Dr. Angele Thompson, Commission Chair
President, Thompson’s Pet Tech Dr. Thompson is an expert on pet nutrition, regulatory compliance and product development. She currently provides consultation in these areas to pet food manufacturers of all sizes, from individual start up companies to multinational corporations and international clients. Dr. Thompson served as a member of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) Nutrition Expert Subcommittee, which developed nutrient profiles, testing protocols and digestibility protocols for use in regulating pet food industry; she is a current member of the AAFCO Nutrition Review Committee. Dr. Thompson has worked in the pet food industry since earning a Ph.D. in Nutritional Biochemistry from the University of Arizona in 1980.

Dr. E. Murl Bailey, Jr., D.V.M., Ph.D.
Professor, Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology
Texas A&M University
As a member of the veterinary faculty at Texas A&M university, Dr. Bailey’s areas of specialization are toxicology, veterinary toxicology, toxic plants, wildlife and environmental toxicology, anesthesiology, pharmacology, experimental surgery, emergency medicine, and weapons of mass destruction (chemical and biological). Dr. Bailey received his diplomate from the American Board of Veterinary Toxicology in 1972.

Dr. Fran Kallfelz, D.V.M., Ph.D.
James Law Professor of Nutrition
New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University
Dr. Kallfelz, a charter diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition, works in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the New York State College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University. Dr. Kallfelz is a member of both the American Academy of Veterinary Nutrition and the American Society for Nutritional Sciences. Dr. Kallfelz has worked in academia and the veterinary field for nearly forty years.

Dr. Rodney J. Noel, Ph.D.
Indiana Associate State Chemist and AAFCO Secretary-Treasurer
Dr. Noel currently serves as the number two regulator of pet food, animal feed and fertilizer for the State of Indiana. Since 1995 Dr. Noel has served as Secretary-Treasurer of the American Association of Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), a nationwide organization of state regulators that sets pet food/animal feed ingredient definitions and labeling guidelines for the fifty states. Dr. Noel earned a Ph.D. in Analytical Biochemistry from Purdue University.

Randall Gordon
Vice President, Communications and Government Relations
National Grain and Feed Association
Mr. Gordon works extensively on feed legislative and regulatory issues, grain warehousing, bioterrorism-preparedness and facility security, and other issues with the Food and Drug Administration, Department of Agriculture, Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies, as well as the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) and Association of American Warehouse Control Officials. Mr. Gordon received a triple major in journalism, history and political science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Christopher S. Cowell, M.S., PAS
Chair, Regulatory Affairs Committee
Pet Food Institute
Mr. Cowell serves as the Chair of the Pet Food Institute’s Regulatory Affairs Committee. He has both a Bachelor and a Masters degree in nutrition and is currently the Director of Regulatory Affairs, North America for Nestlé Purina PetCare. Mr. Cowell has spent 21 years in the pet food industry in various nutrition research, product development and regulatory roles.

Recall Information for Consumers

National Pet Food Commission

Commission Members

Regulation and Testing

Homemade Pet Food