If you need to know more about petfood safety, especially how the new Food Safety Modernization Act will affect petfood regulations, be sure to sign up for Virtual Petfood Forum 2011, taking place live online, Wednesday, October 26, 2011. Under the new FSMA law, petfood will fall under much of the same regulations and scrutiny as human foods. That portends significant changes for petfood manufacturers, no matter how stringent your current safety and risk prevention programs might be.

Registration for this completely online event is free for petfood professionals, and you can participate from your office, your home or on the road. If you register, you can also access an archive of the event through January 26, 2012. (Access to the archive is available to registrants whether or not you participate live in October.) Register today at www.wattevents.com and check PetfoodIndustry.com and Petfood-Connection.com for updates on speakers, topics and companies participating in the virtual tradeshow!

Here's a preview of the experts and education sessions that can help you prepare for the swifty changing regulatory environment:

FSMA: a comprehensive overview—Jessica Wasserman, president, Wasserman & Associates
How will the new Food Safety Modernization Act affect petfood manufacturers? Learn from a global regulatory expert and former agricultural service executive for the US Department of Agriculture about:

• Impact of FSMA on Food and Drug Administration compliance issues
• How FDA is preparing 50 rules, guidance documents, reports and studies to implement FSMA
• FSMA implementation and how it specifically applies to you in the petfood supply chain

Get prepared! A “how-to” on what to expect and how to deal with new FSMA regulations—Judi Lazaro, director of customer relations, AIB International

So you know what the Food Safety Modernization Act is about—what exactly does it mean for you and your company? This food safety auditor and auditing expert will help you understand:

• How to prepare for the coming regulations and just how to deal with regulators who might visit
• What the FSMA means specifically for petfood regulations and safety requirements
• How to focus on what you need to do and when to ensure you’re meeting requirements for ensuring safe petfood products

Providing petfood manufacturing safety with HPP—Glenn Hewson, VP of global marketing, Avure Technologies

High pressure processing is one of the newer technologies used to help keep food and petfood free of toxins and other contaminants. Find out from this high-tech expert about:

• What HPP is: a new and innovative way to prepare and manufacture petfood
• How HPP can be implemented into your current system to provide a safer product for consumers
• Why HPP is compliant with FSMA and why the future of petfood manufacturing will change because of it

FSMA and petfood trade—Benjamin England, CEO of FDAImports.com LLC and Benjamin L. England & Associates LLC

The new Food Safety Modernization Act includes much stronger regulations for imports of ingredients and food products. This 17-year veteran of the US Food and Drug Administration will explain:

• The effect of FSMA on trade, ingredient quality, safety and certifications
• FSMA and foreign policies—what you should prepare for when handling imports and exports and global certifications
• Your legal rights and how you should handle an FDA search, seizure or quarantine of your products or ingredients

Think we've missed an important safety-related topic or want to know more about this virtual event? Head over to www.petfood-connection.com to voice your opinion and get your questions answered!