Sec. 3. Pet food regulation
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Chapter IV of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act ( 21 U.S.C. 341 et seq. ) is amended by adding at the end the following: In this section: The term companion animal means a domesticated canine or feline. The terms generally recognized as safe and GRAS mean generally recognized as safe under section 201(s). The term pet food means any food manufactured and distributed for consumption by companion animals, including treats, nutritional supplements, and pet food ingredients.
The term pet food ingredient means an ingredient intended for use in pet food. The term pet food ingredient submission means a submission to the Food and Drug Administration for a pet food ingredient that is a petition under section 409 for any food additive, a petition under section 721 for a color additive, or a GRAS ingredient notification under subpart E of part 570 of subchapter E of chapter I of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations). No State or a political subdivision of a State may directly or indirectly establish, maintain, implement, or enforce any authority or requirement relating to the labels, labeling, and advertising of pet food.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict State food safety oversight activities, including any such activities relating to implementation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, outbreak investigations, surveillance sampling, or investigations of consumer complaints. Ingredients that are intended for use in pet food, and are not specifically authorized for such use by the Food and Drug Administration as a food additive, a color additive, or otherwise as of the date of enactment of the PURR Act of 2025 , are deemed to be GRAS if— such ingredients are identified in chapter 6 of the 2024 edition of the AAFCO Official Publication (or any subsequent amendments thereto or editions thereof) as acceptable for use in pet food (whether specifically for use in dog or cat food, or for use in animal food without restriction to species); and there is no finding by the Food and Drug Administration that such ingredients are not GRAS.
A pet food manufacturer is not required to notify the Food and Drug Administration of GRAS ingredients used in pet food, but may voluntarily notify the Food and Drug Administration of such GRAS ingredients that have not previously been recognized by the Food and Drug Administration as GRAS for use in pet food. Not later than 90 days after receipt of a pet food ingredient submission, the Secretary shall review such submission and issue an action letter that— approves such submission or, in the case of a GRAS ingredient notification, does not object to use; or sets forth— the specific deficiencies in such submission; and where appropriate, the actions necessary— for such submission to be approved; or in the case of a GRAS ingredient notification, to resolve any concerns of the Secretary.
Pet food shall not be treated as misbranded by reason of stating in the pet food ingredient list on the product label that an ingredient of a type described in paragraph
(2)is sometimes, but not always, present in the pet food. Paragraph
(1)applies with respect to the following types of ingredients: Fat or oil ingredients. Flavor ingredients. Grain ingredients (including grain protein ingredients). For an ingredient in pet food to be labeled as sometimes present for purposes of paragraph (1), such ingredient shall be identified by— words such as or , and/or , or contains one or more of the following: ; or other words indicating that the ingredient may not be present. Pet food shall be treated as misbranded unless the ingredients required to be declared on the labeling of a pet food are listed by common or usual name in descending order of predominance by weight. If an ingredient in pet food is present in amounts of 2 percent or less by weight, then instead of identifying the ingredient in the order required by paragraph (1), the ingredient may be placed at the end of the pet food ingredient list following an appropriate quantifying statement, such as Contains __ percent or less of ______ or Less than __ percent of ______ , with the blank percentage filled in with a threshold level of 2 percent, or, if desired, 1.5 percent, 1.0 percent, or 0.5 percent, as applicable. Pet food shall not be treated as misbranded by reason of the following claims on labels and labeling and in advertising for pet food, without premarket approval of such claims by the Food and Drug Administration, if truthful, nonmisleading, and adequately substantiated: Claims regarding hairball control. Claims regarding tartar control, plaque removal, and bad breath odor. Claims regarding the ability of pet food to support general urinary tract health. Human grade claims for finished pet food (not for individual ingredients) if all of the following circumstances are met: Every ingredient in the pet food and the finished product is— stored, handled, processed, and transported in accordance with— section 117 of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations); and the laws applicable to food for human consumption, including such laws relating to ingredients, process, or facility type; and manufactured in accordance with section 507 of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations). Each facility that manufactures the finished pet food or an ingredient in the finished pet food is registered pursuant to section 415 as a human food facility. The human grade claims clearly indicate that the food is pet food, such as by stating dog food or cat treats . Natural claims if all of the following circumstances are met: Subject to subparagraph (C), the term natural refers to a food or ingredient derived solely from plant, animal, or mined sources— in its unprocessed state; or having been subject to physical processing, heat processing, rendering, purification, extraction, hydrolysis, enzymolysis, or fermentation, but not having been produced by or subject to a chemically synthetic process and not containing any additives or processing aids that are chemically synthetic except in amounts as might occur unavoidably in good manufacturing practices. The term natural is only used to reference the product as a whole when all of the ingredients and components of ingredients meet the description in subparagraph (A). If the food or ingredient contains chemically synthesized vitamins, minerals, or other trace nutrients used as ingredients in pet food, a disclaimer— discloses the addition of such vitamins, minerals, and other trace nutrients by name or category; is juxtaposed with the term natural ; and appears with the largest or most prominent use of the term natural on each panel of the label on which the term appears, in the same style and color print and at least one-half the size of the term natural. A disclaimer under subparagraph
(C)is not required when the term natural is used in reference to one ingredient and is not referring to the whole product. The Secretary shall issue guidance with respect to pet food addressing each of the following topics: Methods for substantiating nutritional adequacy of pet foods. Pet food metabolizable energy protocols. Affidavits for pet food testing protocol completion. Data to support a calorie content claim. Analytical variations (Avs). Recommendations for use of menadione sodium bisulfite complex
(MSBC)in animal feed. Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the PURR Act of 2025 , the Secretary shall issue initial guidance under this subsection. The initial guidance under subparagraph
(A)shall be based on the guidance contained in the 2024 edition of the AAFCO Official Publication . .
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