Nutrition: Page 301

Petfood Industry hosts successful first Petfood Forum China

Petfood Industry and WATT successfully held the first WATT Petfood Forum China on October 12, at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center, in Shanghai, China. Petfood Forum China's 170 attendees from China, Japan, Thailand, the US and Europe had the chance to listen to a variety of educational sessions, covering topics from pet nutrition to petfood regulation and safety to petfood packaging.

Petfood Forum China attendees learned from industry experts about pet nutrition, petfood safety, regulations, packaging and more.

Demand for premium petfood drives market for EPA/DHA

Global consumer spending on EPA/DHA omega 3-fortified products, such as petfood, is expected to grow from US$25.4 billion in 2011 to US$34.7 billion in 2016, according to a report released by Packaged Facts. Demand for products enhanced with EPA/DHA will reach a compound annual growth rate of 6.4 percent over the period from 2011-2016.

Update: Nutrigenomics and molecular nutrition

According to the Petfood Forum Europe presentation, "New Frontiers in Nutrition for Pet Health: The role of Nutrigenomics" by Dr. Peter Spring and Dr. Richard Murphy, nutrigenomics can be defined as how diet influences gene transcription, protein expression and metabolism, ultimately providing personalized nutrition for maintenance of an animal's health and the prevention of disease. The science of nutrigenomics seeks to provide a molecular understanding for how common dietary chemicals affect health by altering the expression and/or structure of an animal's genetic makeup.

Nutrigenomics exploit our knowledge of the genome and its variability to explain how nutrients, their dependent proteins, and encoding genes conspire to forge and maintain our companion animals.

Merrick's dog food revolution

For Garth Merrick, founder of Merrick Pet Care Inc., the definition of a family-owned company means getting his family and friends involved and bringing the company home with him. Together with his wife, Susie, and their four children, Garth built the company around their home in Hereford, Texas, USA.

â€œThe secret to our products is the simplistic approach we take in making them,â€ Garth Merrick, company founder, says. â€œWe use the fewest steps we can.'

Avure offers HPP raw meat protein on-demand webinar

Avure Technologies offers an on-demand webinar video for meat processors in the petfood industry looking to learn more about high-pressure processing of raw meat protein. The webinar, "HPP Applications for Raw Protein," demonstrates how high-pressure processing can help achieve extended shelf life, improvements in meat color and texture, improved tenderness and more.

AFIA to host petfood Import/Export Seminar in December

The American Feed Industry Association will host the Import/Export Seminar, December 4-5, in Arlington, Virginia, USA, to educate and discuss with industry members the regulatory trade requirements for petfood, feed and ingredient industries. Participants will learn about current constraints, hear regional trade updates, and learn about the roles and resources of different government agencies.

Pet Food Market

Ingredient scarcity calls for innovative solutions

After one of the worst droughts in US history this past summer, along with hot, dry weather in other parts of the world, it's no surprise that projections for crop supplies are continuing to decline. According to BloombergBusinessweek, a new report from the International Grains Council projects global corn production for the 2012-2013 harvest year to come in at 833 million metric tons, down from August's prediction of 838 million metric tons and 2011-2012's actual crop of 875 million metric tons.

Pet Food Ingredients

The promise of science for petfood

I confess, I don’t have a strong background in science, but I definitely have immense appreciation and respect for scientific research and breakthroughs, along with the people behind them. So I can’t help but be blown away by some cutting-edge science that’s starting to enter the world of petfood.

Petfood at increased aflatoxin risk from US drought

The summer of 2012 will be remembered as one of the driest and hottest summers in history. The ensuing drought was particularly devastating to the corn-growing regions of the US.

Mycotoxins typically arise from an environmental stress that facilitates mold infestation. For the aflatoxin-producing molds, the most significant influence is damage to the seed coat (pericarp) brought on by extreme drought and heat.

Nanotechnology comes to petfood

Nanotechnology is a new and emerging science that deserves our attention, not just out of curiosity but also out of our own self-interest. Nanotechnology is more than the science of small things; it is nearly as profound as the discovery of another previously unknown universe simultaneously inhabiting the same time and space that we do.

At the nanoparticle size, substances can simply pass through intestinal cells or even between cells, relatively unimpeded. For example, vitamin E is not well absorbed in the mammalian intestine, so the manufacturer must add five times the daily requirement; if reduced to nanoparticle size, the degree of absorption would be much higher.

Pet Food Ingredients

Petfood Forum 2013 hits record for abstract submissions

The call for papers for Petfood Forum 2013 has garnered nearly 30 submissions, a record for this annual conference. Abstracts cover various petfood ingredients and aspects of companion animal nutrition, palatability testing, petfood safety and packaging, the global petfood market and other topics.

Pet Food Ingredients

Petfood Forum debuts in China

Petfood Forum, the premier group of events exclusive to the global petfood manufacturing industry, is debuting in China next week. Petfood professionals from throughout China and the world will come together on October 12 at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center.

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