ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, US — The US House of Representatives on July 20 passed a “minibus” funding package that includes an amendment to dedicate $8 million to the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine to help with expediting reviews for new feed ingredients.

On average, studies have shown that it takes companies three to five years to get new ingredients through the FDA’s rigorous review process, which prevents innovation from making it to farmers and ranchers in a timely way.

Constance Cullman, president and chief executive officer of the American Feed Industry Association, praised the passage of the amendment, which was part of the fiscal 2023 package of six appropriations bills. The amendment was sponsored by Indiana Republican Representative Jim Baird and several other members of the House.

“Rep. Baird said it best when he shared that it is important for the United States to have a regulatory framework that offers a timely and predictable path to the marketplace for feed ingredients and that can keep pace with the evolving science of animal nutrition,” Cullman said. “The additional FDA funding for feed ingredient reviews in the House-passed spending bill is a huge win for the US feed industry, putting us more on-par with other countries that continue to move forward with safe ingredients to enhance the safety, quality, environmental impact and nutrition of feed and pet food.

“We urge Senate appropriators to recognize the need to keep America’s agriculture competitive and include this dedicated funding in their final appropriations legislation.”