Debbie Phillips-DonaldsonDebbie Phillips-Donaldson is editor-in-chief of Petfood Industry magazine and Petfood Forum.From the Author - Page 60Pet Food MarketPetfood safety: industry innovates with patented process, proof of extrusion kill stepThe American Veterinary Medical Association caused quite a stir last year when it issued a policy discouraging raw petfood diets. Petfood companies in that segment naturally protested, as did plenty of consumers.Pet Food MarketPet ownership benefits confirmed by researchMost of us who work in the petfood industry think of it not only as our vocation but also our passion; we all own and love pets and genuinely care about their well-being. So we know first-hand the benefits that sharing a home (or office) with a pet can bring.ProductionMycotoxins in petfood: there’s an app for thatSalmonella has been receiving a lot of attention within our industry for the last few years. That makes some sense, because the US Food and Drug Administration's zero tolerance for the bacteria since the passage of the Food Safety Modernization Act in January 2011 has ratcheted up the number of petfood recalls, even though in nearly all of the cases where Salmonella was found in the environment, no products were contaminated.Pet Food MarketWhat do you need to know about petfood ingredients?Do you have questions about retaining the nutritional viability of certain ingredients during processing? Are you struggling to obtain a steady, sufficient supply of a key component of your latest formulation? Have you hit a roadblock in finding the latest novel protein or other new ingredient to expand your line?Pet Food MarketTackling pet obesity: will calorie statements on petfood labels help?When the full membership of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) voted in January to adopt a regulation that requires calorie-content statements on all cat food and dog food labels, it ended an eight-year-long debate that was sometimes contentious. (If you have ever doubted that rule-making bodies take a long time to reach final decisions, here's yet another piece of proof.)Pet Food MarketWhich pet ownership survey should you believe?Every two years, the American Pet Products Association releases its APPA National Pet Owners Survey, usually during or just after its Global Pet Expotrade show. So we're in luck, because the 2013-2014 survey results just came out, showing US pet ownership at an all-time high of 68% of all US households in 2012.Pet Food MarketWill 2013 be another bad year for mycotoxins in petfood?With the news last week that a scientist is studying Salmonella in space and, more importantly, gleaning important insights from the study, we can hope that this pathogen might become easier to control in petfood plants and everywhere else it shows up. (Because, after all, it's in the environment nearly everywhere.) That might help decrease the number of petfood recalls related to Salmonella each year.Market Trends and ReportsGiving pets (and their owners) a helping handWhile the petfood and pet care industries have continued to chug along despite the economy, still sluggish in many parts of the world, there's no doubt that some pet owners have been hit hard by loss of jobs, wages or homes. In the US, at least 5 million pets enter animal shelters each year for a variety of reasons; it's difficult to find up-to-date data on how many are surrendered due to owners' inability to afford petfood or care.Pet Food MarketNew petfoods and treats abound at Global Pet ExpoInnovation is often in the eye of the beholder. What one person or company might see as innovative (or at least label "innovative" in marketing materials), another might see as just a continuation or expansion of an ongoing trend or category. Such has been the case with innovation in petfood for a few years now. The new petfoods and treats on display at Global Pet Expo last week might have changed that a little -- depending, again, on your perspective.Pet Food MarketPetfood packaging report highlights market features, safety concernsA new Pet Food Market Assessment 2013 from the Packaging Machinery Manufacturers Institute (PMMI) neatly encapsulates the opportunities and challenges for petfood manufacturers based in or selling to the US. While much of the information in the report is not new to our industry, it gives a fresh perspective on US petfood's short-term future.Pet Food MarketPetfood companies must adapt to changing pet market and consumersWhen Colgate-Palmolive, parent company of Hill's Pet Nutrition, reported its fourth-quarter 2012 results last week, they included a worrisome sign for Hill's: While sales and profit had both increased for the parent company, Hill's sales declined 1% while operating profit decreased 2%, according to theWall Street Journal.ProductionSustain petfood growth by connecting to emerging consumer groupsWhile pet ownership and petfood sales are both growing briskly in many developing regions, such as Latin America and Eastern Europe, and in individual countries like Brazil and China, developed markets have seen slow to no growth in recent years. Can longtime pet powers like the US return to previous growth levels?Previous PagePage 60 of 75Next Page