March 18th,
2008Volume 8, Number
5This newsletter is also
available in an Adobe PDF format; click on the following link to
begin download:
Petfood
Industry eNews.
AFB International, the maker of
Optimizor®, BioFlavor®, and Enticer® brand palatants, sponsors your
free copy of Petfood Industry Electronic Newsletter. AFB is
the petfood industry's first choice for dog and cat food palatants.
For more information, please visit our website at http://www.afbinternational.com.
» INDUSTRY NEWS
There's still time to
register for Petfood Forum and Focus on Safety
You can still pre-register so you don't miss out
on the best opportunities for expansion and how to lead them in your
organization .
Petfood Forum 2008 connects you with the people and information
you need to continue to advance. This premier event for the petfood
industry features plenty of networking opportunities, and
exciting sessions such as:
- Complementary technologies - Professor Jean Bouvier
- In-line nutrient analysis - Michael Myrick, PhD, University of
South Carolina
- Alternative petfoods: fallout from the recalls - David Lummis,
Packaged Facts
- Custodial care of ingredients - Ed Mareth, 3D Corporate
Solutions
- Global new product trends - Krista Faron, Mintel Custom
Solutions
- US regulatory report - Dave Syverson, chair of Pet Food
Committee, AAFCO
- The natural and organic markets - Brian Connolly, Castor &
Pollux Pet Works
- Nutrional management of canine hip dysplasia - Gail K. Smith,
VMD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
- Covert marketing and detecting devices - Peter Gabriele,
Armark Authentication Technologies
- Treat palatability - Aurelie de Ratuld, PhD, SPF
- Sustainability and carbon footprints - Colin Mair
- Can raw petfoods prevent cancer? - Dr. Ian Billinghurst, BARF
Australia
- Private label petfoods: a global status report - Lee
Linthincum, Euromonitor International
- EU regulatory update - Thomas Meyer, FEDIAF
- Petfood safety systems - Dr. David Rosenblatt, PDCA Training
Solutions
- Focus on petfood retailing - Lee Linthincum, Euromonitor
International
- Executive roundtable
- Pet retailers speak
- New product development
ideas
Every petfood company around the world is placing
a renewed emphasis on safety and quality. The Petfood Focus on
Safety symposium gives you an in-depth look at information you can't
afford to miss:
- Good purchasing practices - Dr. David Rosenblatt, PDCA
Training Solutions
- Introducing ISO 22000 - John Surak
- Adverse event reporting and preferred vendors - Bill Bookout,
president, National Animal Supplement Council
- Crisis contingency planning
- Case study: Natural Balance - Frank Koch, Natural Balance Pet
Foods
- Finding the right insurance
- Consumer connections roundtable
Register online at www.petfoodindustry.com/petfoodforum.aspx.
For a full listing of this year's exhibitors, visit www.petfoodindustry.com/exhibitors.aspx.
Asian precursor to US
petfood recalls
Veterinary pathologists have recently
determined that the US outbreak of contaminated petfood in 2007
wasn't the first chemical-related incident to occur this decade. A
2004 outbreak that also involved petfoods contaminated with
industrial chemicals sickened more than 6,000 dogs and a smaller
number of cats across Asia, according to Asian press reports at the
time. Kidney failure in the animals was linked to Pedigree dog foods
and Whiskas cat foods manufactured in Thailand by Mars Inc.
The Asian cases were little known in
the US, where it was publically assumed the outbreak was the first
of its kind, until the pet blog Pet Connection reported on
the Asian incidents this month. Veterinarians in Asia initially
blamed the 2004 pet deaths on fungal toxins, which also was one of
the first suspicions when the US recalls occurred last year.
A comment by a Korean graduate student amid
the 2007 outbreak led Cathy Brown, a specialist in renal pathology
at Georgia's Athens Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, to suspect
this had happened before. Brown tracked down tissue samples from the
pets that died in 2004 at the Kyungpook National University in
Korea. The samples contained the same type of insoluble crystals
found in US pets during the 2007 outbreak, which killed at least 347
cats and dogs, according to the preliminary data gathered at
Michigan State University-Lansing. The Georgia paper was published
last fall in the Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation,
but largely went unnoticed until it was picked up by the pet
blog.
The Georgia researchers weren't the first
to link the two outbreaks. In March 2007, after it became known that
melamine and cyanuric acid were the culprits behind the US pet
deaths, Mars scientists made the link. "As a responsible company,
Mars immediately shared this information with the veterinary
community and regulators in Asia and the US," says Mars spokeswoman
Alice Nathanson.
The Food and Drug Administration
acknowledges it was informed, but major veterinary and petfood
organizations-including the American Veterinary Medical Association,
the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians,
the Pet Food Institute and the Association of American Feed Control
Officials-say they were never told by Mars of any link between the
two outbreaks.
