Safety & Quality: Page 149

Pet Food Regulations

'No by-products' no more?

Some people within the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) have never cared for negative claims on petfood labelsstatements such as, "no ____" or "____free." Although currently there is no model regulation, policy or guideline that explicitly addresses this issue, some regulators believe that even when such statements are technically true, claims regarding absence of an ingredient in a product may cause false disparagement of that safe and acceptable feed ingredient.

Pet Food Regulations

'New' APPA discusses regulatory issues

In early October, I attended the H.H. Backer Christmas 2008 Show in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Like other pet trade shows such as Global Pet Expo (GPE), the main function of the Backer show is for pet product companies to showcase their products to prospective buyers from retail firms.

Safety & Quality

Whole Dog Journal wants transparency

In addition to transparency, Whole Dog Journal examines the ingredients listed on the product labels and looks for, among other things, the absence of by-products, added sweetners and artificial coloring.

Pet Food Regulations

NRC publishes new report on supplement safety

A little over a year ago,  I reported on the formation of a National Research Council (NRC)  committee charged with looking at the safety of dietary supplements for non-food-producing animals. While the committee's members were not finalized at that time, I was honored to subsequently be confirmed as a participant in this expert panel.

Pet Food Market

AAFCO holds petfood workshop

After a couple of years of discussion and planning, the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), along with the Pet Food Institute (PFI), held a petfood regulatory workshop in early August, the day before AAFCO's Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. The intent was to educate both regulators and industry professionals about the AAFCO Model Regulations for Pet Food and Specialty Pet Food (also known as Model Pet Food Regulations).

Safety & Quality

Feedback: AFIA's safety certification

Readers respond to Petfood Industry Editors

Pet Food Regulations

Surprise at AAFCO annual meeting

The 2008 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) was held August 1-4 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. During the general session, where the AAFCO membership as a whole votes on the recommendations made by the various committees over the past year, something unexpected happened.

Pet Food Regulations

FDA discusses petfood labeling and safety

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held public meetings over two consecutive days in mid-May to discuss issues pertaining to petfoods. The first meeting invited comment on     implementation of the FDA Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA), while in the second meeting the agency provided an update on its Animal Feed Safety System (AFSS).

Pet Food Regulations

What veterinarians think about petfood

Most of my public presentations over the last several years have been directed toward the petfood industry. Thus, it was with some excitement but also a little trepidation that I was given the opportunity to speak before a veterinary audience.

Pet Food Regulations

Speak now or pay later

As of the time of this writing, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to issue an official Federal Register notice specifying the date and agenda of the public meeting to discuss the impact of the FDA Amendments Act of 2007 on the promulgation of new federal petfood labeling requirements (see Petfood Industry, December 2007). Many in the public and industry are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to hear FDA's plans and/or comment on this matter.

Pet Food Regulations

Petfood safety: US state legislatures chime in

In addition to new federal laws such as the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007, a number of state legislative bodies have reacted to last year's petfood recalls. They have introduced several new proposals, primarily concerned with recovery of damages by persons whose pets are injured by adulterated petfoods. A few of the proposals add new responsibilities for petfood companies in terms of manufacturing or labeling requirements.

Safety & Quality

Keep a lid on it

There is an increased awareness about the importance of package integrity across many industries, and with the scrutiny heightening on ours, the pressure is on to invest in better quality inspection technologies that can be applied for both off-line testing and in-line automated inspection. Companies that keep using destructive test methods that were developed and approved for use decades ago should re-evaluate their process and investigate technologies that provide valuable data that will improve manufacturing processes, helping reduce overall costs.

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