Petfood Forum features more content than ever! Besides the opening keynote and general sessions, you can learn from industry experts within several content tracks. The conference will conclude with a closing keynote speaker, Frank Yiannis, VP of food safety for Walmart.
With the keynote, you'll learn about the thrill and excitement of the Iditarod from Timothy A. Hunt, DVM, who has not only worked the legendary race as a veterinarian but has run it himself. Dr. Hunt operates a small-animal veterinary practice in Marquette, Michigan, and is an avid musher who has competed in numerous events throughout North America and Europe—besides the Iditarod, which he last raced in 2009, when he won the Red Lantern Award for being the last finisher! He hopes to mush again in the 2011 Iditarod. In 2005, Dr. Hunt launched his own line of dog food, Dr. Tim’s. (For more information, visit his new website.)
General session: New petfood product trends: focus on 'clean' labels——Lynn Dornblaser, director of CPG Trend Insight for Mintel International, gives an update on new petfood products and discusses simplicity as a growing trend, using global examples to demonstrate a stronger focus on natural, easy-to-understand ingredients, simple language and communication of benefits.
General session: Consumer brand perception: who's in the driver's seat?—Melissa Brookshire, DVM, North River Enterprises, discussions how petfood companies are often taking a back seat to a variety of internet-based information sources. These sources may have no professional credentials and sometimes foster misinformation. Dr. Brookshire explains how to take control of the information—and your reputation—to ensure consumers are getting your message.
Closing keynote: Frank Yiannis, VP of food safety for
global retailing giant Walmart, describes the Global Food Safety Initiative and
why Walmart is a committed, active member. Coordinated by CIES-the Food
Business Forum and headquartered in France, GFSI was launched in 2000 to foster
continuous improvement in food safety management systems to ensure confidence
in the delivery of food to consumers. Yiannis will explain GFSI’s objectives, his work with behavior-based food safety and how petfood manufacturers
and suppliers can adopt these principles.
Concurrent sessions and content tracks—please check back frequently as we add more topics and speakers.
Nutrition:
• The effects of processing on petfood nutrition: the formulator’s dilemma—Greg Aldrich, PhD, Pet Food & Ingredient Technology Inc., reviews published information on what happens to various nutrients during the petfood production and merchandising process. He highlights what is required to overcome nutrient losses during processing and identify gaps in our knowledge.
• Pulses for petfood—Jolene Hoke, ADM Alliance Nutrition Inc., provides an overview of the attributes of pulses and explores their use petfood applications. Pulses are natural sources of quality protein, fiber, complex carbohydrates and micronutrients and affordable, sustainable substances that work well with many ingredients used in petfoods.
• Kibble shape and its effect on feline palatability—Kristopher Figge, AFB International, describes an experiment involving cat kibble. Five shapes were extruded with constants of material, equipment and measurement. Palatability was measured via two-bowl, paired comparison testing over a two-day period.
• Comparing animal protein sources—Marie Varloud, InVivo NSA, explains a specific experiment designed to help maximize digestibility of nutrients. To compare the sources of protein from animal origin, their digestibility was measured on force-fed cecectomized roosters. The results underline the large variability in quality of animal meals and therefore the need for screening tools to evaluate these materials.
• Ingredient manufacturer’s perspective on sustainability in grain-based petfood ingredients—Don Shandera, PhD, Cargill, reviews several grain based bioprocesses and their contribution to supporting sustainable practices in the petfood industry. Carbohydrates are renewable and a cornerstone to creating several categories of sustainable products for the human market. Long-term sustainability best integrates available resources and minimizes needed inputs by leveraging emerging technologies.
• High-quality animal protein sources—Trevor Faber, University of Illinois, discusses methods to determine animal protein quality differences among sources. Protein quality may be evaluated by using various in vitro and in vivo assays, techniques that can determine the differences that exist among species and sources of protein.
• L-carnitine: scientific update and application review—Johnny Lopez, PhD, Lonza, explains that today’s continual interest in the growing human market has helped reveal other metabolic functions for L-carnitine besides its support of pet weight management programs. After a graphic review of the role L-carnitine plays in fat metabolism, weight loss and improvement in lean, the presentation will include peer reviewed research on the importance of L-carnitine in serving heart function and its antioxidant properties.
• Nutritional management of osteoarthritis—Karen Wedekind, PhD, Novus International, discusses the different osteoarthritis models used to evaluate efficacy of therapeutic foods and nutritional supplements, including for other species besides companion animals. She describes the use of cartilage and bone markers as early indicators of treatment effectiveness and presents evidence on the role of nutrition in the management of lameness and OA in dogs and other species.
• Update on senior pet nutrition—Sally Perea, DVM, MS, ACVN, Natura Pet Products, reviews the latest research in senior pet nutrition and discusses the unique nutritional needs of pets as they advance into their senior years and how nutrition can be used to help address common health problems of aging pets.