Dog treats recalled over
Salmonella risk
The Roll Over Pork Tenders Premium Dog
Treats brand was recalled this month because it may contain
Salmonella bacteria, according to the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency. The dog treats pose a risk of Salmonella infection to people
handling the treats or in contact with pets who have eaten the
treats, the warning said. As of press time, one illness had been
reported in connection with the recalled treat. The dog treats, made
by Alberta, Canada-based Rollover Premium Pet Foods and sold in 50
gram packages across the country, are effected by the recall if they
date back to March 2007 with UPC 060766 88138 1.
US pet owners feel
crunch of higher food prices, mortgage
foreclosures
The price increases in petfood may
seem minor compared to the recent hikes in grocery and gas prices,
but any cost increase at all is proving to be too much for many US
pet owners. The Southwest Missouri Humane Society estimates it used
to receive around a third of its relinquished cats and dogs as a
result of an owner's inability to afford the pet any longer. Now,
according to the shelter, that's increased to roughly half. Many
consumers are feeling the effects of petfood manufacturers recent
price increases, including Del Monte Foods Co.'s 4% hike on petfoods
and treats in February.
The increase in mortgage foreclosures may also be leading to an
increase in abandoned pets, according to an article in the
Chicago Tribune. "We're seeing people in bad financial
situations who are moving to places where they can't have pets,"
said Angie Wood, assistant executive director of the Naperville Area
Humane Society in Illinois, USA. "There definitely has been an
increase in the past six months to a year." As more families get ousted from their homes, it seems
a strong possibility that, if a spike in abandoned pets in local pet
shelters hasn't happened yet, it will. US authorities in recent
months have reported cats, dogs, birds, horses and other animals
left abandoned at foreclosed houses and farms, the Tribune
story also reports.
Processing line shut
down at Castleberry plant
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
has shut down the Augusta, Georgia, USA processing company involved
with a massive recall of canned chili, meat products and wet petfood
linked to botulism poisoning in the summer of 2007. The botulism
cases were the first tied to a commercially canned food product in
the US in the past 30 years. Castleberry's Food Co. received a
letter from the FDA that suspended its operating permit. The US
Department of Agriculture, which monitors food plants that include
meat in their products, also pulled its inspectors from the plant.
The FDA permit issued in September
2007 was a temporary one with specific conditions that allowed the
company to reopen after a two-month shut down tied to the botulism
investigation. Problems on a processing line not associated with
last summer's recall triggered the permit suspension, according to
FDA spokeswoman Kim Rawlings. There have been no reports of illness
tied to any products and there is no recall associated with the
latest plant closing.
The federal agencies suspended
operations at the Castleberry plant after an FDA inspection. The
company can apply for reinstatement to resume operations once it has
addressed concerns from both federal agencies and developed a
correction plan.
WATT launches
EcoAgri.Biz
WATT has launched EcoAgri.Biz, a
comprehensive, global and completely digital news product providing
companies and individuals in animal agribusiness markets with
practical sustainability advice and solutions. Link to the digital
magazine at http://www.ecoagribiz-digital.com/ecoagribiz/200802/
» MARKET DATA
Each month the Petfood
Industry eNewsletter will bring you the latest market data
available from several different sources including Euromonitor
International, Packaged Facts, Information Resources Inc. (IRI) and
ACNielsen.
 
More than just man's best friend
While the
Canadian birth rate has been declining, the number of pets has been
on the rise. Some Canadians are choosing pets over having children,
while others, especially older people, are seeking companions to
fill their empty nests as their children have been growing up and
leaving home. Surveys indicate that about half of all Canadian
households have at least one pet. Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan
lead the way in pet ownership, followed by the Maritimes, British
Columbia, Ontario and Quebec. Pet ownership increases with the
household income.
By the end of 2012, retail sales of petfood and pet care products
are expected to reach approximately C$2.2 billion (US$2.23 billion),
reflecting a constant value compound annual growth rate increase of
2%. Value sales of petfood will be enhanced by increased sales of
higher priced, value-added products across all pet segments,
including value-added products in pet treats. Dietary supplements
will be in demand as well, as pet owners will seek the most balanced
diets possible for their animals. Furthermore, the apparently large
number of older pets, as well as over-pampered indoor animals with
extra weight problems, will be also support sales of dietary
supplements and healthcare products.
