ATLANTA, GEORGIA, U.S. — The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) hosted a half-day meeting on “Exporting Feed and Feed Ingredients to the U.S.” at the International Production & Processing Expo in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., Jan. 27-29. The conference provided attendees the opportunity to hear from key industry professionals discussing the complex process of exporting feed and feed ingredients to the U.S.

“How animal food is regulated in the U.S. can be complicated to those who are not used to our federal and state based regulations,” said Leah Wilkinson, AFIA director of ingredients, pet food and state affairs. “Knowing the players, different methods of regulation and the ingredient approval processes is key to successfully exporting feed products to the U.S.”

AFIA President and Chief Executive Officer Joel G. Newman began the seminar with a synopsis of the U.S. feed industry and key issues that have recently affected the industry. Newman reiterated the influential role that AFIA plays in providing legislative and regulatory support to its members. Gina Tumbarello, AFIA director of international policy and trade, expanded on Newman’s presentation further discussing feed and feed ingredient imports and the importance of these imports to the U.S. feed industry.

Government agency representatives, Dr. Daniel McChesney of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, and Dr. Sarah Speth of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, presented on exporting animal and plant products and FDA regulated products. AFIA staff led other discussions including what the Food Safety Modernization Act means to exporters and an overview of the U.S. feed regulatory system.