{"topic_id":"AAFCO_2018_midyear_pfc_decisions","category":"aafco-historical","context":"---\ntopic_id: AAFCO_2018_midyear_pfc_decisions\ncategory: aafco-historical\ntitle: \"AAFCO 2018 Midyear (Garden Grove, CA, Jan 23 2018) — PFC keeps vitamin A max at 62,500 IU/1000 kcal, adds calorie-content to PF2, advances PFLM four subgroups\"\nlang: en\nsource: \"AAFCO Pet Food Committee Minutes, Midyear Meeting (Garden Grove, CA, January 23, 2018), retrieved 2026-08-05 via direct aafco.org download + pdftotext\"\nsource_file: pdf-raw/aafco_j/2018_midyear_petfood.txt\nsource_type: official_pdf\ndate_parsed: 2026-08-05\ntokens_estimated: 620\nverified: true\nverification:\n  method: substring_match\n  claims: 6\n  passed: 6\n  date: 2026-08-05\nsource_document: \"AAFCO Model Pet Food Regulations (historical ed.)\"\ncitation:\n  authority: \"AAFCO Pet Food Committee (aafco.org wp-content PDF)\"\n  title: \"Pet Food Committee Minutes — AAFCO Midyear Meeting (Garden Grove, CA, January 23, 2018)\"\n  url: \"https://www.aafco.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Pet_Food_Report_2018_Midyear.pdf\"\n  retrieved: \"2026-08-05\"\n  ref: \"\"\n  doc_type: \"official PDF (first-hand; AAFCO standard-body text)\"\n  needs_review: false\nauthority_tier: T1\nauthority_tier_basis: \"T1:std-body\"\nauthority_tier_date: 2026-08-05\n---\n\n# AAFCO 2018 Midyear (Garden Grove, CA, Jan 23 2018) — vitamin A max held, calorie content added to PF2, PFLM advances\n\nSource: AAFCO Pet Food Committee Minutes, Midyear Meeting (Garden Grove, CA, January 23, 2018), retrieved 2026-08-05 via direct `aafco.org` download and `pdftotext`. This is a **first-hand AAFCO standard-body text**; the claims below are verbatim substrings of `source_file` (C1).\n\n## Editorial context (read this before using the data point)\n\nThis topic is the **2018 data point** in the AAFCO × FEDIAF 12-year nutrient-standard evolution line (2013–2025). It records three decisions that year: (1) AAFCO **kept** the vitamin A maximum for growing/reproducing dogs at 62,500 IU/1000 kcal (rejecting a GAPFA request to raise it to 100,000); (2) calorie-content was added to the required label elements in regulation PF2(a); and (3) the Pet Food Label Modernization (PFLM) project crystallised into four working subgroups producing mock labels. Read it together with `AAFCO_2019_pfc_midyear_decisions`, `AAFCO_2022_pflm_first_draft`, `AAFCO_2023_pflm_final`, and `AAFCO_2024_official_publication_summary` for the PFLM through-line, and with the FEDIAF guideline editions (2018–2025) on record for the parallel European line.\n\n## Verbatim C1 claims (each a byte-substring of the source file)\n\n1. `Pet Food Committee Minutes AAFCO Midyear Meeting January 23rd, 3:00 pm-5:00 pm PST; Garden Grove, CA`\n2. `AAFCO should not change the vitamin A maximum in growing and reproducing dogs from 62,500 IU/1000 kcal to 100,000 IU/1000 kcal.`\n3. `the current AAFCO maximum is already greater than that of the 2006 NRC publication (62,500 IU/1000 kcal ME versus 12,500 IU/1000 kcal ME, respectively).`\n4. `(8) A statement of calorie content if required under PF9`\n5. `The four subgroups are Nutrition Facts Box (Jason Schmidt, Chair), Ingredient List (Richard Ten Eyck, Chair), Nutritional Adequacy Statement (Jo Lynn Otero, Chair) and Safety Statement (Lizette Beckman, Chair).`\n6. `identify options whereby FDA and USDA may partner together for the purpose of validating human grade pet food claims`\n\n## What happened in 2018\n\n- **Vitamin A maximum held (62,500 IU/1000 kcal).** The AAFCO–GAPFA Maximum Vitamin A Workgroup reviewed GAPFA's request to raise the safe upper limit of dietary vitamin A in growing and reproducing dogs from 62,500 to 100,000 IU/1000 kcal. The PFC accepted the workgroup's recommendation **not to change** the maximum. The workgroup noted the current AAFCO maximum (62,500 IU/1000 kcal) is already higher than the 2006 NRC figure (12,500 IU/1000 kcal) and equals the 1992 AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles value.\n- **Calorie content added to PF2(a).** The PFC moved to add a new line (8) \"A statement of calorie content if required under PF9\" to the list of required pet-food label elements in regulation PF2(a), sending the revision to the Model Bill and Regulations Committee. (PF9 already required a calorie-content statement on all dog/cat foods, treats, snacks and supplements.)\n- **PFLM four subgroups + mock labels.** Pet Food Label Modernization was the PFC's major focus. Four subgroups — Nutrition Facts Box (Jason Schmidt, Chair), Ingredient List (Richard Ten Eyck, Chair), Nutritional Adequacy Statement (Jo Lynn Otero, Chair) and Safety Statement (Lizette Beckman, Chair) — had developed sample mock labels, with consumer-survey testing planned next.\n- **Human Grade Pet Food Validation Workgroup.** A new workgroup (chaired by George Ferguson) was formed to identify options for FDA and USDA to partner on validating \"human grade\" pet-food claims spanning both agencies' jurisdiction, prompted by industry/consumer confusion over who regulates such products.\n- **Other.** A PF3(e) workgroup was established to review whether PF3(e) remains relevant; the VOHC proposal to use its seal for dental-claim validation was **not pursued** at that time. Note: FDA members could not attend due to the U.S. government shutdown.\n\n## Scope note\n\nThese are the AAFCO 2018 midyear PFC decisions on nutrient standards and label modernization. The AAFCO Dog & Cat Food Nutrient Profiles themselves were last revised in 2014 (see `AAFCO_2014_baseline_dog` / `AAFCO_2014_cat_*`), so 2018's change to the vitamin A *maximum* was a regulatory decision, not a profile revision.\n","sources":["aafco-historical — Pet Food Committee Minutes — AAFCO Midyear Meeting (Garden Grove, CA, January 23, 2018) (retrieved 2026-08-05)"],"source":{"authority":"aafco-historical","title":"Pet Food Committee Minutes — AAFCO Midyear Meeting (Garden Grove, CA, January 23, 2018)","url":"https://www.aafco.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Pet_Food_Report_2018_Midyear.pdf","retrieved":"2026-08-05","ref":"","doc_type":"official PDF","source_document":"AAFCO Model Pet Food Regulations (historical ed.)","verification_file":"pdf-raw/aafco_j/2018_midyear_petfood.txt"},"source_document":"AAFCO Model Pet Food Regulations (historical ed.)","source_file":"pdf-raw/aafco_j/2018_midyear_petfood.txt","trust":{"authority_tier":"T1","fidelity":"verbatim","license":null,"display_grade":"A"},"tokens_estimated":620,"generated_at":null,"tip":"Use /api/v1/topics to discover more topics. /api/v1/nutrient for precise single-point queries. /api/v1/cross_compare for 2-3 standard comparisons."}