Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026

(a) Animal Food Ingredients Deemed GRAS. Ingredients that are intended for use in animal 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 this Act, are deemed to be generally recognized as safe under section 201(s) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321(s)) (referred to in this section as ‘‘GRAS’’) for use in animal food for a certain species if—

(1) such ingredients are included in the Official Common or Usual Names and Definitions of Feed Ingredients section of chapter 6 of the 2025 edition of the ‘AAFCO Official Publication’ (or any subsequent amendments thereto or editions thereof) as accepted for use in such species, or where the species is not identified or restricted; and

(2) there is no finding by the Food and Drug Administration that such ingredients are not GRAS for use in animal food for such species.

(b) Claims That Animal Food or Ingredient is Natural

(1) In general. Animal food whose label or labeling bears a claim that the animal food (or an ingredient thereof) is ‘‘natural’’ or whose advertising makes such claim, shall not be treated as mis- branded under section 403 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 343) if the labels and labeling of such food and such advertising—

(A) are truthful, nonmisleading, and adequately substantiated with scientifically validated protocols endorsed by guidance issued by the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, where available, and the food (or ingredient) is derived solely from plant, animal, or mined sources—

(i) that exist in an unprocessed state; or

(ii) notwithstanding having been subject to physical processing, heat processing, rendering, purification, extraction, hydrolysis, enzymolysis, or fermentation—

(I) have not been produced by, or subject to, a chemically synthetic process; and

(II) do not contain any additive or processing aid that is chemically synthetic, except in amounts as might occur unavoidably using good manufacturing practices;

(B) use the term natural only to reference the animal food as a whole when all of the ingredients and components of ingredients meet the description in subparagraph (A); and

(C) in the case of the label or labeling of an animal food that contains chemically synthesized vitamins, minerals, or other trace nutrients used as ingredients in animal food and such claim is made with respect to the animal food as a whole, such label or labeling includes a disclaimer that—

(i) discloses the addition of such vitamins, minerals, and other trace nutrients by name or category;

(ii) is juxtaposed with the term natural; and

(iii) 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.

(2) Preemption. 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, or advertising of animal food that is different from, or more stringent than paragraph (1).

(c) Rule of Construction. Nothing in this section shall be construed to restrict State post-market food safety oversight activities, including any such activities relating to implementation of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (Public Law 111–353), outbreak investigations, surveillance sampling, or investigations of consumer complaints.

(d) Guidance

(1) In General. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs (referred to in this subsection as the ‘‘Secretary’’), shall issue guidance addressing each of the following topics:

(A) Methods for substantiating nutritional adequacy of pet foods.

(B) Pet food metabolizable energy protocols.

(C) Affidavits for pet food testing protocol completion.

(D) Data to support a calorie content claim for pet foods.

(E) Analytical variations for animal food.

(F) Recommendations for use of menadione sodium bisulfite complex in animal feed.

(2) Initial Guidance

(A) Timing. Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue initial guidance under this subsection.

(B) Basis. The initial guidance under subparagraph (A) shall be based on the guidance contained in the 2025 edition of the ‘‘AAFCO Official Publication’’.

(e) Regulations

(1) In General. The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, shall—

(A) not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, issue proposed regulations to implement the amendments made by this section; and

(B) not later than two years after the date of enactment of this Act, finalize such regulations.

(2) Contents. The initial regulations promulgated to implement the amendments made by this section shall include—

(A) for commercial feed, Regulation 1 through Regulation 10 of the ‘‘Model Regulations Under the Model Bill’’ in chapter 4 of the 2025 edition of the ‘‘AAFCO Official Publication’’; and

(B) for pet food and specialty pet food, PF 1 through PF 12 of the ‘‘Model Regulations for Pet Food and Specialty Pet Food Under the Model Bill’’ in chapter 4 of the 2025 edition of the ‘‘AAFCO Official Publication’’.

(f) Applicability. This section shall apply with respect to fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter.