AAFCO

I see AAFCO referenced in the OMRI Generic Materials List© (GML), but how exactly does OMRI use the AAFCO publication in product reviews?

Doug Currier

The Association of American Feed Control Official’s (AAFCO) annual publication is referenced throughout OMRI’s Generic Materials List (GML) and is a cornerstone resource when reviewing livestock feed additives and supplements for use in organic production. From the definitions it provides to the list of approved livestock feed additives, the AAFCO publication is an important resource for use alongside the USDA organic regulations. In fact, the publication is referenced by the National Organic Program in Guidance Documents concerning the use of kelp in organic livestock feed (NOP 5027) and evaluating allowed ingredients and sources of vitamins and minerals in organic livestock feed (NOP 5030).

The connection between AAFCO and livestock input review can be traced to the USDA’s organic standards. In the standards at §205.603(d)(2) and (3), synthetic feed inputs are listed as allowed as “trace minerals, used for enrichment or fortification when FDA approved” and as “vitamins, used for enrichment or fortification when FDA approved.” Since a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) exists between the FDA and AAFCO, any synthetic vitamin or mineral feed input that appears in the AAFCO publication or the FDA regulations would meet the annotations at §205.603(d)(2) and (3). OMRI’s policies for listing synthetic livestock vitamins and minerals are therefore based on approvals by FDA or AAFCO. A list of approved vitamins and minerals are published as Appendix A in the OMRI GML for easy reference.

For more information about OMRI’s current review standards based on NOP Guidance 5027 and 5030, please see the summer 2013 Materials Review newsletter. To access a digital copy of AAFCO’s current publication, visit the AAFCO website.

References: 

https://www.aafco.org/Publications/PublicationListing/OnlineOfficialPubl...

NOP 5027 Guidance:  The Use of Kelp in Organic Livestock Feed. 2013, March 4. USDA. 

NOP 5030 Guidance: Evaluating Allowed Ingredients and Sources of Vitamins and Minerals For Organic Livestock Feed. 2013, March 4. USDA. 

Revised and updated in January 2019 by OMRI Technical Director Doug Currier. This article was originally published in the Fall 2014 edition of the OMRI Materials Review newsletter.