It behooves the petfood manufacturer to practice due diligence in ensuring that what is declared on the label is in the product, and what is not declared is not in the product.

With minor exceptions, if you are a petfood, treat, chew or nutritional supplement manufacturer, domestic or foreign, now is the time to renew your food facility registration with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

No observer of the petfood market can miss the pervasiveness of claims such as "grain-free" and "gluten-free" on dog and cat food labels today. There are important factors to consider when making a claim in order for it to survive possible regulatory scrutiny.

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) held its annual meeting on July 24–26, 2014, in Sacramento, California, USA. As always, several controversial issues kept the discussions lively.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has provided updated information on the continuing saga of suspected contamination of "jerky"-type dog treats, primarily made from chicken and typically manufactured in China. Coincidentally, at least two major pet retailers have recently announced their commitments to stop selling pet treats manufactured in China.

The noteworthy number of recalls of petfoods over the past few years speaks to the seriousness to which FDA views this matter. As further evidence of FDA’s commitment to the fight against this microorganism and its potential for exposure to people, it also regulates other potential sources of Salmonella in pet products as well as the pets themselves.

Those who know me are aware that I am rarely inclined toward the use of superlatives. On this occasion, however, I will definitively opine that Dog Food Logic: Making Smart Decisions for Your Dog in an Age of Too Many Choices by Linda P. Case, MS (Dogwise Publishing, 2014) is the most compelling book I have ever read on the subject.

How much calcium is too much in dog foods? In 2007, the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) convened a panel of experts from academia and industry to, in part, make recommendations for revision of the AAFCO Dog and Cat Food Nutrient Profiles. These profiles, which were last revised in 1995, serve as one means by which the nutritional adequacy of dog and cat foods can be substantiated in the US.

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) held its "mid-year" meeting on January 8-10, 2014, in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. While the city (along with much of the rest of the country) was experiencing unusually cold weather at that time, temperatures in the meeting room were kept elevated by heated discussion over several controversial items.

The feeding of raw petfood has been a controversy for decades. Both sides of the discussion have their extremist factions, with some believing it is the ultimately healthful means of feeding dogs and cats and others convinced it constitutes a wholly unwarranted risk to the health of both pets and the people feeding them.