December 4th, 2007
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Your free copy of the Petfood Industry Electronic Newsletter is sponsored by AFB International, maker of Optimizor® and BioFlavor® brand palatants. 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.

AFB International

 
 
INDUSTRY NEWS: Petfood Forum Asia registration deadline approaching
MARKET DATA: The global market for petfood and pet care products
PRODUCT NEWS: Rotary airlock protection
RESEARCH NEWS: Extrusion effect on the quality of dog food
POSITIONS AVAILABLE: Marketing Manager for SPF
 » INDUSTRY NEWS
 Petfood Forum Asia registration deadline approaching
The early-bird registration deadline for Petfood Forum Asia is January 15, 2008. The fee for registering by then, US$225, is more than 15% less than the full registration fee of US$275.

Petfood Forum Asia will take place March 5, 2008, in Bangkok, Thailand, in conjunction with Victam Asia 2008 (www.victam.com). Keynote speakers for this highly anticipated, international event include:
  • Maria Trombly, Trombly Ltd. — global and Asian petfood sales trends
  • Julie Lenzer Kirk, Interstates Companies — petfood safety and traceability.
  • David Southey, Southey Consultants Ltd. — advances in pet nutrition.
  • Dr. Anton Beynen, Vobra — new and functional ingredients.
  • Chris Nelson, Kemin — advances in palatability.
  • Brian Kim, E-mart — the future of petfood retailing.
  • Will Henry, Extru-Tech — treat extrusion.
Registration for Petfood Forum Asia, Petfood Forum 2008 and Petfood Focus on Safety is now available via a new online system, accessible at:
 
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 PFI to implement recall recommendations
The Pet Food Institute (PFI) has received recommendations from the National Pet Food Commission (NPFC) and is in the process of developing a plan to implement them. The NPFC was established by PFI in April 2007 to conduct an independent review of the petfood recalls of 2007. The commission was comprised of recognized authorities in nutrition, toxicology, veterinary medicine and quality control. Its charge was to study the findings on the cause of the recall.

From its study the NPFC recommended steps the industry and government can take to further build on the safety and quality standards already in place for petfood. The recommendations are being presented by the NPFC to the regulators of the industry – the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) – and to veterinarians as well as to the petfood industry as a whole. Implementation of the recommendations of the NPFC by the petfood industry will support the industry’s role in the effort to further strengthen the nation’s food safety system.

 
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NPFC recommendations to PFI include:

1. Develop a model product safety/quality assurance program, based upon industry best practices, that addresses ingredient sourcing (domestic and international) and receiving; product manufacturing and co-manufacturing; labeling; transportation; and distribution of commercial petfood.
2. Utilizing existing, or develop additional, contractual trading rules governing the purchase and sale of ingredients when procuring raw materials used in the manufacture of commercial petfood. Utilize, to the degree practical, existing industry trading rules, such as those promulgated by the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA), as a starting point.
3. Expand existing educational and training initiatives concerning ingredient procurement, with an emphasis on developing a risk-based approach for ingredients sourced from all suppliers, both international and domestic. Such education should include, but not be limited to the role and responsibilities of brokers; as well as the role and reliability of certificates of analysis (COAs) as indicators of ingredient safety, quality and wholesomeness.
4. Explore mechanisms to communicate identities of recalled products to consumers via various methods in addition to the Internet.
5. Work with retailers and FDA-CVM to develop more efficient methods to remove recalled petfood products from sale.

 
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6. Develop a model emergency response plan for the commercial petfood industry. Offer risk communication education and training to PFI membership, and where possible, to non-member companies.
7. Provide education on the CARVER+Shock method for vulnerability assessments that has been adopted by the federal government for the food industry. The CARVER+ Shock method includes a software tool to help evaluate seven attributes of vulnerability to attack.
8. Volunteer to host a vulnerability assessment exercise regarding the Strategic Partnership Agroterrorism Initiative for the commercial petfood industry, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, FDA, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Federal Bureau of Investigation.
9. Approach colleges of veterinary medicine, animal/veterinary science departments and appropriate professional and trade associations to provide basic knowledge of the petfood industry.
10. Establish ongoing communication links with colleges of veterinary medicine, animal/veterinary science departments and appropriate professional and trade associations regarding petfood, ingredient and other issues of mutual interest.

