Debbie Phillips-DonaldsonDebbie Phillips-Donaldson is editor-in-chief of Petfood Industry magazine and Petfood Forum.From the Author - Page 72Safety & QualitySomething To Chew On: The safety linkPetfood manufacturers use many of the same sources and practices that human processors doProductionA breed apartIts cutting-edge processing and safety technology makes Stella & Chewy's stand out—and not just in the raw petfood sectorProductionSomething To Chew On: The R wordCan we believe what we hear about the pet industry being recession resistant?NutritionSomething To Chew On: Combating misinformationLet's face it, for some pet owners, the Internet is their main—and sometimes only—source of information. That's pretty scary, isn't it?ProductionWhere are commodity prices heading?Key indicators offer clues to future changes in petfood ingredient costsProductionUS sales still growingWhile finding up-to-the-minute data is difficult, one source shows that at least in the US, dog and cat food sales are still growingNutritionWhat pet retailers want from youEven in tough economic times such as the current environment, everyone—including pets—still needs to eatNutritionPrivate label bounces backSales rebound on strong growth in Eastern Europe and a rise in pet superstoresProductionPublic and proactiveIn response to recent crisis and public outcry, the industry is assertively and publicly policing itself, implementing new safety and quality certification programs from Brazil to the US.ProductionBrazilian powerhouseA relative newcomer to petfood, Total Alimentos SA has leaped to global leader statusProductionSomething To Chew On: Keys to new product successIf the continuing growth of our industry is driven by trends such as humanization, health and convenience, those trends are manifest in new product development (NPD), which is exploding around the globe.ProductionPetfood fights inflationInflation is becoming a fact of life in just about every region of the world. In the US, the consumer price index (CPI) increased 1% from May to June and 5% since June 2007. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics, which tracks both consumer and producer prices, said the CPI increase was due mainly to sharp spikes in the energy and food indexes (no surprises there). Though the report did not separate out petfood, it specifically cited increases in the indexes for pets, pet products and services.Previous PagePage 72 of 75Next Page