Safety & Quality: Page 140

Pet Food Safety

The science and safety of petfood palatability enhancers

Palatability enhancers, as the name indicates, are used to affect taste, smell and texture of petfoods to increase their desirability to companion animals. Palatability is critical for manufacturers to consider when formulating a nutritionally balanced petfood.

Many palatability enhancers are tested for efficacy through controlled feeding studies that measure data such as first-bite preference and total consumption.

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

Merrick recalls Doggie Wishbone treats due to Salmonella

Merrick Pet Care is recalling 248 cases of its Doggie Wishbone pet treats because of potential Salmonella contamination. The affected treats are marked as follows: ITEM # 29050, UPC code 2280829050, Lot 11031 and a "Best By" date of January 30, 2012.

Pet Food Ingredients

AAFCO votes on specialty petfood labels

The 102nd Annual Convention of the Association of American Feed Control Officials was held July 30 to August 1, 2011, in Austin, Texas, USA. There were some, but not very many, items directly affecting petfood. Since the AAFCO recently changed its procedures so the membership now votes at both the annual and midyear meetings, the number of items up for consideration in the general session seemed fewer this year than at annual meetings past.

AFIA announces petfood regulatory training course

In October, the American Feed Industry Association will hold a regulatory training short course for petfood industry professionals in Arlington, Virginia, USA. The course will take place October 11-12, serving as training on how to work as a regulatory professional in the petfood industry.

US FDA launches PETNet petfood incident tracking

The Partnership for Food Protection and the US Food and Drug Administration launched the Pet Event Tracking Network, PETNet, which is a secure, Web-based information exchange system for petfood-related incidents. PETNet’s voluntary information exchange, surveillance and alert system provides real-time information sharing about emerging petfood-related illnesses and product defects among FDA, and other federal and state agencies.

Market Trends and Reports

Nestle Purina recalls adult cat food for Salmonella contamination

Nestle Purina is voluntarily recalling bags of its Purina One Vibrant Maturity 7+ dry cat food due to concerns the petfood could be tainted with Salmonella, according to the company. Purina is recalling select 3.5- and 7-pound bags of the petfood, marked with a "Best by" date of May 2012. Recalled 3.5-pound cat food bags have production codes of 03341084 and 03351084, with UPC codes of 17800 01885.

'Business Day' petfood safety segment to re-air in August

The petfood safety segment on "Business Day with Terry Bradshaw" will air again in select US regional markets in August. In the Huntsville, Decatur and Florence, Alabama, USA markets, the petfood safety segment will re-air on Saturday, August 6, 13, 20 and 27, at 8 a.m. on the Fox WZDX-TV channel.

Natura reaches deal in class-action petfood lawsuit

A US$2,150,000 settlement was reached with Natura Pet Products Inc., Natura Pet Food Inc., Natura Manufacturing and Peter Atkins in a class-action lawsuit regarding advertising of Natura's petfood, according to a report. The lawsuit originated after claims that the company misrepresented its petfood quality as "human-grade."

Pet insurance company offers petfood and nutrition tips for consumers

Pet insurance company Petplan's online blog offers consumer guidelines on selecting a petfood, as cases of petfood contamination and recalls have become more frequent. A report from Packaged Facts predicted the sales of natural and organic petfoods to grow three times faster than regular petfoods through 2015, though the pet insurance company warns consumers that the two terms are not the same.

Pet Food Safety

Target petfood safety with process hardware

Petfood manufacturers are looking for innovative ways to modify existing facilities and processing lines to accommodate the safest petfood processes possible. But as the recent Nestlé Purina recall of dry cat food due to Salmonella contamination demonstrates, there are significant challenges in manufacturing, packaging and delivering these products in the supply chain.

Every aspect of the petfood facilityâ€”from product movement through the plant and contamination from outside sources to equipment designâ€”all require rethinking in light of recent FDA regulations, sanitary practices and GMPs.

FDA wants food-safety law funds in fiscal 2012 budget

The US Food and Drug Administration wants the US government's fiscal 2012 budget to include US$1.4 billion in funds for FDA's food-safety law that guides FDA regulation in cases of petfood contamination, according to Bloomberg.com. In June, the US House voted to cut FDA’s fiscal 2012 food-safety budget by 10% to US$752 million, which FDA says would slow progress of Food Safety Modernization Act implementation.

PFIA confirms South African dog deaths from aflatoxin contamination

The Pet Food Industry Association in South Africa confirmed that dog deaths continued into May, after three dog food brands were ordered to be removed from store shelves in April due to aflatoxin contamination, according to reports. The Department of Agriculture ordered the Hi Pro, Buddies and Legends petfood brands be removed from store shelves, following the initial deaths of 12 dogs in Gauteng, South Africa.

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