State Bill Aims To Improve Animal Feed, Pet Food Allergen Regulations

Press release from State Rep. Jonathan Carroll's Office:

March 20, 2023

State Rep. Jonathan Carroll, D-Northbrook, is continuing to advocate for both companion and livestock animals statewide after advancing a bill aimed at ensuring consumers know, based on product labeling, whether pet food and commercial feed contain major food allergens.

“Farmers, ranchers and pet owners need and deserve to know what is in their animals’ food, especially when it comes to common food allergens,” Carroll said. “That’s why it’s important to have clear definitions of what counts as a food allergen, as well as unambiguous standards as to how allergen-containing food and feed are labeled.”

Carroll’s House Bill 1290 would provide that commercial feed or pet food is mislabeled when its label fails to disclose that it contains a “food allergen”. Milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans, sesame, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, soybeans—as well as any food ingredient containing proteins derived from any of those—are currently defined as food allergens. The bill was recently approved for consideration by the full House of Representatives by the House Consumer Protection Committee.

“Protecting pets and livestock from food allergens requires well-defined standards paired with accountability,” Carroll said. “Consumers’ ability to monitor what their animals are being fed is well worth the minimal imposition of a policy like this that helps ensure accurate labels.”

This press release was produced by State Rep. Jonathan Carroll's Office. The views expressed here are the author's own.