Debbie Phillips-DonaldsonDebbie Phillips-Donaldson is editor-in-chief of Petfood Industry magazine and Petfood Forum.From the Author - Page 73Pet Food SafetyPetfood safety: update on FSMAThe US Food Safety Modernization Act has reached its first birthday, after passage in January 2011. Some provisions took effect immediately but to date have had minimal impact on most petfood manufacturers.Pet Food MarketWhat is industry's role in fighting obesity in pets?While humanization has definitely been a good thing for the petfood industry, it has its downsides, too. One negative for pets, arguably, is that as the human population goes, at least in developed markets, so goes the pet overpopulation. Specifically for food, that means the percentage of overweight or obese pets is increasing at a pace similar to the rise of obesity in humans.Pet Food MarketPet ownership and popularity rising around the worldAs further proof that pet ownership continues to increase and fuel the growth of petfood markets globally, a new website for dog lovers in India has launched. DogZone.in bills itself as India's first online community of dog lovers.Pet Food MarketInvestment, financial circles remain bullish on pet industryA new report from Cascadia Capital, an independent investment bank that includes petfood and other pet product companies among its investments and transactions, shows the pet industry is "gaining momentum" coming out of the recession, not only in sales but also in merger & acquisition transactions and new companies emerging.Market Trends and ReportsMore on humanization: what it means for petfoodGeoff Bowers of raw petfood company K9 Natural has a unique take on customers. “It’s a simple rule: The customer, which in our case is the cat or dog, is always right. Something I firmly believe the petfood industry has overlooked.”Pet Food MarketIs 'humanization' now a bad word?In its most literal sense, the term "humanization" means to take a non-human creature or object and try to make it human. "To portray or endow with human characteristics or attributes" is the first definition on TheFreeDictionary.com.Natural/Organic Pet FoodRaw petfood and the industry part of the same teamIn the opinion of Geoff Bowers, founder and director of K9Natural, since the 1950s pet owners all over the world have been convinced that feeding cats and dogs is difficult and they need expert help. “Fortunately, with the Internet and its access to unsolicited information, people are realizing that’s not the case,” he says.Natural/Organic Pet FoodK9 Natural ensures raw petfood is here to stayWhen most petfood manufacturers talk about their customers, they’re referring to the human buyers—pet owners, retailers or distributors—of their products. “At K9 Natural, we do the opposite,” says founder and director Geoff Bowers.Pet Food MarketNestle Purina's parent company ranks among top 'green' firmsNestlé, parent company of Nestlé Purina PetCare, ranks among the top 11 companies worldwide for corporate sustainability practices. So says Two Tomorrows, which bills itself as an international corporate sustainability agency, in its recently released Tomorrow's Value Rating.Pet Food MarketDoes consumers' willingness to pay for improved food safety apply to petfood?A recent study by Kevin Haninger and James Hammitt of the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis shows US consumers would be willing to spend US$4,500-6,000 to prevent each case of short-term illness caused by contaminated food. Reported in the October edition of FSMeDigest from Food Safety Magazine, the study started with the seemingly simple goal of examining the "monetary value that consumers place on a safer food supply," the authors wrote.Pet Food MarketVirtual Petfood Forum: All you need to know about FSMA and petfood safety -- and it's freeThe 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.Pet Food MarketFirst TV spot for dogs and owners, Nestle Purina says"Die erste TV spot fur Sie und Ihren Hund." That's German for "The first TV spot for you and your dog" and the opening for a new German language only TV commercial for Beneful from Nestle Purina. According to thePrevious PagePage 73 of 81Next Page
