Starting tomorrow you can watch live as government regulators hash out the model laws in a first-ever virtual conference. Listen – live – what ingredients are being considered for use in animal feed and pet food, and the new model laws on how some pet foods – including human-grade – will be allowed to be marketed.

Twice a year state and federal regulators meet at the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) conferences and volunteer their time to work on pet food and animal feed issues. Issues that are complex as they are tedious that usually take months – even years – to complete.

It’s an exciting opportunity for you to view live how these state and government animal feed and pet food officials, in action, talk about what they’ve been working on and what progress they’ve made.

The 2020 AAFCO virtual annual meeting will take place August 5 to 7, 2020, and will cover such topics as:

• There will be an update on the effect of COVID-19 from Timothy Schell, director of the Office of Surveillance and Compliance with the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine on August 7, 2020, at 4:15 pm–5:00 pm EST;
• An Introduction to One Health and Its Role in the COVID-19 Pandemic will be made by Dr. Bernadette Dunham,

  the director of the FDA One Health Initiative will be made on August 5, 2020, at 12:30 pm–1:15 pm EST.

• The Pet Food Committee will be held on August 5, 2020, at 2:15 pm–3:00 pm EST.
• The Ingredient Definitions Committee will meet at 1:15 pm–3:00 pm EST and on August 7, 2020, at 1:15 pm–3:00 pm EST.

Committee discussions will be available in listen-only mode through complimentary access through AAFCO. No registration is needed for the listen-only mode. And, best of all, it’s free. Once on the website, click on the “Listen Now” button.

If you want to upgrade from the listen-only mode you can register for full access on AAFCO’s website. If you opt for full-registration you will be able to interact directly and ask questions. Slido will be used by registrants to ask questions or submit comments during the committee meetings. And a complimentary 2-week subscription to the AAFCO Online Official Publication is included for you if you do not have a current AAFCO’s Official Publication online subscription. To upgrade from a listen-only participant to a full registration participant, send an email to aafco@aafco.org for assistance.

Committee agendas are publicly available on the AAFCO website and along with the 2020 Annual Meeting Agenda Book with also be available for download. The committee meetings you will probably be most interested in will be the Pet Food Committee and the Ingredient Definitions Committee.

All the details about the meeting, including the registration, the meeting material, the committee agendas can be found on AAFCO’s 2020 Annual Meeting page.

If you have any questions you want to address at the meeting let me know by writing to me at molliemorrissette@poisonedpets.com

Looking forward to seeing you there – virtually!