AAFCO approves new ingredient pathway

01.22.2025, the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) membership voted on a new regulatory pathway for animal food ingredients, approving Kansas State University Olathe Innovation Campus’s (K-State Olathe) proposal. Through the pathway, the university will provide scientific review for new ingredient submissions for use in pet food and animal feed. 

The new pathway replaces AAFCO’s Memorandum of Understanding with the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), which expired in October. 

AAFCO’s partnership with K-State Olathe begins a new era of innovation and proficiency for the animal feed industry,” said Austin Therrell, executive director of AAFCO. “This new pathway will offer a regulatory review process that is straightforward and comprehensive to bring ingredients to market safely and more efficiently than our previous process with FDA.”
The new pathway, which was originally proposed by K-State Olathe in October, will be led by Haley Larson, Ph.D., assistant professor of animal health at K-State Olathe. It will also include a scientific review panel of subject-matter experts from various universities throughout the United States, as well as independent consultants to ensure full representation of all animal species. The panel will examine potential ingredient submissions from the animal nutrition industry and provide recommendations to AAFCO membership for final approval. 
Once approved, new ingredients will then be included in AAFCO’s Official Publication, which is currently the most comprehensive list of approved feed ingredients and is recognized by state and international regulatory agencies. 
“We’re honored to partner with AAFCO and apply our scientific and technical expertise to ensuring the safety and quality of animal food ingredients,” said Ben Wolfe, dean and chief executive officer of K-State Olathe. “We look forward to working closely with AAFCO to implement this transformative approach and foster a regulatory environment that benefits producers, consumers and the broader community.”
Additionally, the new pathway is intended to complement the FDA’s current GRAS (generally recognized as safe) process and offer the animal feed and pet food industries another option to bring new products to the market. Since the FDA has developed its own processes, AAFCO and K-State Olathe have developed procedures to ensure ingredients are not submitted through multiple channels. 
“We understand the animal feed industry has much to consider when introducing a new proposed ingredient,” Therrell sa