A lawsuit resulting from aflatoxin-contaminated petfood made by Diamond Pet Foods in 2005 that killed dozens of dogs nationwide has been settled, according to the Associated Press. The company will pay $US3.1 million in a settlement with pet owners.

The petfood was produced at Diamond Pet Foods' plant in South Carolina. The company will set up a fund to reimburse pet owners for the loss of their dogs, veterinary bills and the cost of any unreturned contaminated food, said attorney Jim Andrews, who represented a Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, family that sued the company.

Diamond Pet Foods, based in Meta, Missouri, USA, acknowledged that workers at its Gaston, South Carolina, USA, plant failed to follow internal testing procedures to ensure its products were safe. The company made the acknowledgment after the Food and Drug Administration released a report showing the company has no record of test results for 12 shipments of corn in 2005, when grain tainted with the deadly fungus slipped into the plant.

The contaminated petfood was sold in 23 states. Diamond recalled about 20 varieties of dog and cat food when a New York veterinarian said in December 2005 that she had linked a dog's death to the company's food. For more information, go to www.recalledpetfoodsettlement.com.

Most of the leading companies in the pet supplies industry have already booked a stand at Interzoo 2008, taking place in Nuremberg, Germany May 22-25; 1,100 companies worldwide, including industry leaders, have already registered.

"There are more than 250 new exhibitors from all continents and countries. The present display space already exceeds the space booked at Interzoo 2006," says Klaus Oechsner, President of the German Pet Trade & Industry Association (ZZF), the honorary sponsor of the exhibition.

Interzoo is aimed at buyers from the pet products trade, veterinary surgeons, pet boarding houses, pet grooming salons and official agencies. Over 34,000 trade visitors from 108 countries came to Nuremberg for Interzoo in 2006, including the top buyers from the large trading companies in Germany and abroad.

Just four months after a devastating tornado caused US$19 million in damage to Arkat Nutrition Inc.’s plant, the southeast Dumas, Arkansas, USA animal feed manufacturer was back in operation. The dormant hulk of Arkat’s Plant 1 is the only visible remnant of the 150mph winds that ripped through the area. The storm either destroyed or damaged 25 businesses and nearly 100 homes in Dumas, according to the National Weather Service. Last week, in the adjacent Plant 2, a 150,000-square-foot manufacturing building, a handful of employees were controlling automated equipment that churned out 8-ton batches of premium Enhance brand “Hunter’s Edge Formula,” a dry, pelletized dog food. Meanwhile, in nearby Plant 3, a 125,000-square-foot building, Enhance brand “Puppy Formula” was being bagged and warehoused on shrink-wrapped pallets awaiting sale.


In April, Arkat will begin its seasonal production of catfish feed — the company’s original product line, which still accounts for about 60% of total sales — along with commercial feed for baitfish, tilapia and shrimp. About 85% of Arkat’s raw materials are produced in Arkansas. Soybean meal is the major ingredient in commercial fish feed, and chicken meal is the main component of petfoods. Arkat spends about US$32 million annually to buy those and other products including rice bran, corn, corn gluten and wheat. In addition to catfish feed, Arkat now manufactures animal feed for dogs, cats, horses, deer, koi and turtles. The company, which can produce 350,000 tons of pelletized animal feed each year, currently sells about 135,000 tons annually. During the past six years, Arkat has branched out of the highly seasonal catfish feed business into other animal-feed markets that offer greater year-round growth opportunities.

“The way we’re successful is by carefully selecting niche markets and then hiring expert nutritionists to formulate species-specific diets,” said Rick Wohlschlaeger, president and chief executive officer of the company. Arkat’s greatest expansion has occurred in the dog and cat food markets. Arkat’s petfood brands range from its super premium VF or Veterinarian Formulated Complete to low-end offerings of “Well Fed Red” for dogs and “Cat Man Blue” for cats. About 18% of Arkat’s petfoods are exported, Wohlschlaeger said, with shipments going to Canada, China, Hong Kong, Israel, Mexico, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad and Turkey. “We have the No. 1 cat food in Israel, shipping about 10 container loads a month,” he said.

After expanding to Switzerland, Germany, France and the UK, the Italian petfood manufacturer Almo Nature lands in the North American market, with a new branch in Quebec, Canada. The company foresees that this new opening will bring its 2008 turnover to 50 million Euro, with an export share of 40%. After Italy (the country of origin for the company), Almo Nature’s first market is Germany which represents 70% of the European turnover, followed by Switzerland, France, UK, The Netherlands, Belgium and Scandinavia. “The choice of Canada as our first overseas market depended on the relationships we had in the country which allowed us to create a dedicated logistic and commercial structure,” Pier Giovanni Capellino, CEO and president of Almo Nature, said. The launch of products for the Canadian market is scheduled for March 2008.

The Italian company based in Monselice (Padova), which specializes in hypoallergenic and nutraceutical dry and wet food for dogs and cats under the umbrella name FORZA10, announced it grew 85% in export sales from 2006 to 2007. SANYpet is currently present in several countries such as France, Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Russia and plan to increase their efforts to develop new markets in 2008. Distribution to the Netherlands and Belgium begins this month and will be expanded to more countries in Northern Europe in the coming months. SANYpet’s goal is to become an international landmark in the field of nutrition and pet health, based on its special formulations and longtime clinical and scientific experience.