{"topic_id":"AAFCO_2021_annual_pflm_public_comment","category":"aafco-historical","context":"---\ntopic_id: AAFCO_2021_annual_pflm_public_comment\ncategory: aafco-historical\ntitle: \"AAFCO 2021 Annual Meeting (Aug 2, 2021) — PFLM draft model regulations opened for 90-day public comment; PFC vote targeted November 2021; Human Grade & Copper WGs\"\nlang: en\nsource: \"Pet_Food_2021_Annual-1.pdf (AAFCO wp-content; Tavily server-side faithful extraction 2026-07-21)\"\nsource_file: pdf-raw/aafco/2021_annual_petfood.txt\ndate_parsed: 2026-07-21\ntokens_estimated: 470\nverification:\n  method: substring_match\n  claims: 13\n  passed: 13\n  date: 2026-07-21\n---\n\nAt the **2021 AAFCO Annual Meeting August 2, 2021** (virtual), the Pet Food Committee (PFC) reported major Pet Food Label Modernization (PFLM) progress. Co-chairs: **Liz Beckman (WA)** and **Stan Cook (MO)** — \"Welcome back Stan Cook as PFC Co-Chair.\"\n\n## PFLM — public comment milestone\n\n- \"PFLM Working groups draft model regulations are available on the AAFCO/PFC website (posted in July) and are available for public comment.\"\n- \"The WG would like to receive comments/questions on a rolling basis over the 90-day comment period.\"\n- \"PFLM WG hope to send recommendations to PFC in November, 2021,\" then MBRC review, then membership vote.\n- PFLM Webinars were opened for comments/questions.\n\n## PFLM Implementation WG (Stan Cook, MO)\n\n- \"PFLM Implementation WG – Stan Cook, MO\" ran **state surveys**: \"State surveys regarding implementation are currently with the states for comments\" to map each state's adoption process.\n- Developing models/best practices for state adoption; some states require an **industry fiscal impact** (shorter \"rush\" timing raises costs). Goal: a posted timeline for state adoption.\n\n## Human Grade Working Group (Caitlin Price, NC)\n\n- \"Human Grade Working Group – Caitlin Price, NC Finalized guidelines in May and sent recommendations to PFC which passed by e-vote in late May.\"\n- \"The guidelines have been posted and are open for comments until 8/27/21.\" Post-meeting, MBRC pulled HG guidelines back to PFC. (HG guidelines + \"Human Grade\" feed term move together; membership vote targeted mid-year 2022.)\n\n## Copper WG (Dr. Bill Burkholder, FDA)\n\n\"Copper WG – Dr. Bill Burkholder, FDA\" led the Copper Content of Dog Foods work group.\n\n- Sparked by a \"February Viewpoint article published in the JAVMA\" on \"increased incidence of copper-associated hepatopathy in dogs\" linked to copper type in premixes.\n- Authors suggested \"reinstating a maximum value and to lower the minimum 0.9 to maximum 1.1 mg/1000 kcal.\" WG awaited long-term feeding trials from industry; at the time the available data did not support such a drastic reduction.\n\nContext: This 2021 public-comment milestone sits between earlier PFLM drafting and the first consolidated draft (2022-09-28, see `AAFCO_2022_pflm_first_draft`).\n\nSource: `pdf-raw/aafco/2021_annual_petfood.txt` — faithful text extraction of AAFCO \"Pet_Food_2021_Annual-1.pdf\" (2021 Annual Meeting PFC minutes), retrieved server-side via Tavily from `https://www.aafco.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Pet_Food_2021_Annual-1.pdf` (first-hand official document).\n","sources":[],"tokens_estimated":470,"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."}