The Wellness, Old Mother Hubbard, Eagle Pack and Holistic Select brands of natural food, treats and supplements for pets are now members of one family, WellPet, according to the press release.

In the US, prompted by a number of petfood recalls and a greater awareness about animal nutrition, reams of pet nutritionists have sprung up, together with cat and dog cookbooks, according to an article by The London Times.

Pet owners and veterinarians claim that dogs and cats in Australia were poisoned by imported petfood, according to a report by the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

The recent outbreak of salmonella typhimurium has been linked to products manufactured by the Peanut Corp. of America in its Blakely, Georgia, plant. Peanut Corp. produces peanut paste, which is used in the Grreat Choice dog biscuits.

A Shanghai dealer has issued an emergency recall of a batch of Optima dry dog food produced between August and September of 2008, according to an article by Shanghai Daily.

Federal health officials added petfood to the list of recalled products from a salmonella outbreak linked to peanut butter, according to a story from www.abcnews.com.

About 40 cat lovers protested the offering of felines on restaurant menus outside the Guangdong government office in Beijing, according to an AP story by William Foreman.

The 2008 12th China International Pet Show in China drew 25,000 trade visitors and 476 exhibitors to the Beijing Exhibition Centre from Nov. 6-9, according to a press release.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued another caution about tainted petfood from China, according to an article from The Eagle Tribune.

Bill Marler, food safety advocate and managing partner of food-borne illness law firm Marler Clark, asked the food safety community to weigh in on the most pressing food safety challenges for the coming year.