AFIA - American Feed Industry Association

09/28/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/28/2026 13:30

AFIA Committees Bring Animal Food Industry Priorities to Capitol Hill

AFIA Committees Bring Animal Food Industry Priorities to Capitol Hill

September 28, 2026

Contact Cornelia Poku

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) welcomed 34 members of its Aquaculture, Pet Food, Equine and Global Affairs committees in Washington, D.C., last week for committee meetings and visits to Capitol Hill. Members met with 45 congressional offices to explain how federal policies affect animal food manufacturers, suppliers and their customers.

"Our committee members bring firsthand experience to conversations about how policy decisions affect the animal food industry," said Leah Wilkinson, AFIA's chief policy officer. "By meeting directly with lawmakers, they make the personalized case for policies that support innovation, strengthen supplies of essential ingredients and keep the U.S. animal food industry competitive."

Members urged lawmakers to advance feed innovation, supply chain resilience and U.S. agricultural competitiveness. One priority is the passage of the Innovative Feed Enhancement and Economic Development (Innovative FEED) Act (S. 1906 / H.R. 2203), which is included in the Senate farm bill. This legislation would modernize the Food and Drug Administration's review process for certain novel animal food ingredients by allowing the agency to use the existing Food Additive Petition process for reviewing ingredients that provide non-nutritive benefits such as improved animal health, enhanced food safety or reduced environmental impact.

Members also advocated for passage of language from the Pet Food Uniform Regulatory Reform (PURR) Act of 2025 that is included in H.R. 8646, the Fiscal Year 2027 Agriculture appropriations bill. The PURR Act language aims to modernize and streamline the regulation of animal food by reducing the current patchwork of state-by-state regulatory requirements for product label reviews.

Members also discussed solutions to reduce the United States' reliance on China for critical vitamins and amino acids, an issue highlighted by the November 2025 strategic assessment from the Institute for Feed Education and Research. The report found that critical nutrients that would impact animal food, animal protein and the human food supply are overwhelmingly concentrated in one region.

In addition to the Capitol Hill visits, AFIA members convened in their respective committees for meetings to receive AFIA updates and discuss current and emerging issues affecting their sectors. The AFIA thanks the 34 committee members who took the time to represent the animal food industry and share their perspectives with congressional offices.

Editorial Note: To obtain a high-resolution image to use for editorial purposes, contact Margo Nagle, AFIA's communication specialist.

AFIA - American Feed Industry Association published this content on September 28, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on September 28, 2026 at 19:30 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]