 
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Recommendations to petfood manufacturers include:

1. Update existing (or for new companies, develop) company specific quality assurance programs to incorporate best practices for product safety, including, as appropriate, those developed by PFI to address ingredient sourcing and receiving; product manufacturing and co-manufacturing; labeling; transportation; and distribution of commercial petfood.
2. Reevaluate current sampling and testing protocols using risk-based analysis to evaluate ingredients and finished petfood in an effort to detect adulterants and/or contaminants that may adversely affect product safety using existing and emerging technologies.
3. Assure that individual lot and date codes appear on all finished products to facilitate product traceability and recalls. Although the vast majority of companies do this already, this is a point of special emphasis related to traceability.
4. Participate regularly in PFI, AAFCO and FDA educational programs and regulatory processes.
5. Establish ongoing communication links with colleges of veterinary medicine, animal/veterinary science departments and appropriate professional and trade associations regarding petfood, ingredient and other issues of mutual interest.

 
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Geelen
 

 Labels to change on chicken jerky pet treats
In response to complaints that Chinese-made treats were making dogs sick, some petfood manufacturers and retailers are developing feeding instructions based on an animal’s weight, similar to what is required on petfoods designed to be a primary nutrition source. The move is based on anecdotal reports that pet owners were overfeeding the treats or using them in place of a regular petfood diet.

ADI Pet Inc. plans to phase in size-based feeding instructions “almost immediately,” says Jerry Peters, president of the company and makers of Waggin’ Train brand jerky treats. Peters also said he thinks others in the industry will be doing the same. Pet retailer PetSmart, which in September voluntarily pulled two brands of jerky treats made in China from shelves, restocked the products in November after its own analysis found no contaminants. The company has, however, developed feeding guidelines based on animal size and the type of treat in conjunction with Smokehouse Pet Products and veterinarians, said PetSmart spokeswoman Jennifer Ericsson. The feeding table is now posted in stores and will be printed on Smokehouse labels by early next year.

 
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Some suggest such moves may be premature. Continuing investigations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a Cornell University team, which began two months ago, have uncovered nothing dangerous in the products and have not definitively tied the rise in cases of the rare kidney disorder Fanconi Syndrome, to the jerky treats. The FDA has not requested any recalls of jerky treats and there is no scientific evidence that suggests overfeeding is a factor, but the investigation is not yet complete. According to David Syverson, petfood committee chairman of the American Association of Feed Control Officers (AAFCO), “Making changes without a solid basis for the changes at best would be ineffective; at worst, it could magnify a problem if a problem does exist.”

 
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Ometric
 

 New reports update UK petfood figures
A series of new reports has been released by the United Kingdom based market research company Snapdata which revises earlier historical valuations of the UK cat food and dog food markets for the year 2006. Previous figures released by the Pet Food Manufacturers Association (PFMA) set the UK market value of dry, moist, mixer and treats for cats and dogs at £1589 million, roughly a 2.5% increase from 2005. In Snapdata’s Snapshot Report: UK Pet Food 2007 that value is reset to £1615.1 million, a 3.8% increase from the previous year.

 
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Sanimax
 

The company has also published two further reports, UK Dog Food 2007 and UK Cat Food 2007 which offer forward looking and historical data. Snapdata predicts that by 2011, the UK dog food market will be at 790.1 tons in volumes. The PFMA puts the current (as of 2006) consumption value, (including dog treats) at 765 tons, which would represent a modest 3.2% increase over the five year period. Whiskas, Felix and Kit-E-Kat are listed among the major players in the 2007 cat food market, according to Snapdata. In July the PFMA reported a 2% growth in wet cat food and no growth for 2006 in the dry cat food markets. Snapshot Reports are available at www.snapdata.com.

