March 12, 2026

US-based AAFCO launches AI system to modernise access to regulatory info for animal feed industry

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) in the United States officially launched its new AAFCO Virtual Assistant (AVA), an artificial intelligence (AI) system on SWARM Engineering's decision intelligence platform to help modernise access to regulatory information for the pet food and animal feed industries.

The AVA will help enable regulators, manufacturers and industry stakeholders to navigate ingredient definitions, labeling requirements and safety standards with improved speed and consistency, according to AAFCO.

The AVA is a secure, domain-specific AI agent specifically designed to provide instant and accurate regulatory guidance. The platform draws information directly from AAFCO-verified source materials, like its Official Publication for approved ingredients.

The association partnered with SWARM to develop the platform, which includes secure retrieval, domain-trained reasoning agents, and structured compliance logic to transform documentation into a more interactive decision-support system. Unlike general-purpose AI tools, the AVA operates within a controlled regulatory structure and was created to ensure responses are grounded exclusively in AAFCO-sourced materials.

"Building on more than 115 years of scientific standards, our organisation is embracing an AI-driven approach to transform the complex regulatory landscape," said Austin Therrell, executive director of AAFCO. "The AAFCO Virtual Assistant positions the animal and pet food industry to anticipate challenges, drive innovation and accelerate growth — all while maintaining the highest standards of compliance. With SWARM's support, industry partners, regulators, and manufacturers worldwide can now proactively navigate ingredient definitions, labeling requirements and safety standards more efficiently to advance the health and wellbeing of people and animals."

Shail Khiyara, chief executive officer of SWARM, said: "AAFCO has spent more than a century establishing the scientific and regulatory foundation that protects animal health and strengthens the integrity of the food supply chain. SWARM's AVA builds on that foundation. It demonstrates that Agentic AI can operate responsibly within a governed regulatory framework, grounding every response in AAFCO-approved standards. It does not replace expertise. It reinforces it, transforming regulatory complexity into confident, defensible decisions at the moment they matter."

The AVA is currently available to subscribers of AAFCO's Digital Publication Package, which also provides digital access to AAFCO's 2026 Official Publication, Pet Food Labeling Guide, Animal Feed Labeling Guide, and online database of ingredients.

- Pet Food Processing