No one reads the back of pet food labels, according to Jim Barritt, government and regulatory affairs manager for Mars Petcare US, because they are so confusing and overwhelming.
I joined Petfood Industry nearly 10 years ago, which at times makes me feel depressingly old but, more often, presents an opportunity to celebrate and reflect. Following and learning about the global pet food industry has been a wonderful experience so far, especially getting to know the smart, dedicated, caring, usually warm, fun and funny people who comprise it.
Pet food shoppers increasingly say they look for non-GMO claims on labels and are even willing to pay more for pet foods with such claims. What if pet foods were required to declare inclusion of GMO ingredients on their labels; would that cause some pet owners to steer clear of such products?
I previously dished on whether pet food could achieve a clean label, concluding that this is likely a challenge that will not be able to be overcome in mass-produced, complete and balanced pet foods, but will be interesting to watch as it unfolds. Food Business News posted an interesting article about simple ingredients recently.
