PET Food Processing - October 2019 - 46

ASSOCIATIONS

AMERICAN FEED

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION
Representing animal food manufacturers on trade and regulation issues.
"AFIA's policies
and priorities
are member
driven. Our
committees set
plans of action
for the year and
the AFIA Board
of Directors
approves the
broad legislative
and regulatory
priorities."

FAST FACTS

Leah Wilkinson, vice
president of public policy
and education, AFIA

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) is a
key organization representing pet food and animal feed
producers on legislation, regulation and international
trade. It represents companies at all points of the pet
food industry, including ingredient suppliers, manufacturers, equipment manufacturers and even direct-toconsumer businesses.
AFIA hosts educational programs, training sessions
and pet food-focused events, including the annual Pet
Food Conference at the International Production &
Processing Expo (IPPE). The conference draws several
hundred industry professionals each year. The organization also has a Pet Food Committee comprised of
industry members, which is tasked with identifying
and addressing issues that impact all aspects of pet food
production. Members of the committee receive updates
on relevant issues and provide feedback to AFIA on its
policy positions.
The AFIA Pet Food Committee is approaching food
safety as a non-competitive issue in the industry and has
been urging processors, suppliers and equipment manufacturers to work together on improving the industry
as a whole. They have since begun sharing food safety
plans, establishing best practices and even a certification
program, FSC 32, which is offered by the Safe Quality
Food Institute and is one of the only certifications
benchmarked on a global scale for pet food production.
AFIA represents pet food manufacturers, but also

Founded: 1909
Headquarters: Arlington, Virginia
Events: Pet Food Conference at IPPE;
Equipment Manufacturer's Conference;
Purchasing and Ingredient Suppliers Conference;
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training; Feed Education Program at IPPE
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PET FOOD PROCESSING | 2019 | www.petfoodprocessing.net

offers training programs and professional development opportunities to help educate the industry. For
example, the organization hosts the AFIA Feed Industry
Institute, a biennial training course for new employees in
the animal food industry, as well as a Preventive Controls
Qualified Individual (PCQI) training course with
online resources.
One of the organization's top priorities for 2019 and
2020 is educating pet food processors about Food Safety
Modernization Act (FSMA) inspections and expectations for compliance. Other priorities include trade,
ingredient approvals and mitigating the risks of foreign
animal diseases, such as African Swine Fever, from
being transmitted by feed and ingredients. These priorities are driven by AFIA's members and the breaking issues at hand, which are approved by the organization's
board of directors annually.
A recent example of AFIA's influence in the regulatory space was the inclusion of an animal food section
in the Animal Drug and Animal Generic Drug User Fee
Act (ADUFA and AGDUFA), which made some technical changes to the language used in previous legislation and clarified the submission and review process for
animal food ingredients through the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). ADUFA/AGDUFA was passed
earlier this year.
The organization works with the Association of
American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) and its
committees to advise on pet food ingredient issues and
regulatory policy. Officials from the two organizations
have met annually to discuss these topics for more than
100 years. Additionally, AFIA oversees the Institute
for Feed Education and Research, IFEEDER for short,
which is a research and consumer outreach public charity celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
Overall, the organization has nearly 700 members
with facilities in the US and globally. Approximately
35% of its membership is ingredient suppliers, followed
by animal feed and pet food manufacturers at 32% of
membership, with supporting industry members making up the remaining 33%.

http://www.afia.org http://www.petfoodprocessing.net

PET Food Processing - October 2019

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