The US Food and Drug Administration is working hard -- and partnering with both the human food and petfood industries -- to meet deadlines and develop regulations and policies in adherence to the Food Safety Modernization Act, signed into law in January 2011. The new regulations and rules will include ones encompassing petfood, some for the first time, and the law's deadlines mean many will go into effect within the next year or so. Will your company and facility be ready?

You can find out which regulations will affect you, how you can prepare, what you need to do and when -- all by registering for and participating in Virtual Petfood Forum: Food Safety on October 26. Registration is free, and with this being a completely online event, you can participate from anywhere you and your computer might be: office, home, even a hotel room or airport. (If you can't get online October 26, you can still access archives of the event through January 26, 2012, as long as you have registered.)

Like a traditional trade show, Virtual Petfood Forum will feature exhibitors and sponsors who will have information available to download and personnel ready to chat with you and answer your questions. Plus, you can network with petfood peers from around the world in the networking lounge or via discussion threads in the conference center.

What you will find most valuable, we believe, are the five expert presentations on making safe petfood in today's rapidly changing environment:

• FSMA: a comprehensive overview -- by Jessica Wasserman, president of Wasserman & Associates, a global regulatory expert and former agricultural service executive with the US Department of Agriculture
• Get prepared! A 'how-to' on what to expect and how to deal with FSMA regulations -- by Judi Lazaro, director of customer relations for AIB International, a food safety auditor and auditing expert
• Providing petfood manufacturing safety with HPP -- by Glenn Hewson, VP of global marketing, Avure Technologies, provider of high pressure processing technology and expertise
• FSMA and petfood imports -- by Benjamin England, CEO of FDAImports.com and Benjamin L. England & Associates, a 17-year veteran of FDA 
• GRAS process for safety of petfood ingredients -- George Burdock, PhD, president and founder of the Burdock Group and expert on the FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine's generally recognized as safe (GRAS) process for approving new ingredients

If you are responsible for the safety of your company's processing or products, or just need to fill in some gaps in your petfood safety knowledge, you won't want to miss this event. Register today for Virtual Petfood Forum on October 26. Remember, it's free!