EXACTLY WHAT IS ANIMAL FOOD?

WHAT IS THIS STUFF?

The Model Bills and Regulations Committee meeting at the mid-year AAFCO meeting was filled with the usual boring minutiae. Most of it was so confusing no one had any idea what the discussion really involved. In a nutshell (I think), they were trying to include wording in a Model Bill, which is what states can adopt as their rules for regulating animal feed, that would align more closely with the new Food Safety Modernization Act. Three options were presented and none were chosen, after a long hour of discussion. Back to the drawing board.

The next hour revolved around trying to define the terms "Animal food" and "Feed". Now, you would think that an organization that defines pet food ingredients and determines levels of nutrients in animal diets, would have come up with this definition a hundred years ago. And you would think it would be easy to define. However, that's not the case! And after another hour of discussion, no consensus could be reached, so there are still no definitions for animal food or feed.

There was also a debate between the committee members about the lack of enforcement of current definitions for products used in pet food. Susan Thixton pointed out that meat such as beef, pork, lamb, or goat is currently defined by AAFCO as the clean flesh derived from slaughtered animals. In reality, it is common practice to use meats from decayed, dead, or diseased animals in pet food. No one enforces the definitions currently in place. The fireworks only lasted a few minutes, then they went back to a snooze fest of discussion that led nowhere. Sigh....