News & Newsletters: Page 820

AFIA provides comments to commodity commission regarding definitions

AFIA recently submitted comments to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regarding definitions in the recently passed Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. “The definitions for key terms such as swap, swap dealer and major swap participant should provide the flexibility required by bona fide end users, and also protect the markets from undue influence of large speculative positions,” said Joel G. Newman, AFIA’s president and CEO.

Groups urge Senate to pass food-safety bill

Companies and consumer groups lobbied the Senate Monday about passing food safety legislation. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) plans to put the bill on hold because of time restrictions, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Article outlines dog food manufacturing process

A recent WAFB of Louisiana news story outlined dog food manufacturing for consumers, mentioning that multiple parties are involved, including highly trained scientists, nutritionists, veterinarians and taste tasters, and the process can take years to complete from concept to consumer. It all starts with a concept, and then research, including formula development, product and process development, analysis, palatability testing and digestibility testing.

Healthy human food, diet choices translate to pets

A recent article from LiveScience detailed the transformation of a Fort Worth, Texas, resident, Maribeth Ashley, and her two dogs as they journey to a healthier lifestyle, and it explored how some petfood companies are tapping into this trend. Nulo, under the direction of founder and CEO Michael Landa, not only offers food, but weight-tracking and meal-planning tools and home delivery, similar to myriad human weight-loss plans on the market today.

Petfood maker ordered to stop referring to himself as vet

The Minnesota state veterinary board has issued an order to Will Winter, a formerly licensed veterinarian, stating the man must cease describing himself as a vet, according to a Minnesota Star Tribune article. Winter, who calls himself a holistic veterinarian and runs Restoration Raw Pet Food, had his license to practice veterinarian medicine suspended 11 years ago after complaints.

Hill's petfoods available through home delivery service

Webster Veterinary Supply's Home Delivery platform now offers the full line of Hill’s Prescription Diet and Science Diet brand petfoods. “Over the past two years, Hill's Pet Nutrition has worked closely with VetSource to develop a successful partnership and we are very excited to add this important product line to the Webster VetSource Home Delivery offering,” said George Henriques, president of Webster Veterinary Supply.

Dates, keynote speaker announced for 2011 Packaging Conference

The 2011 Packaging Conference will be held February 7-9, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, at the ARIA Resort at CityCenter. The Packaging Conference, produced by Plastic Technologies Inc and SBA-CCI Inc., is scheduled to offer presentations on sustainability, market analysis, merger predictions, plastic resin supply/demand and emerging technologies/ applications.

NOSB scheduled to meet about organic petfood in October

The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) will meet October 25-28 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, to discuss NOSB Handling Committee’s recommendation that it adopt a plan to regulate organic petfood. The recommendation is one of 66 items on the committee’s agenda, as part of USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service's National Organic Program.

'Natural' petfood may not be best, veterinarian says

"Natural" petfoods may not always be the best choice to feed to pets, according to veterinarian Susan Nelson of Kansas State University, in an article from UPI.com. Nelson warned that cats and dogs do not have the same nutritional needs as humans, therefore "natural" petfoods with many fruits and vegetables may not meet all of a pet's nutritional requirements.

Burns Pet Nutrition partners with UK colleges in KTP project

Burns Pet Nutrition joined the Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) project, which helps small to medium-sized businesses access knowledge and expertise in colleges and universities. KTP project is a UK-wide initiative, led by the Technology Strategy Board and the Welsh Assembly Government, involving over 100 universities, further education colleges and organizations.

AFIA comments on implementation of Sanitary Food Transportation Act

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) submitted comments to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding the implementation of the Sanitary Food Transportation Act. In its comments, AFIA highlighted the Safe Feed/Safe Food (SF/SF) Certification Program’s requirement that certified facilities have signed agreements with suppliers detailing the clean-out and inspection procedures for the transportation of feed and feed ingredients.

Possible link between dog food, hypercalcemia reported

Reports of a possible connection between hypercalcemia and a premium petfood have been reported on the Veterinary Information Network (VIN), an online community for veterinarians. According to an article on the community's associated site, the VIN News Service, veterinarians have mentioned in message board discussions that they have observed hypercalcemia secondary to vitamin D toxicosis in dogs eating Blue Buffalo Wilderness Diet, chicken flavor petfood. Improvements were reported once food brands were changed.

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