Bond Pet Foods, a biotechnology company focused on producing animal proteins through precision fermentation, and Hill’s Pet Nutrition have announced that Bond has received a US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine Letter of No Objection for its Lamb Protein Yeast ingredient.
Developed in collaboration with Hill’s following a six-month longitudinal feeding study in dogs, the FDA’s review and no objection to the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) Notice marks a significant step towards commercialising a new source of high-quality animal protein for petfood.
Lamb Protein Yeast is the first ingredient developed through the Hill’s and Bond collaboration to successfully complete the FDA’s GRAS Notice review process for healthy adult dogs, supporting use at inclusion levels of up to 15 percent of finished petfood. The ingredient was developed using precision fermentation technology, which is already widely used in the production of human food ingredients such as cheesemaking cultures, enzymes and vitamins. The resulting protein provides a complete amino acid profile with nutritional characteristics comparable to traditional lamb protein.
“We are thrilled to achieve this important regulatory milestone with Hill’s,” said Rich Kelleman, Founder and CEO of Bond Pet Foods. “The results of our six-month feeding study, together with the FDA’s Letter of No Objection, demonstrate the safety and nutritional performance of our brewed proteins and bring us a significant step closer to delivering a reliable source of high-quality protein for pets.”
Bond and Hill’s have also completed a feeding study in cats using Lamb Protein Yeast and are preparing to submit further information to the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine to support feline use. The companies said the work reflects their shared focus on advancing science-based nutrition solutions for both dogs and cats.
