ARLINGTON, VA. — More than 50 American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) board members will speak to the US Congress on May 22 about the association’s policy priorities for 2025-26.

The group’s recently released policies are designed to reaffirm the animal food industry’s commitment to advancing policies that improve the business environment for US animal food manufacturers.

The new agenda focuses on improving the regulatory environment for new ingredients, expanding access to animal food solutions and enhancing market competitiveness while promoting feed and food safety.

“Our board leadership and members have put forward robust policy priorities that are crafted to ensure the animal food industry remains competitive in a dynamic and ever-changing regulatory and global trade landscape,” said Constance Cullman, president and chief executive officer, AFIA. “We are taking a proactive approach to tackling long-standing challenges that impede US animal food manufacturers’ ability to do business and bring innovative animal food solutions to the market, while preparing for emerging issues that could impact the US animal food supply chain in the future.”

The AFIA’s policy priorities will focus on six areas, including:

• Advocating harmonized state feed regulations, science-based rulemaking and the modernization of pet food labeling requirements. The AFIA also prioritizes infrastructure and workforce solutions to strengthen the resilience of the animal food supply chain.
• Supporting the use of updated feed management standards and the promotion of harmonized lifecycle assessment tools across the United States and European Union.
• Calling for modernization of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) ingredient review processes such as the Food Additive Petition and Generally Recognized as Safe notification processes, to accelerate the delivery of animal food solutions into the marketplace.
• Promoting science-based manufacturing facility inspection protocols and supporting the expansion of FDA’s guidance resources. The organization will actively participate in Codex discussions on drug residue thresholds in animal-origin foods.
• Addressing environmental regulatory issues, including the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent unscientific assessment of formaldehyde, and tracking developments around contaminants such as PFAS and microplastics. The AFIA also will monitor various workplace rules and regulations, including the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s standards for heat illness prevention and safety procedures.
• Strengthening global trade relationships, addressing supply chain vulnerabilities, particularly for essential ingredients that are not produced in the United States, like vitamins and amino acids, and removing non-tariff trade barriers. The association will increase its advocacy efforts around farm bill funding and support for the Securing American Agriculture Act (H.R. 1195/ S. 912), as well as communicating with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service how new export protocols are serving the industry.