AAFCO and FDA to End 17-Year Ingredient Review MOU on Oct. 1, 2024; AAFCO pledges continued collaboration with FDA and state programs for feed ingredient standardization

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The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) has announced that its Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will not be renewed when it expires on Oct. 1, 2024.

MOU 225-07-7001, which outlines the two organizations’ responsibilities for defining animal feed ingredients, has been in place for 17 years.

“AAFCO believes that its ingredient definition process has been a shining example of successful collaboration and partnership between states and the federal government,” said Austin Therrell, executive director of AAFCO. “Although we are disappointed that the MOU is not being renewed, we are committed to being a conduit between the FDA and state regulatory programs, and to our work to provide standardization to the animal food industry.”

The FDA will continue to accept AAFCO Feed Ingredient Definition requests until the MOU expires. AAFCO investigators require roughly 30 days to prepare ingredient definition requests for the FDA, so AAFCO will stop accepting requests on September 1 in order to submit all definition requests prior to the October 1 expiration.

AAFCO and the FDA are independently working on plans that will provide a seamless transition and continue to support the U.S. animal food industry. The FDA is also evaluating its animal food ingredient review authorities and processes to determine if changes are needed to better serve public health and ensure that new ingredients have a predictable path to market. Further details about the transition will be shared by both organizations in the coming weeks.

“This decision opens the doors for AAFCO to look at new and innovative solutions in the ingredient space, and to seek out additional partners that can provide strong, science-based guidance to our state officials,” added Therrell.