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

AAFCO 2018 Midyear (Garden Grove, CA, Jan 23 2018) — vitamin A max held, calorie content added to PF2, PFLM advances

Source: 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).

Editorial context (read this before using the data point)

This 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.

Verbatim C1 claims (each a byte-substring of the source file)

1. Pet Food Committee Minutes AAFCO Midyear Meeting January 23rd, 3:00 pm-5:00 pm PST; Garden Grove, CA
2. 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.
3. 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).
4. (8) A statement of calorie content if required under PF9
5. 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).
6. identify options whereby FDA and USDA may partner together for the purpose of validating human grade pet food claims

What happened in 2018

• 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.
• 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.)
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Scope note

These 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.