Pet Food News: Page 496

Petfood Industry offers listing of contract petfood manufacturers

For petfood companies and marketers looking for additional or alternative contract manufacturers in the wake of recent recalls, a list is available online in the Petfood Industry Buyer's Guide, under the Services category. To directly access this supplier directory, please visit: http://www.directorypub.com/PET/SRCH/proddetail2.php?aid=4010&prodid='Co-packing/Custom%20Manufacturing'&pub_id=6000050.

Brand Insights

Pet Food Manufacturer Thinks Outside the Box with EDL’s Double Tight Wrap Machine

EDL, as Massman Company

EDL Double Tight Wrap shrink wrapping machines use two perpendicular bands of LDPE film to tightly unitize and totally enclose a product or collation.

Pet Food Manufacturer Thinks Outside the Box with EDL’s Double Tight Wrap Machine

Diamond adds more brands in dry dog food recall

Diamond Pet Foods has further expanded its dry dog food recall to include several more brands of dry dog food produced at the company's Gaston, South Carolina, USA, facility, after samples of dog food from the same plant tested positive for Salmonella infantis. The recall was expanded as a precautionary measure, the company says, to include the following brands: • Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul

Dog food recall expanded: Canidae, Wellness, Natural Balance

Following the dry dog food recalls by Diamond Pet Foods over concerns of Salmonella contamination at the company's Gaston, South Carolina, USA, petfood manufacturing plant, Canidae, Wellness and Natural Balance have also issued voluntary recalls for certain dry petfood formulas manufactured at the same South Carolina plant. Canidae Pet Foods is recalling select dry dog food formulas manufactured between December 9, 2011, and January 31, 2012, at the Gaston plant.

CDC confirms 14 human Salmonella cases linked to dry dog food

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 14 people in the US have been sickened with Salmonella infantis infections, including at least five that are hospitalized, in a nine-state outbreak linked to dry dog food. The CDC reported that multiple brands of Diamond Pet Foods dry dog food, including several that have been recently recalled, are linked to human illnesses, which could be transmitted either through contact with the contaminated petfood or through handling an animal that has eaten the contaminated dog food.

State of Pet Health Report finds rise in chronic diseases in pets

Banfield Pet Hospital, a veterinary practice chain, released its State of Pet Health 2012 Report, which found that certain chronic diseases in dogs and cats have risen drastically since 2007. The report, compiled by the Banfield Applied Research and Knowledge team, captured and analyzed medical data from nearly 2 million dogs and 430,000 cats that were cared for at one of Banfield's hospitals in 2011.

Buhler hosts Food Safety Dialogue for industry professionals

Buhler recently hosted a Food Safety Dialogue for more than 30 US food engineering and food safety professionals. As part of the Food Safety Dialogue, attendees heard a technology briefing and panel discussion and attended a grand opening of the new food-grade Buhler Food Innovation Center.

Low-fat petfood may benefit dogs with gastrointestinal disease

Low-fat petfoods may provide health benefits to dogs with gastrointestinal disease, according to Dr. Jorg Steiner, associate professor in the Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery at Texas A&M University. Lipids, water-insoluble molecules, have many crucial functions in dogs, specifically triglycerides and cholesterol.

Pet care spending seems recession-proof, new survey finds

Pet spending appears to be recession-proof, according to a new survey by CouponCabin.com, which found that three-in-four US pet owners (75 percent) said the state of the economy does not affect the amount of money they spend on their pets. The survey, conducted online April 19-23, also found that more than one-quarter (26 percent) of US pet owners said they would be willing to put their pets' healthcare needs before their own.

Exopack to close Indiana, USA, flexible packaging facility

Exopack, a producer of flexible packaging products and engineered coatings, announced that it will close its Seymour, Indiana, USA, manufacturing facility. Closure of the Seymour plant, which manufactures consumer multiwall flexible packaging products, will result in the elimination of more than 100 jobs at the facility.

Spring Naturals petfood brand launches community program

In honor of the arrival of spring, the newly launched Spring Naturals petfood line recently unveiled its community relations portion of its business, called “Spring Into Action.” In May, Spring Naturals will be looking for everyday heroes that “spring into action” to help animals in need.

Spring Naturals will provide petfood and treats for one year when Spring, a mixed breed dog, is adopted.

Biomin releases report on mycotoxins in animal feed

Biomin released the results of its Biomin Mycotoxin Survey Program 2011, a comprehensive report on studies conducted on the distribution of mycotoxins according to region of origin and common type. More than 4,300 samples were collected from various countries over a 12-month period from January-December 2011, and 13,854 analyses of mycotoxins were performed to investigate the occurrence of aflatoxins, zearalenone, deoxynivalenol, fumonisins and/or ochratoxin A in different regions of the world and feed materials.

Halo petfood brand sponsors PBS 'Shelter Me' film

Actress and animal advocate Katherine Heigl is hosting the PBS premiere of “Shelter Me,” a film sponsored by Halo, Purely for Pets that illustrates how people’s lives are positively impacted by shelter dogs. The one-hour television special, created by filmmaker Steven Latham, celebrates the human-animal bond by showcasing three inspirational stories about shelter dogs and the lives they change.

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