http://www.euromonitor.com/Pet_Food_And_Pet_Care_Products?DCMP=AFC-petfoodemail
» PRODUCT NEWS
Real-time
measurement
The Ometric SpectrInline
measures levels of moisture, fat, proteins and other nutrients. It
provides real-time measurement of the concentration of the compounds
of interest at the speed of light, as opposed to conventional,
slower methods, according to the company. SpectrInline data allows
process parameters to be immediately adjusted via PLC-based
automation as well as optimizing product adherence to
specifications. www.ometric.com
Substitute grommets with
Grabbits
Grabbits from the Grabbit Tool Co. are
tarp and fabric fasteners that are a possible substitute for
grommets. Grabbits' three sizes allow for the mounting of multiple
tarps to structures, seaming tarps together and grabbing tarps
anywhere. Mounting the "dogbone" portion of Grabbits, adding the
tarp and then applying the "sleeve" allows users to create an
instant cover for areas such as pet runs. Grabbits work with any
pliable fabric. www.grabbittool.com
Newly approved test from
Neogen
Neogen's Reveal for DON SQ, a test for
deoxynivalenol, has been approved by the USDA's Grain Inspection,
Packers and Stockyards Administration. This approval enables the
simple lateral flow strip test to be used for official testing in
the national grain inspection system. The current approval covers
the use of the test kit to screen wheat samples at 2 parts per
million. According to Neogen, after a simple water extraction, clear
sample results can be read in only five minutes. www.neogen.com
Improved palletizer
A newer version of the Master 3500
High Level Palletizer has been introduced by Thiele Tehcnologies.
Improved features include a servo-controlled layer pusher and pallet
lift motors, advanced machine diagnostics and an integrated
Allen-Bradley control architecture. According to Thiele, the
improved palletizer offers product changeover in approximately 15
seconds. www.thieletech.com
» RESEARCH NEWS
Implementing
research
Research and implementation often
exist in separate worlds. To improve results, the nutrition research
community needs to go beyond "what" works to understand "how" it
works. If they do not, nutrition research risks becoming irrelevant
to the needs of those who actually make policies and implement
programs. Researchers must prioritize research on effectiveness of
policies and programs.
They should incorporate knowledge and tools
of social sciences, including economics, sociology, political
science and management into their work. They should pay greater
attention to environmental and institutional variables and
understand strategies, knowledge utilization and policy processes.
Fundamentally, research on implementation should use a systematic
approach to produce generalizable evidence and conceptual models,
tools and methods that are communicated effectively to policy makers
and programmers. Nutrition researchers need not expand far beyond
their disciplinary comfort zone to do this, bur they do need to
build bridges with other fields to have greater success in
addressing nutritional challenges.
Source: J.L. Garrett, 2008. J.
Nutr. 138: 646-650
Fiber and
diabetes
A high dietary fiber (DF)
intake is emphasized in the recommendations of most diabetes and
nutritional associations. It is accepted that viscous and
gel-forming properties of soluble DF inhibit macronutrient
absorption, reduce postprandial glucose response and beneficially
influence certain blood lipids. Colonic fermentation of naturally
available high fiber foods can also be mainly attributed to soluble
DF, whereas no difference between soluble and insoluble DF
consumption on the regulation of body weight has been
observed.
However, in prospective cohort studies, it
is primarily insoluble cereal DF and whole grains, and not soluble
DF, that is consistently associated with reduced diabetes risk,
suggesting that further, unknown mechanisms are likely to be
involved. Recent research indicates that DF consumption contributes
to a number of unexpected metabolic effects independent t from
changes in body weight, which include improvement of insulin
sensitivity, modulation of the secretion of certain gut hormones,
and effects on various metabolic and inflammatory markers that are
associated with the metabolic syndrome.
Source : M.O. Weickert et
al., 2008. J. Nutr. 138: 439-442.
» POSITIONS AVAILABLE
Our help wanted listings aim to
inform petfood industry professionals about employment opportunities
worldwide. Contact gstadel@wattnet.net for more
information on placing a listing in upcoming issues.
» CONTACT INFO
To submit any information you would like us to
consider for publication on our website, in the printed magazine, or
in this newsletter, E-mail your information to Jessica Taylor Bond,
jbond@wattnet.net.
Have questions or comments about what you've just read?
E-mail the editor at editor@petfoodindustry.com
or post your thoughts on the Petfood Industry discussion forums
online at www.petfoodindustry.com.
We are always interested in hearing your ideas about the
value of this newsletter, or whether you have any problems
downloading or viewing this document. If you would like to
discontinue your free subscription to this newsletter, or if you
have additional E-mail addresses to add or remove from our
subscriber list, please contact Petfoodindustry@wattnet.com.
» CALENDAR
For our Full Calendar of Events, please
click on the provided link:
AFB International, the maker
of Optimizor®, BioFlavor®, and Enticer® brand palatants, sponsors
your free copy of Petfood Industry Electronic Newsletter.
AFB is the petfood industry's first choice for dog and cat food
palatants. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.afbinternational.com.
|
