Pet Food News: Page 549

Mocon Inc. announces 2011 free webinar schedule

Mocon Inc. announced the 2011 schedule for its free webinar series, which will cover topics such as petfood safety, product shelf-life and packaging. Each webinar will be taught by an expert with significant experience in the specific webinar subject.

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

Hill's Pet Nutrition partners with two distributors to spread nutritional assessment awareness

Hill’s Pet Nutrition has announced a new partnership with Butler Schein Animal Health and Webster Veterinary in an effort to help spread awareness among veterinarians and their healthcare teams about nutritional assessments. According to reports, only one in 10 pets in the US that need the benefits of a therapeutic petfood are fed one.

Canidae releases TidNips line of soft pet treats

Canidae Pet Foods has announced the launch of TidNips, a new line of healthy, soft treats for dogs and cats. The new line will be available in the first quarter of 2011, with three formulations for dogs (chicken, turkey, lamb and salmon; chicken and rice; and lamb and rice) and one for cats (chicken and rice).

Local, independent petfood stores get sales boost from organic petfood

Local and independent petfood suppliers looking to stand out from their big-box competitors are turning to organic, raw and gluten-free petfood for inspiration. Annual retail sales of organic and natural petfood are expected to grow three times as fast — 12% a year on average to $2.8 billion by 2015 — as petfood sales overall, according to a recent Packaged Facts report.

Animal advocate pledges to eat dog food until Nitro's Law is reintroduced in Ohio House

Animal advocate, dog trainer and author Nikki Moustaki has promised to eat dog food for one meal every day in an effort to gain awareness for and the passage of an anti-animal cruelty bill called Nitro's Law. The Ohio-based law, formerly known as House Bill 70, would increase the penalty to a fifth degree felony for egregious acts of animal cruelty by the animal's caretaker, punishable by a year in jail per count.

Hill's Science Diet responds to criticism regarding top petfood claim

Hill's Science Diet has released a statement responding to the negative criticism aimed at a GoodGuide.com study that dubbed Science Diet as the number one dog and cat food brand. The primary consumer concern revolves around the belief that grain-based petfoods, of which Science Diet is one, are bad for animals.

Nestle Purina North America president Terence Block retiring

Terence Block, president of Nestle Purina PetCare's North American petfood division, is retiring after 33 years with the company. His retirement will take effect at the end of 2011.

Market Trends and Reports

Former Pets.com CEO explains reasons behind company's shutdown

Former Pets.com Chief Executive Julie Wainwright discussed why Pets.com shut down, after a recent sfgate.com article made the comparison between Wainwright's pets.com and startup company, PetFlow.com. In her comments , Wainwright said that her company did not go out of business because it was selling petfood for below cost, as the article claimed, and pointed out that the company's average order was around US$37, only half of which included petfood.

Consumers still concerned with source of petfood ingredients

Despite increased regulation in the petfood market, consumers are still concerned with the safety of their pet's food and where the ingredients are sourced from, according to a Baltimore Sun article. Knowing where products come from may offer consumers the best chance at making informed choices when selecting a petfood.

Iams, Eukanuba under new leadership with P&G vice chairman retirement

Procter & Gamble Co.'s re-organization in the wake of the departure of Vice Chairman Rob Steele means new leadership for its pet care segment, including its Iams and Eukanuba brands. Steele, 55, will retire from P&G on September 1, the company announced February 1.

Central Garden & Pet Co. reports first-quarter fiscal 2011 earnings

Central Garden & Pet Co. announced results for its first quarter of fiscal year 2011 ended December 25, 2010, reporting net sales of US$282 million and a 5% increase over the same period one year ago. Net sales for the pet products segment were US$187 million, an increase of 3% over the same period in fiscal 2010

Greenies helps establish Veterinary Oral Health Council for pet dental products

The Nutro Co.'s Greenies oral health brand partnered with the American Veterinary Dental College to create the Veterinary Oral Health Council, an international organization that awards a Seal of Acceptance to pet oral health products meeting its criteria. VOHC is made up of board certified veterinary dentists, who establish criteria and testing protocols to rank the effectiveness of pet products in helping to control plaque and tartar. VOHC awards a Seal of Acceptance to those products in compliance with its criteria.

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