Marketing/packaging/regulatory:
• US petfood update: marketing the benefits of pet ownership—David Lummis, Packaged Facts, provides an overview of US petfood market sales and trends, then focuses on what could be the “next big thing”: marketing the benefits to humans of pet companionship. While studies on the human-companion animal bond are scarce, it’s a growing field of research.
• Marketing with a higher purpose: the power of pet ownership—Robert Wheatley, Wheatley & Timmons, picks up on the trend of marketing the benefits of pet ownership and explains how it could become an entirely new proposition for petfood brand marketing. It fits into the strategic arena of what Wheatley calls finding your higher purpose and transcending to a new, stronger level of relevance, traction and engagement with customers.
• Using the 7 R’s to develop more sustainable petfood packaging—Paul Kearns, Exopack, highlights recent advances in more sustainable petfood packaging and demonstrates the benefit that was achieved. He will review the 7 R’s of sustainable packaging as defined by Walmart, provide real-life examples of petfood packaging that have claimed sustainability benefits and show the importance of quantifiable benefits by using a widely available package modeling tool.
• Innovations and trends in petfood packaging—Robert Hepburn, Pacific Bag Inc., leads an interactive discussion about innovations and trends in petfood packaging and how they relate to the production environment. He will discuss some of the newer formats in petfood packaging and focus on the benefits and challenges involved in converting from paper to plastic packaging and other common roadblocks and solutions.
• Private label petfood market update—Lee Linthicum of Euromonitor International provides a tour of regional petfood markets, from North America to Australasia and Europe to Latin America, and sheds some light on trends in private label sales. The proportion of sales accounted for by private label in the US$61.9 billion global petfood market stood at 11.6% in 2009, up by just 10 basis points since 2004—but this stable market share belies significant inter- and intra-regional variations.
• Panel discussion: using social media to reach your target audience—Why should you be using platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to promote your brands and connect with consumers? What are the best practices to follow? Our expert panel will help answer these questions as well as any from the audience. Panelists include Julie Lenzer Kirk, Path Forward International; Angela McClanahan, Nature's Variety; Duncan White, Oneupweb; and David Yaskulka, Halo, Purely for Pets.
• Covering your GRAS: how to use FDA’s notification process—David Dzanis, PhD, Regulatory Discretion Inc., explains what data are needed to make a generally recognized as safe determination, how to submit a GRAS notification to the US Food and Drug Administration and how the GRAS notification process differs from other methods of petfood ingredient approval.
• Regulatory changes in the EU affecting petfood—Terry Plant, TA Plant Consulting, explains new petfood labeling requirements in the European Union, identifies the full scope of new marketing regulations, helps you understand changes in animal by-products regulations, brings you up to date with the list of EU-permitted additives and provides a complete picture for exporting to the EU.
• Update on packaging technology and machinery—Dennis Calamusa, AlliedFlex Technologies, discusses how numerous consumer products have been introduced in a wide range of new formats by companies looking to differentiate their products from the competition, add convenience, reduce cost, address sustainability and provide an innovative marketing approach to stimulate the sales of a stagnant brand or increase the acceptance of new products.
Safety/processing:
• Case study: High pressure processing for petfood—Ed O'Neill, Nature’s Variety, provides a case study of how and why this manufacturer of raw frozen, grain-free and other petfoods decided to base its safety system on high pressure processing, plus its rapid conversion, contingency plans and how it educated retailers, customers and employees on HPP.
• Ultra-high fresh meat inclusion in low-grain extruded pet diets—Tom Willard, PhD, TRW Consulting, and Galen Rokey, Wenger Manufacturing, describe how fresh meat products with low or no grains is the fastest growing segment in the petfood market. Extrusion is still the best, most cost-effective processing method for these diets, yet fresh meat inclusion is limited by both mechanical and ingredient factors. Specialized equipment and ingredients, along with process controls, have been shown to increase fresh meat inclusion as much as 75%.
• Does process heating fit into the sustainability triangle?—David Degelau, Hydro-Thermal Corp., discusses the ever-changing challenge of balancing food safety, product quality and taste, plant footprint and energy consumption. Replacing an inefficient process heating system with direct steam injection in-line heating saves space, maintenance and is up to 30% more energy efficient than traditional forms of heating. He examines several case studies, including a petfood extrusion example.
• Integration of petfood safety programs in the palatant industry—Richard McKinley, SPF, explains how the globalization of the petfood market has brought many benefits but has also complicated the management of hazards. Safety is the commitment of each player in the petfood supply chain to meet the high expectations of the manufacturer and pet owner. Palatants are used in a low percentage that generates a high level of dispersion in the petfood chain, requiring excellence in safety.
• Detection and control of Salmonella—Melinda Hayman, PhD, Food Safety Net Services, aims to help processors understand the science behind Salmonella and how to best manage this food-borne pathogen during production. She will review sampling plan design and implementation, discuss testing technologies and explain the role of process validation studies to ensure the effectiveness of processing steps in the reduction and control of Salmonella.