Capitol Hill has been favorable and bipartisan. Bill language will be released after review by the NASC board of directors.
NASC plans to host additional informational sessions. Questions can be sent to Bookout at [email protected].
For more information, visit animalhealthsupplementact.org.
