FDA denies petition to require ‘feed grade’ pet food labels

A citizen petition filed in July 2022 by Susan Thixton and the Association for Truth in Pet Food has now been formally denied by the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine, after 1,333 days of review. In a March 16, 2026 response letter, the agency rejected requests to require “feed grade” disclosures on pet food labels and in marketing materials, and declined to limit claims like “Made with Real Chicken” to ingredients meeting federal human-food meat inspection standards. FDA said the petition did not show evidence of consumer confusion, economic adulteration, or nutritional inferiority for pets, and stated it has “no reason to think” poultry ingredients outside Poultry Products Inspection Act standards are nutritionally inferior for pets. (truthaboutpetfood.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this keeps the current regulatory framework in place: most pet food ingredients will continue to be labeled using common or usual animal-food names rather than a separate “feed grade” designation, while “human grade” remains a narrower, affirmative claim governed through AAFCO definitions and handling standards. FDA also continues to rely on enforcement discretion for AAFCO-defined ingredients under Guidance for Industry #293, a policy that underscores how much of pet food oversight still depends on FDA-AAFCO coordination rather than new federal labeling mandates. That means veterinarians should expect ongoing questions from pet parents about what ingredient terms actually mean, especially as marketing language and imagery can still imply a closer relationship to human food than the law requires. (truthaboutpetfood.com)

What to watch: Thixton has said she plans to consider next steps, so the next phase may be further advocacy, legal pressure, or renewed scrutiny of how FDA and state regulators police pet food labeling claims. (truthaboutpetfood.com)