The American Feed Industry (AFIA) commends Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., Jerry Moran, R-Kan., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Angus King, I-Maine, and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, for introducing the Innovative Feed Enhancement and Economic Development (Innovative FEED) Act in the Senate. This bipartisan bill, a companion to H.R. 2203 introduced in the U.S. House on March 18, would create a proper regulatory review process at the Food and Drug Administration for new animal food solutions that would improve animal health and production, food safety and on-farm conservation. Passage of this legislation will help bring these new innovations to the American marketplace in a timely way and help the animal food industry remain competitive with other countries that have already updated their regulatory review systems.
Upon introduction of the bill, AFIA President and CEO Constance Cullman said:
“The animal food industry envisions a healthier world for both people and animals through advanced animal food solutions, but the FDA’s outdated review system has not kept up with the pace of innovation. Thanks to Sen. Marshall’s continued leadership, Congress now has the ability to pursue a legislative fix that would give the FDA the tools it needs to more appropriately review new animal food ingredients with non-nutritive benefits.
“Last Congress, the Innovative FEED Act enjoyed broad, bipartisan support and the support of over 190 food, agriculture and environmental state and national associations and organizations, yet lacked a legislative pathway for passage. We cannot let politics stand in the way of commonsense legislation that will reform a broken regulatory process that no longer works well to serve modern needs and restricts U.S. animal food innovators’ ability to compete globally. We urge Congress to support both H.R. 2203 and Senate bill to keep America competitive in animal nutrition innovation.”
The Innovative FEED Act is supported by many organizations across the food and agriculture value chain, 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 American Pet Products Association. Learn more about the bill in AFIA’s issue brief.
