Award-winning food-recycling system Mill recently received formal approval from the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) to distribute their recycled chicken feed ingredient in Washington State, marking the first time a chicken feed ingredient made from recovered household food scraps has been approved for commercial distribution in the United States. Mill's breakthrough approach prevents food waste by closing the loop from fork to farm, making it easy for people at home to incorporate uneaten food scraps back into the food system.

Today, Americans throw out over 44 million pounds of food annually while around 30% of the world's arable land is used to grow food for livestock. Until now, no system has been able to use uneaten household food as a resource to help address the challenge of feeding a growing population. In addition, farmers are increasingly looking for more sustainable ways to farm and reduce their carbon footprint.

Mill's feed license comes following a landmark vote from membership of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) on the applicable animal feed ingredient definition for Dried Recovered Household Food in late January and after a recommendation from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last summer. Although today Mill is currently the only system that complies with the new animal feed ingredient definition, the AAFCO decision enables other circular systems to follow in Mill's footsteps and holds broad implications for resource recovery and sustainable agriculture.

"At Mill, we believe in a future centered around strong local food systems and community networks that keep food out of landfills. We give a lot of credit to regulators at AAFCO, FDA, and the Washington State Department of Agriculture for their diligence throughout this process and recognition of the growing urgency and momentum behind reducing food waste and need for food recycling. We're excited about what the ability to transform household food scraps into resources for farmers means for Mill, and we're optimistic about the additional innovation this can unlock. I'm hopeful that others will join us in this critical fight against food waste and improving our food systems," said Matt Rogers, cofounder and chief executive officer of Mill.

Derek Sandison, director of the WSDA, commented: "We're fortunate to have a food-recycling company like Mill set up shop in Washington. Throughout their certification process, Mill collaborated with WSDA staff, as well as our USDA federal partners, to ensure their product met animal feed regulations. Retrieving and reusing household food waste as animal feed is an innovative concept, and I appreciate the diligence they exercised to ensure the safety and quality of their product.”

By dehydrating food scraps each night to less than 12% moisture content, Mill's kitchen bin turns uneaten kitchen scraps like banana peels and carrot tops into clean, dry grounds that are shelf-stable and chock-full of nutrients, making them an ideal ingredient for a chicken's diet or as a feedstock for compost. Once the Mill bin is full (which takes several weeks), customers can send grounds back to Mill to have them turned into a chicken feed ingredient, use them at home or in their garden as part of a compost process, or participate in one of Mill's local food recycling loops, like with community farm R.City in Phoenix.

Previously, Mill's feed ingredient was used in the required research and development processes as part of safety and regulatory diligence and donated to small, local farms in the Washington area.