Safety & Quality: Page 125

Pet Food Safety

Aflatoxicosis from commercial diet in 50 dogs

Aflatoxins, produced by Aspergillus spp., are toxic contaminants of stored grain. This study describes 50 dogs presented with foodborne aflatoxicosis.

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

Pet Food Market

What's next for our industry after the latest petfood recalls?

The good news is that no further incidents from the Diamond Pet Foods recalls have come out since the end of May. The bad news, of course, is that the recalls happened at all and especially that people and pets were sickened by Salmonella-contaminated petfoods produced at Diamond's Gaston, South Carolina, USA, plant.

Petfood industry members discuss petfood production, safety

A recent roundtable discussion by Natural Pet Product Merchandiser brought together a petfood retailer, two petfood manufacturers and a petfood industry representative to discuss the petfood production and safety, including the impact of a petfood recall and controls to prevent one. Although the US Food and Drug Administration’s website shows more than 1,000 petfood and treat recalls since March 2007, Nancy K. Cook, vice president of Pet Food Institute, says this should not be a cause for concern to consumers.

New Zealand eel exported to US for novel petfood protein

Researchers in New Zealand are calling for petfood companies to stop exporting eel to the United States to be used as a novel protein source in petfoods. One local petfood company, Addiction Foods, exports a range of gourmet petfoods to the US and other markets, marketing them as hypoallergenic or "earth-friendly."

Call for papers now open for Petfood Forum 2013

Petfood Forum 2013 is now accepting papers for this global petfood industry event, being held April 15-17 at the Renaissance Schaumburg, in Schaumburg, Illinois, USA. Petfood Forum offers multiple learning sessions from pet industry experts, networking opportunities and a large exhibit hall with pet industry suppliers.

Pet Food Safety

Petfood safety: key decisions for your HACCP program

Hazard analysis and critical control points, or HACCP, is a regulatory requirement for many industries and is the basis for managing food safety in a variety of international management systems, such as ISO 22000, the British Retail Consortium and Safe Quality Foods Institute. There is no argument as to the effectiveness of HACCP when it is applied properly. However, poor implementation or abuse of the system can be devastating.

A key preliminary HACCP decision is choosing the food safety team leader and providing adequate training and resources, including dedicated team members armed with management support.

Man suing Diamond Pet Foods over dry dog food recall

A father in New Jersey is reportedly suing Diamond Pet Foods and the place of purchase, Costco, claiming that his 8-week-old son was sickened by recently recalled Salmonella-tainted dry dog food he purchased. Lawyers for Nevin Eisenberg of Marlboro, New Jersey, USA, filed a lawsuit in a New Jersey federal court that alleges his infant son was hospitalized by a strain of Salmonella infantis that was found in petfood made at Diamond’s Gaston, South Carolina, USA, manufacturing plant.

Diamond dry dog food recall linked to second plant in Missouri, USA

The initial recall of dry dog food produced at Diamond Pet Foods' Gaston, South Carolina, USA, facility has since been expanded at least eight times affecting at least nine brand names, but the latest expansion now includes petfood produced at a second Diamond facility in Meta, Missouri, USA. No information regarding a possible connection between the Salmonella contamination at the two plants has been released, according to a report.

CDC explains food pathogen database, PulseNet

At the recent annual meeting of the Association of Public Health Laboratories in Seattle, Washington, USA, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explained how its foodborne pathogen database, PulseNet, aids in outbreak detection as well as future challenges CDC anticipates. PulseNet, launched in 1996, identifies the DNA information for foodborne pathogens, including those in petfood, using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

Market Trends and Reports

Diamond Pet Foods recall expanded to include cat food formulas

Diamond Pet Foods has once again expanded its petfood recall, this time to include a brand of cat food produced at the company's Gaston, South Carolina, USA, petfood manufacturing facility, due to the possibility of Salmonella contamination. The new recall involves two dry cat food formulas: Kirkland Signature Super Premium Maintenance Cat Chicken & Rice Formula and Kirkland Signature Super Premium Healthy Weight Cat Formula.

New pet illness complaints linked to Chinese chicken jerky treats

A new record of complaints from pet owners and veterinarians submitted to federal health officials shows nearly 1,000 dogs have reportedly been sickened after eating chicken jerky treats made in China, according to a recent msnbc.com article. Since November 2011, the US Food and Drug Administration has received almost 900 reports of pet illnesses and deaths.

Market Trends and Reports

Cats potentially at risk after Diamond Pet Foods dog food recall

After recalling one batch of Diamond Naturals dry dog food on April 6 for possible Salmonella contamination, Diamond Pet Foods and other brands manufactured at its plant have expanded the recall on numerous occasions, Diamond endured a week-long inspection of its Gaston, South Carolina, USA, by the US Food and Drug Administration, which found various safety issues, and most recently acknowledged that cats are also at risk. According to a recent article, Diamond Pet Foods has done little to call special attention to the expansion of its dry dog food recalls to include a cat food that was also manufactured at the plant.

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