In May 2025, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) proposed rescinding portions of its December 2024 rule that had established new organic certification standards for pet food under the National Organic Program (NOP). The 2024 rule had introduced long-anticipated regulatory clarity around allowable ingredients, certification consistency, and production standards for organic pet food. With USDA now proposing to withdraw these standards, organic pet food producers may once again face regulatory ambiguity regarding formulation, ingredient eligibility, certification, and labeling. While no final decision has yet been made, the public comment period closed on June 11, 2025, garnering nearly 10,000 comments from interested stakeholders. The commentary below provides a brief summary of what has occurred thus far in the pet food industry surrounding this issue to provide a better understanding of the impact of USDA’s proposed withdrawal of organic pet food standards.
Background: The 2024 Final Rule on Organic Pet Food
The December 2024 rule, which became effective on March 21, 2025, marked the first time USDA established comprehensive organic standards specifically for pet food under the National Organic Program. Under this rule:
- USDA formally defined “pet food” under NOP regulations.
- Pet food processors were brought under the same organic handling requirements that govern human organic processed foods.
- The rule clarified that specific ingredients, including synthetic taurine and organic slaughter by-products derived from USDA-inspected livestock, could be used in certified organic pet food formulations.
- Certifiers were given consistent standards to evaluate and approve organic pet food products.
USDA’s 2025 Proposed Rescission
On May 13, 2025, AMS published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Docket AMS-NOP-22-0063-3399) proposing to rescind the pet food portions of the 2024 Final Rule. In its rescission notice, AMS cited several justifications for withdrawal, including:
- Anticipated cost savings to small entities that would otherwise bear certification burdens.
- Reduction in paperwork and administrative complexity associated with applying organic handling standards to pet food processors.
- Concerns raised by stakeholders after publication of the 2024 Final Rule.
AMS has indicated that its intent is to return to the prior regulatory status quo, which applied organic livestock feed standards to pet food certifications.
Potential Impacts for the Pet Food Industry
If USDA finalizes its rescission proposal, the withdrawal of these new standards would have several immediate effects on the organic pet food market:
- The clear framework provided by the 2024 Final Rule would be eliminated.
- Certifiers could once again vary in how they apply existing standards to pet food formulations, leading to potential inconsistencies across certifying bodies.
- Certification agencies may develop divergent positions, creating potential friction between producers, private-label partners, and retailers.
- Ingredients that were expressly authorized, such as taurine and organic slaughter by-products, may face renewed scrutiny, forcing some producers to reformulate products or seek ingredient equivalency interpretations.
- Companies may face supply chain disruptions as certifiers reevaluate the acceptability of taurine or other previously authorized ingredients.
- Labeling and marketing claims may become more difficult to standardize across domestic and international markets.
- Companies that had already realigned formulations or supply chains to comply with the 2024 Final Rule may face additional operational adjustments.
- Emerging organic pet food companies and investors may approach product development more cautiously amid renewed regulatory uncertainty.
Our team is actively monitoring USDA’s ongoing review of this proposed rescission, the effects of the public comments received and potential implications for pet food producers, certifiers, and supply chain participants. We will continue to track developments as the rulemaking proceeds.
Many thanks to summer associate LaRissa Bland who assisted with the research and drafting of this post.
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