Safety & Quality: Page 146

Pet Food Market

Something to Chew On: Petfood safety: what’s next

Food safety in the US seems to have taken a big step last month with passage of S. 510, also called the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2010, which will also affect regulation of petfood. (Whether the step taken is forward or backward depends on your point of view regarding the bill and, possibly, legislation in general.)

Pet Food Ingredients

The GRAS process for petfood ingredients

The implementation of a “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) notification process for animal feed ingredients has been eagerly awaited for years. It is not surprising, then, that the announcement by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) of its intent to start accepting notifications this past summer was met with great enthusiasm by the petfood industry.

Pet Food Safety

Testing for toxins

Petfood manufacturers and the testing labs hired by them are under increasing pressure to take petfood testing to a new level. How should expectations for petfood testing be raised and enforced in the global ingredients supply chain?

Pet Food Regulations

What the future holds for petfood and supplements

The pet market continues to grow as a result of a constant stream of new and innovative products, a steadily growing aging animal population and the expanding role that pets play as family members. Further, the "humanization" of pets is exaggerating consumer demand for products and services that are as good (and sometimes better) as those available for people themselves.

Market Trends and Reports

Chickens: new opportunity for the pet treat industry?

Recently, a commentary in the op-ed section of a local newspaper proclaimed chickens to be “the new black.” Apparently, keeping poultry has become increasingly popular among the less agriculturally inclined in the US, not only in the suburbs but with the big city folk, too.

Pet Food Regulations

More news from AAFCO

Last month, I reported on the activities of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) Pet Food Committee during its annual meeting in Portland, Oregon, USA, in early August. This month I cover items that occurred outside of the Pet Food Committee session but still may affect petfoods.

Pet Food Regulations

AAFCO committee passes calorie proposal

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) held its annual meeting in Portland, Oregon, USA, July 31 through August 2, 2010. The Pet Food Committee (PFC) session generated many newsworthy items.

Pet Food Regulations

Something to Chew On: Petfood needs regulatory common sense

It seems every day brings notice of a new US petfood recall due to potential Salmonella contamination. Most people in the industry would say this is not because petfood manufacturers are making unsafe products or failing to follow safety protocols.

Market Trends and Reports

Cat food’s role in urinary tract health now unclear

My attendance at the meeting also afforded me the opportunity to learn much from the other speakers. Particularly interesting were several presentations on feline idiopathic cystitis (FIC) and how the understanding of the role of diet in its pathophysiology and treatment has changed.

Pet Food Regulations

Good news for good bugs

The Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) in the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has long objected to use of the terms "probiotics" and "prebiotics" on animal feed and petfood labeling. However, at the 2010 Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) Feed Administrator's Seminar (an annual training program for state regulators), CVM indicated the intent to remove its objection to that verbiage.

Pet Food Regulations

Trouble brewing for organic petfoods?

The organic petfood market has grown considerably over the past decade. Admittedly, when I first was introduced to the concept, I wasn't convinced that many pet owners would be willing to pay the significantly higher costs associated with organic production compared to its less tangible benefits.

Pet Food Ingredients

FDA lays out options for new ingredients

As of the time of this writing, initiation of the US  Food and Drug Administration 's (FDA) pilot program to accept generally recognized as safe (GRAS) notifications for animal feed and petfood ingredients is still pending. However, in anticipation of the start of the program later in 2010, several presentations on the subject were given at the  Association of American Feed Control Officials  (AAFCO) meeting in January. Most interesting is how GRAS notifications compare and contrast with the other primary means to allow for use of new ingredients.

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