 
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Clextral
 

 Decreasing sales for Central Garden & Pet
Central Garden & Pet Company has announced its fourth quarter and full year results for the fiscal year ending on September 29, 2007. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007, the company reported net sales of US$401 million, a decline of US$20 million or 5% from US$421 million in the comparable 2006 period. Net sales for the pet products segment were US$221 million, a decrease of US$16 million or 7% compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006. Net sales for fiscal 2007 were US$1.67 billion, an increase of 3% from US$1.62 billion in fiscal 2006. William Brown, chairman and CEO of Central Garden & Pet Company, had this to say, “With 2007 behind us, we are looking to fiscal 2008 to reset and create a stronger and more agile company. Some of our operations are not performing well. We have significant work to do.”

 
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Phazir
 

 Pet advocate groups to attend AAFCO meeting
The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) announced that its Midyear Meeting will be held January 29-31, 2008 in San Antonio, Texas, USA. The AFIA Feed Regulatory Committee will meet before the AAFCO meeting on Monday, January 28. The committee has issued an invitation to the FDA/CVM director of animal feed, Dr. Sharon Benz and the AAFCO president, Ricky Schroeder to meet with the committee.

At the Midyear Meeting, AAFCO is expected to take a serious look at and perhaps vote on the draft Model Non-commercial Feed Bill and draft Model Good Manufacturing Practices (feed safety) Feed Regulations. If approved, states in the U.S. would be free to adopt them in each state. Several pet advocate groups have been invited to attend and participate in the Midyear Meeting. These groups are questioning what AAFCO is going to do about the recently-enacted federal statue requiring FDA to circulate new regulations for petfood that will cover ingredient approval and processing. The act directs FDA to work with AAFCO in the development of these rules, but does not require AAFCO to make the rules. The advocate groups want to know when AAFCO plans on doing this.

 
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Mintel
 

 Denmark petfood factory to receive food safety certificate
The Aller Petfood factory will receive the official certificate showing that the facility observes the requirements of the ISO-22000 standard for food safety in early December. Although ISO-22000 is widely used by companies within the human food market, the Aller Petfood plant in Fredericia, Denmark is the first petfood factory in Europe – and perhaps the first in the world - to receive the certificate, according to Aller.

According to www.iso.org, the ISO-22000 specifies requirements for a food safety management system where an organization in the food chain needs to demonstrate its ability to control food safety hazards in order to ensure that food is safe at the time of consumption. It is applicable to all organizations, regardless of size, which are involved in any aspect of the food chain and want to implement systems that consistently provide safe products.

 
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AFB International - Missy
 » MARKET DATA
 

Each month the Petfood Industry E-newsletter will bring you the latest market data available from several different sources including Euromonitor International, Packaged Facts, Information Resources Inc. (IRI) and ACNielsen.
 
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AC Nielsen
 

graph

The global market for petfood and pet care products
According to latest research from Euromonitor International, the global value share of dog and cat food sales by premium brands has grown 10% to reach 43.7% in the past 10 year period to 2007. Economy brands however fell from 18.9% to 16%. Meanwhile, the mid-price segment fell by 7% during this period, to 40.3% of total dog and cat food sales by value.

Dog and cat food is expected to remain the largest sector over the next five years with a projected compound annual growth rate of just under 3% in constant value terms. This will occur as manufacturers introduce an expanding range of added-value products that aim to take advantage of consumers’ increasing interest in pets’ health, and their growing willingness to indulge their pets.

For more information about Petfood and Pet Care Product reports from Euromonitor International and to buy reports online, visit:
http://www.euromonitor.com/Pet_Food_And_Pet_Care_Products?DCMP=AFC-petfoodemail

 
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Euromonitor
 
 » PRODUCT NEWS
 Rotary airlock protection
Conforma Clad now offers rotary airlock protection with tungsten carbide tiles. Areas of the airlock that are protected by tungsten carbide tiles include the tips of the veins, the entire inner diameter of the housing and the end plates. Airlocks can be rebuilt to specified tolerances; using either carbide or ceramic tiles depending on customer requirements. Machining and grinding capabilities allow modification of the areas to be protected so that they can accept any specified coating or lining, which can then be ground to meet exact tolerances. www.conformaclad.com

