Safety & Quality: Page 132

Pet Food Regulations

Feeding tortoises imparts lessons about petfood

I’ve frequently mentioned my dogs and cats in writings and presentations, and many industry members have heard or read about my small chicken flock as well. However, fewer people know about my penchant for reptiles. I recently added to my collection of snakes, lizards and turtles by adopting three sulcata tortoises over the past year. What I’ve learned about feeding these guys has caused me to reflect on how we feed our more conventional pets, particularly dogs and cats.

Dr. David Dzanis with his three sulcata tortoises, Lucky, Bucky and Stucky, from whom he has learned valuable lessons about feeding more traditional pets.

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

Pet Food Safety

Designing your plant for petfood safety

With increased scrutiny by consumers and regulators in the US, European Union and other regions, ensuring the safety of petfood products is crucial. For petfood manufacturers, food safety starts at home—in this case, the manufacturing plant, especially when it is being built or retrofitted.

When designing a plant to assure petfood safety, it is important that planning the layout of the facility includes not only the rooms and equipment but also product flow and people traffic patterns.

Pet Food Safety

Alliance of expertise is key to petfood safety

Site and facility design is a critical component of petfood safety. The seamless integration of design, systems integration and processing equipment technology minimizes the risks of product contamination.

Natura launches new petfood ingredient tracking website

Natura Pet Products launched a new website, www.SeeBeyondTheBag.com, that lets customers see how the manufacturer creates new petfood formulas and where the petfood ingredients are sourced. Natura’s new website shares the regions where Natura’s ingredients are sourced on an interactive map and presents a narrated video tour of the company’s plant in Fremont, Nebraska, USA, with profiles of employees working in manufacturing and product development at the plant.

Natura's site lets consumers track ingredients and their source on an interactive map.

Woman launches Change.org campaign against chicken jerky dog treats

An Ohio, USA, woman launched a petition campaign on Change.org calling for the recall of Nestle Purina's Waggin' Train dog treats, claiming her Fox Terrier died after consuming the chicken jerky treats made in China. Terry Safranek's campaign on Change.org was launched after a Food and Drug Administration representative picked up a sample of the treats from her house for its ongoing investigation.

Diamond Pet foods voluntarily recalls Lamb Meal & Rice dog food

Diamond Pet Foods issued a voluntary recall of its Diamond Naturals Lamb Meal & Rice formula as a precautionary measure because the product has the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The petfood manufacturer says the dog food recall is a voluntary measure and that no illnesses have been reported and none of the company's other petfood products are affected.

Market Trends and Reports

FDA to investigate chicken jerky dog treats made in China

US Food and Drug Administration inspectors are being sent to manufacturing facilities in China that make chicken jerky dog treats to investigate a potential link between illnesses and deaths in dogs and the treats, according to MSNBC. The exact number of inspectors involved in the chicken jerky treat investigation and the plants that will be visited are unknown, and Food and Drug Administration officials declined to comment on the inspections.

FDA member addresses FSMA requirements for petfood safety

At Petfood Forum 2012, Daniel G. McChesney, PhD, director of the Office of Surveillance and compliance, Center for Veterinary Medicine, US Food and Drug Administration , spoke to petfood and treat manufacturers and petfood ingredient suppliers about necessary requirements and timelines for compliance with the Food Safety Modernization Act. Dr. McChesney told his audience that the main themes of the food safety law are prevention; inspections, compliance and response; enhanced partnerships; and import safety.

Kibble 1204 Pe Tfsma

Brazilian Association of the Pet Product Industry releases new manual

The Brazilian Association of the Pet Product Industry recently published its Pet Food Brasil Manual with the goal of constantly improving petfood production. The new publication is an update of the current PIQ PET Manual, which was developed six years ago by the entity's technical groups of professionals from associated companies and universities.

Petfood companies Mars, Heinz Watties dispute over trademark

Petfood manufacturer Mars and New Zealand petfood company Heinz Watties are in a dispute over whether Mars can trademark the marketing slogan for its Advance petfood line in Australia, according to a local report. Mars wants to trademark the slogan "Advance Advanced Pet Nutrition," but was denied by assistant trademarks commissioner, Jennie Walden, because she said the trademark phrase was likely to confuse consumers due to its similarity to what Heinz Watties says is its unregistered trademark of "Champ Advanced Dog Nutrition."

Petfood manufacturers fined by France antitrust authority

Petfood manufacturers Nestlé SA, Mars Inc. and Colgate-Palmolive Co. were fined a collective €35.3 million (US$46.7 million) by France's antitrust authority for pressuring petfood distributors to mark up prices, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Autorité de la Concurrence in France said "vertical agreements" between the three petfood companies and their respective distributors between 2004 and 2008 "limited competition on the markets for dry food for dogs and cats."

Compy dog food wants consumers to contact them over pet illnesses

After supermarket chain Mercadona pulled Compy wet dog food off shelves in select stores in Spain due to reports of pets suffering from kidney failure, dog owners are submitting claim forms to a new website set up by those living in Spain. But, the dog food’s manufacturer is urging concerned consumers to contact them directly instead.

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