Burdock Group Speaker to Present the Future of Dietary Supplements in Pet Food

The Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), the controlling branch of FDA for animal feed ingredients, is undergoing a landmark change in administrative procedures that may smooth the way for ingredient approval – for the first time in nearly 50 years.

4 Nov 2009 --- Burdock Group, a leading provider of safety and regulatory services to food, dietary supplement, personal care and animal food manufacturers across the globe, has announced that Dr. George Burdock, will present, “The Future of Dietary Supplements in Pet Food,” at the upcoming SupplySide West tradeshow in Las Vegas. The presentation will be held on Thursday, November 12 at 11:00 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. at the Venetian and Sands Expo Hall, Room Marco Polo 701.

The Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), the controlling branch of FDA for animal feed ingredients, is undergoing a landmark change in administrative procedures that may smooth the way for ingredient approval – for the first time in nearly 50 years; CVM will be accepting GRAS determinations. Dr. Burdock, an acknowledged expert in regulations surrounding GRAS and key advisor to the industry, will describe the latest in a series of iterative changes through which CVM is headed. Also, at the present time, AAFCO has exclusive control over pet food, with essentially no CVM involvement.  The CVM GRAS notification process will change this dynamic.

Dr. Burdock will discuss the prospects of GRAS determinations for ingredients (including supplements) and the types of claims that will be allowed and the specific language that must be used.  Critical to a “no objection” by CVM is the type of safety data provided, the degree to which it addresses target species and how generally available non-target species (e.g. rat and mouse) may be applied. Previously, the only means by which AAFCO and state regulators might be circumvented was via a food/feed additive petition, a historically time-consuming and expensive process.  Dr. Burdock will also discuss how CVM GRAS notification responses may affect AAFCO and state regulatory determinations.

These and other issues that confront the agency and manufacturers for this new approval process, as well as the proposed mechanism for GRAS and GRAS Notification at CVM will be described during this session. “Manufactures should certainly anticipate this changing market opportunity,” said George A. Burdock, Ph.D., Burdock Group founder. “Those in R&D, marketing and product management will benefit from becoming familiar with the shifting regulatory process in time to take primary advantage.”