FDA GRAS petfood ingredients

FDA's GRAS framework for pet food ingredients runs through 21 CFR 582 (substances Generally Recognized As Safe for animal feed) and the GRAS notification program: GRAS status may be self-affirmed by a manufacturer on the basis of common use or scientific evidence, or notified to FDA, which publishes the notice in its GRAS Notice Inventory (parsed corpus: 365 notices) with responses such as "FDA has no questions" — e.g., fish oil appears in multiple notices (GRN 105, 138, 193). Part 582 (243 sections) includes entries used in pet food: spices (582.10), essential oils (582.20), hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate (582.2729), BHA (582.3169), BHT (582.3173), potassium sorbate (582.3640), tocopherols (582.3890/582.5890) and propylene glycol for non-cat uses (582.1666/582.4666; cat food use is prohibited by 21 CFR 589.1001). Some pet-relevant substances are food additives rather than GRAS — taurine, for example, is listed at 21 CFR 573.980, so describing it as "GRAS for all species" is incorrect. The self-affirmation pathway is genuinely controversial because FDA pre-market review is not mandatory; note, however, that the 2007 melamine episode was adulteration of imported vegetable proteins, not a GRAS self-affirmation case. Novel ingredients (insect proteins, cell-cultured materials) typically enter via the GRAS notice or feed-additive route with FDA consultation, or via AAFCO's non-proprietary ingredient definition process for state adoption.