Written by: Guest | June 15, 2022
By: Gracie Wagner, AFIA communications intern
The American Feed Industry Association’s committees shared their accomplishments from the 2021-22 AFIA fiscal year and outlined their goals for the coming year. Our committee members are critical to our success and we would like to share a few of the highlights and happenings:
The committee planned and executed another successful Equipment Manufacturers Conference, “Exceeding the Standard: Food Safety and Biosecurity,” in New Orleans, La., in November 2021. They had 50 registered participants and raised $26,368 for the EMC scholarship fund, which builds the next generation of industry leaders! This year, the committee will continue to develop, research and execute new ways to build the EMC scholarship fund outside of the annual conference proceeds, along with hosting another Equipment Manufacturers Conference in November 2022.
Over the past year, the AFIA IADC worked within the 2022 congressional appropriations process to provide an additional $1 million for resources for animal food ingredient review teams at the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM). The IADC also made significant progress on finalizing the “Guide to Ingredient Approval Processes in the U.S.” with plans to finalize and release it over the next year.
Launched the Safe Feed/Safe Food website, which includes information on each of the four certifications, how to join and renew, how to check registration status and testimonials from program participants.
The Purchasing and Ingredient Suppliers Committee planned and implemented two successful Purchasing and Ingredient Suppliers Conferences (PISC), one in August 2021 in Orlando, Fla., and the other in March 2022 San Francisco, Calif. Both conferences brought nearly 600 attendees, who were eager to get back to in-person conferences following COVID-19 interruptions. The committee is busy planning for the PISC, which will be held in Orlando in March 2023.
In January 2022, the AFIA Pet Food Committee held a successful Pet Food Conference in conjunction with the International Production & Processing Expo, with over 260 registrants. It was a very successful event and will be held again in January 2023! Committee members have been very active on several Association of American Feed Control Officials working groups addressing the definition of human grade pet food, modernization of pet food labels and review of copper use in canine diets.
The committee planned and hosted another successful Feed Production Program at the 2022 International Production and Processing Expo and plan on doing the same in 2023. Additionally, they helped facilitate some successful changes to the Feed Facility of the Year program and will be continuing to help promote and help make decisions on the future of the program.
The AFIA Sustainability Committee was officially stood up as a committee this past year. They monitored the progress of the Global Feed LCA Institute (GFLI) project and plan to promote the use of GFLI data in species-specific, life-cycle analyses and provide any needed support for phase two this coming year.
AFIA Editor
August 26, 2024
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