Safety & Quality: Page 129

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.

Brand Insights

Plasma: A Multi-Faceted Ingredient Supporting Health, Formula Functionality, and Nutrition in Pet Food

APC Inc

Discover how plasma protein supports pet health, boosts palatability, and improves pet food functionality and processing performance in modern formulations.

Plasma: A Multi-Faceted Ingredient Supporting Health, Formula Functionality, and Nutrition in Pet Food

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.

Diamond Pet Foods expands dry dog food recall again

Diamond Pet Foods is again expanding a voluntary petfood recall to include its Diamond Naturals Small Breed Adult Dog Lamb & Rice Formula dry dog food manufactured on August 26, 2011 in Gaston, South Carolina, USA, due to concerns the product may have been exposed to Salmonella. The recall applies to sample sizes, as well as 6- and 18-pound bag sizes of Diamond Naturals Small Breed Adult Dog Lamb & Rice Formula.

Pet Food Safety

SGS offers pathogen testing services to petfood manufacturers

Due to recent dry dog food recalls in the US and Canada for Salmonella contamination, many petfood manufacturers may be looking to more-thoroughly test their petfood products to avoid causing illness to pet owners and their pets. SGS in Brookings, South Dakota, USA, offers the petfood industry a complete range of pathogen testing services, including Salmonella, E. Coli and Listeria.

Pet Food Ingredients

American Feed Industry Association holds spring meeting

Nearly 60 members of the American Feed Industry Association’s board of directors met to discuss issues of mutual concern and make their concerns known to legislators during the annual spring meeting near Washington, D.C., USA. On May 16, board members visited Capitol Hill and members of Congress to publicize the association's positions on proposed legislation that would impact the feed and feed ingredient industry.

FDA releases Reportable Food Registry Report

The US Food and Drug Administration released its second Reportable Food Registry Report. The Reportable Food Registry requires manufacturers, processors, packers and holders (warehousers, distributors, etc.) of Food and Drug Administration-regulated foods/feeds to quickly report any foods, feeds or ingredients that could result in serious adverse health consequences to humans or animals, via the administration's online Safety Reporting Portal.

Aller Petfood's Russian facility receives food safety certification

In April, Aller Petfood's Russian wet petfood manufacturing facility received ISO 22000 certification, making it one of only 15 Russian companies total to earn the food safety certification. Aller Petfood's factory in Saint Petersburg, Russia, produces private-label standard and premium wet petfoods.

Aller Petfood's Russian manufacturing facility received ISO 22000 food safety certification.

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