 
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JRS - Arbocel
 

 Palletizing cell with custom grippers
The AR-200 robotic palletizing cell from Premier Tech Systems handles up to four different products simultaneously, with custom grippers for bags and boxes. At speeds up to 25 units per minute, the AR-200 robot uses the latest addition to the FANUC robot family in the high payload 4-axis category. It palletizes all type of open-mouth bags and polyethylene FFS bags, fill tote boxes, bag in a box. This cell can also handle unlimited layout configurations and features quick changeover of palletizing patterns through stored recipes. www.premiertechsystems.com

 
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Extru-Tech
 

 Forming machine for small processors
NuTEC's hydraulic 720 forming machine is designed for small to medium processors and R&D labs. The PLC controlled forming machine is powered by a 15 horsepower motor, features a 300 pound hopper and has a variable speed of 15 to 65 strokes per minute. Its usable mold plate area is 8 1/2 inches wide by 6 inches front to back, with a mold plate thickness of 1/8 inch through 1 1/4 inches. Mold plates are available with single-hole or multi-hole depending on the processor's needs. www.nutecmfg.com

 
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Conforma Clad
 

 High impact IML-decorated containers
Ropak Packaging’s photorealistic wrap-around-the-corner graphics are now available on their rigid plastic containers in an expanded range of shapes and sizes for the U.S. and Canadian markets. The In-Mold Label (IML) decorated containers are available in the patented, rectangular EZ Stor line in ¾ gallon, 2 gallon and 3.7 gallon sizes. IML decoration will be available for an expanded product range soon. According to the company the EZ Stor format allows convenient access to products, spotlights branding and it functions as a shipping container and a reusable, recyclable storage container. www.ropakcorp.com

 
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Summit Ridge
 
 » RESEARCH NEWS
 Extrusion effect on the quality of dog food
Researchers at Wageningen University and TNO recently looked at the effect of different extrusion conditions and product parameters on the nutritional quality, as determined by a number of in vitro measurements (reactive lysine and starch gelatinization degree), as well as physical quality of kibble (durability and hardness) of a canine diet. The parameters investigated were mass temperature (110, 130 or 150°C), moisture content (200 or 300 g/kg) of the diets prior to extrusion and the number of times extruded.

 
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Total lysine and other amino acids were unaffected by the extrusion conditions employed. Extrusion conditions had a clear effect on the reactive lysine content with the ratio of reactive to total lysine increasing from 0.71 to 0.80 and higher as a result of extrusion and temperature. After a second extrusion, a decrease was observed from a ratio reaching 1.0 to about 0.9. Initial moisture content affected lysine reactivity. Protein digestibility as measured in vitro was not affected by different extruding conditions.

There were no obvious differences in protein dispersibility index (PDI) of all the extrudates. In vitro glucose digestibility coefficients as well as starch gelatinization degree (SGD) showed a tendency to increase with an increase in each individual parameter tested. The increase in temperature from 110 to 150°C, as well as extrusion for a second time, decreased kibble durability, while increasing moisture content increased durability. The research concludes that optimization of extrusion conditions during commercial petfood production should include measurement of the reactive to total lysine ratio.

 
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Extru - Technician
 
 » POSITIONS AVAILABLE



Marketing Manager for SPF


SPF North America, Inc., the worldwide leader of palatability solutions for the pet food industry is seeking a MARKETING MANAGER. Primary responsibilities will be management of projects related to product development, range management, market intelligence and communication. Qualifications include a minimum of B.S. in chemistry, animal science, biological science or biochemistry and minimum of five years experience as project manager. Experience in pet food field and/or companion animal business is preferred. Submit your resume, with salary requirements, to HR Manager at jgehler@spf-usa.com.

 
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Market Place
 
 » CONTACT INFO

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 » CALENDAR

For our Full Calendar of Events, please click on the provided link:
 

Your free copy of the Petfood Industry Electronic Newsletter is sponsored by AFB International, maker of Optimizor® and BioFlavor® brand palatants. 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.

AFB International

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