Tag: Innovative FEED Act

NMPF Builds Bipartisan Coalition to Lead House Feed Ingredients Bill

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF in March secured bipartisan sponsors for the Innovative FEED Act in the U.S. House of Representatives, advancing efforts to improve FDA’s feed-additive approval processes.

The bill, numbered H.R. 2203, was introduced on March 18 by Representatives Nick Langworthy, R-NY, Kim Schrier, D-WA, Jim Baird, R-IN, Chellie Pingree, D-ME, Erin Houchin, R-IN, and Jim Costa, D-CA.

The newly reintroduced bill would enable the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to review and approve animal feed ingredients using the agency’s Food Additive Petition pathway rather than review them as drugs, which is the current procedure even though the ingredients operate solely within the animal’s digestive tract and are not medical in nature. This improvement would let FDA review animal feed additives more efficiently while preserving animal, human, and environmental safety.

The Innovative FEED Act would better position U.S. dairy farmers to compete globally at a time when buyers are putting a premium on sustainably produced milk and dairy products.

Due to NMPF’s advocacy, the House measure already has 25 bipartisan cosponsors, including 11 from the House Energy & Commerce Committee, which has authority over FDA policy. The bill is likely to be reintroduced in the U.S. Senate in the coming weeks, another key step toward enactment this year.

NMPF Secures Bipartisan Support for House Feed Additive Legislation

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF built on its work to spur approval of enteric methane-reducing animal feed ingredients by securing bipartisan sponsors for the Innovative FEED Act in the House of Representatives. The House bill was introduced Dec. 7 by Representatives Greg Pence, R-IN, Kim Schrier, D-WA, Jim Baird, R-IN, and Angie Craig, D-MN.

Like its Senate counterpart, the House measure would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the ability to review and approve animal feed ingredients using the agency’s Food Additive Petition pathway. This approach would allow FDA to review animal feed additives, which are not drugs, in a more efficient manner that would preserve animal, human, and environmental safety. Doing so would better position U.S. dairy farmers to act quickly and proactively to reduce enteric methane emissions and maintain global competitiveness. Products like Elanco’s Bovaer, or 3-NOP, can reduce enteric methane emissions by as much as 30 percent, making them poised to play a key role in dairy’s voluntary, producer-led sustainability efforts once approved.

The Innovative FEED Act was adopted by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on June 15 by an overwhelming 19-2 vote. The House measure already has meaningful bipartisan support from members of the Energy & Commerce Committee, which oversees FDA-related policy. NMPF looks forward to working with its congressional champions and stakeholder partners to enact this bill into law early in 2024.

NMPF-Led Feed Additive Legislation Advances in Senate

Posted on by Theresa Sweeney

NMPF efforts to spur approval of animal feed ingredients that can reduce enteric methane emissions in dairy cows took an important step forward June 15 when the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee approved the bipartisan Innovative FEED Act (S. 1842) by a 19-2 vote.

The legislation sponsored by Sens. Roger Marshall, R-KS, Tammy Baldwin, D-WI, Jerry Moran, R-KS, and Michael Bennet, D-CO, would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to review animal feed additives, which are not drugs, using the Food Additive Petition (FAP) pathway as opposed to the drug pathway. That would make FDA reviews more efficient and help U.S. dairy farmers act quickly and proactively to reduce enteric methane emissions and maintain global competitiveness without compromising animal, human, or environmental safety.

Feed ingredients like Elanco’s Bovaer, or 3-NOP, can reduce enteric methane emissions by as much as 30 percent and, once approved for use, are poised to play a key role in dairy industry sustainability efforts.

The Innovative FEED Act was adopted as an amendment to the larger Animal Drug and Animal Generic Drug User Fee Amendments of 2023 (S. 1844), which subsequently passed the committee unanimously. NMPF worked closely with Sens. Marshall and Baldwin to develop and advance the language and looks forward to working with the bill sponsors and other stakeholders to move this measure across the finish line in final negotiations with the House.