Rising sales plus declining costs add up to a positive direction for any business or industry. Based on news wrapping up 2011, that may be the direction for petfood this year.

A panel of experts convened in December 2011 predicted the price of corn and other commodity ingredients would moderate this year after record-setting price hikes last year. Though these experts are part of the poultry industry, their predictions might hold insights (and good news) for petfood manufacturers, too.

Feline obesity generally results in aberrations to plasma metabolite levels, such as lipid concentrations and lipoprotein composition. This study sought to investigate the effect of obesity on cholesterol lipoprotein composition and circulating adiponectin concentrations.

The American Feed Industry Association will host its annual Purchasing and Ingredient Suppliers Conference for more than 450 buyers and sellers of animal feed and petfood ingredients, from March 14-16, 2012. Highlights of the program include tips on bar code data collection for managing productivity, inventory management and traceability; packaging and requirements; an overview of federal regulatory requirements for producing animal feed; and China's impact in the US animal feed industry.

Howard Springs Pet Meat Supplies, based in Australia's Northern Territory, wants to use culled animals from Australia's Kakadu National Park as ingredients in its petfood, according to reports. The petfood manufacturer says it already collects feral animals from cattle stations and some other nationals parks run by the local government.  

Preparations for FIAAP, VICTAM & GRAPAS Asia 2012 continue to progress, despite recent flooding in parts of Thailand, including Bangkok, show organizers say. The situation seems to be improving with flood levels going down throughout Bangkok and the country of Thailand.

The 2012 Petfood Conference will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, on Tuesday, January 24, at the International Feed Expo/International Poultry Expo, organized by the American Feed Industry Association and US Poultry & Egg Association. The conference covers a variety of topics ranging from regulatory issues to the technical aspects of production, food safety, marketing and use of ingredients.

A new ISO standard on the traceability of finfish products, ingredients often used in dog and cat food formulas, is expected to improve food safety by supplying stakeholders throughout the supply chain with accurate information about the origin and nature of these products. The new standard, ISO 12875:2011, Traceability of finfish products - Specification on the information to be recorded in captured finfish distribution chains, specifies the information to be recorded in marine-captured finfish supply chains in order to establish traceability.