April 7th, 2010
As a follow up to last week’s stroll down dog food history lane, here is a quick roundup of who is in charge of what when it comes to dog food in an industry sense. Alas, it’s more complicated than you think.
Pet food regulations vary by state, and there is a mishmash of groups that have a hand or a voice in how everything shapes up, even if (in some cases) they have no official regulatory powers.
Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) is an association for feed officials at local and higher levels, not a “regulatory” body per se. Since AAFCO serves feed officials across all species, it created a permanent Pet Food Committee to deal with our household critter’s food needs. They are the ones with input on consistent pet food labeling and allowing manufacturers to say something is “nutritionally adequate.”
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) handles much of the dog food label issues we’ve already covered.
Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), which is housed within the FDA, regulates the health claims found on pet food labels.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for some odd reason makes sure that pet food are labeled as such and cannot be confused with human food.
Pet Food Institute is an organization of pet food makers that works with AAFCO on many issues. If legislative lobbying needs to be done, it’s likely that PFI is there to do it.
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Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Chris Owens
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Tags: cat food, dog food, pet food industry, pet food regulation
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3 Responses to “Dog Food Who’s Who”
A professional writer based in Colorado, Roxanne Hawn doesn't just love dogs. She deep-down requires them in life. Something inside her genes, perhaps? That's why it's such a joy to write about all things canine. Roxanne began writing about pets in 1995, when she worked for the American Animal Hospital Association and later for the American Humane Association. During this period in her career, Roxanne served on the board of directors for the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy (a coalition of animal welfare groups). Roxanne also volunteered for many years at an animal shelter, where she witnessed firsthand what happens when the human-animal bond breaks or never forms.
Strange there isn’t one federal regulatory agency for pet food. Thanks for the info, Roxanne!
Are any of these organizations actually qualified to do what they claim to do?
Well, David, that’s the million dollar question. I’m positive that many of the individuals who work for these agencies have good intentions and all that, but I also suspect that they see the pet food industry in VERY different terms than consumers do. And, pretty much any time you have a bureaucracy … things can get really convoluted really fast.