ExperTox Inc. Analytical Laboratory of Texas has claimed they detected acetaminophen in a sample of petfood identified as Canidae dog food in a lab report issued September 4, 2007. The toxicologists, according to the same report, did not detect cyanuric acid or melamine in the dog food tested. The sample arrived in a Ziploc bag so ExperTox cannot confirm the petfood is Canidae brand, but the lab customer, who cannot be identified because of a confidentiality agreement, identified the sample as Canidae on ExperTox's forms.

Mars New Zealand Petfood has recalled Pedigree and Optimum dog rolls with “best before" dates between October 16 and 19. Pet owners who have bought these products have been told to take them back by Mars New Zealand Petfood spokeswoman, Mary Sutherland. She says the products may be contaminated with metal fragments. The recalled petfood is still on shelves and on sale at some New Zealand retailers.

According to Sukhawat Dansermsuk, president of International Pet Food Co., the manufacturer and distributor of JerHigh petfood, the company is preparing an investmest of 120 million baht. The investment should triple the production capacity of its Saraburi plant to 300 tons per month by next year. Boosted by the positive growth of its petfood business, International Pet Food plans to add chicken essence beverages for pets to their pet products line in the coming months. The Thailand petfood business is expected to grow to 200 million baht this year alone, a rise of 10-15% from last year.

Nestle Purina PetCare has introduced the Vet 2 Pet Home Delivery Program for its line of Purina Veterinary Diets. In addition to delivering food directly to pet owners, reminder notices are shipped with each individual order to encourage veterinary visits for checkups and food prescription updates.

The National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus has recommended that Nutro Products, Inc. modify advertising claim for its “lite” petfood products to conform to industry standards established by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). The advertising claims at issue were challenged by Hill’s Pet Nutrition. NAD examined the product-designation claims that are found on product labels and websites, for Natural Choice Lite and Natural Choice Small Bites Lite. Hill’s argued that Nutro Products lacked a reasonable basis for its lite dry product claims, because the products substantially exceeded the maximum calorie allowance for lite petfood, according to industry and AAFCO guidelines.

Nutro explained that when it first introduced Natural Choice Lite into the petfood market in 1994, there were no AAFCO regulations specifying requirements for petfood products designated “light” or “lite.” The petfood in question were designated as lite by the company because they were lower in fat and protein than other Nutro dry dog foods, both then and now. Nutro also took care to note that temporary manufacturing irregularities at its plant allowed the unauthorized addition of fat to the lite petfood, skewing the results of certain product tests performed by Hill’s Pet Nutrition.

After reviewing the evidence, NAD determined that the challenged petfood does not meet the industry standards, established by AAFCO, for lite petfood products. Although the products may be described as reduced calorie (as compared to other Nutro dry dog foods), they are not accurately described as lite. NAD recommended that Nutro take immediate steps to ensure that its lite dry petfoods not exceed AAFCO calorie limits for lite products at all, and that Nutro immediately stop labeling these products as lite, light or any other similar designation until such steps are in place.

Del Monte Foods reported net sales for the first quarter fiscal 2008 ending July 29, 2007. Pet Products net sales were US$309 million, an increase of 22% over net sales of US$254 million in the prior year period. The increase was driven by volume gains primarily due to the full quarter impact and continued momentum of Meow Mix cat food and Milk Bone dog treats. Growth from new pet products and net pricing actions also positively contributed to the increase in net sales.

The petfood market continues its rapid pace of growth, despite recent crises. Find out the best opportunities for expansion and how to lead them in your organization at Petfood Industry and Watt Publishing Co.’s Petfood Forum and Focus events at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Petfood Forum 2008 connects you with the people and information you need to continue to advance. This premier event taking place April 14-16 for the petfood industry features networking opportunities and exciting, informative sessions such as:

• Ingredient popularity and trends.
• Preventing brand theft.
• Packaging case study.
• The natural and organic markets.
• Sustainability and carbon footprints.
• Petfood safety management systems.
• Weight loss through prebiotics.
• Alternative petfoods and the melamine fall-out.
• Ranking the importance of private label worldwide.
• Managing palatability for treats.
• Global trade issues.

Every petfood company around the world is placing a renewed emphasis on safety and quality. The Petfood Focus on Safety symposium, April 16-17, gives you an in-depth look at:

• Crisis contingency planning.
• Good purchasing practices.
• Adverse event reporting and preferred vendors.
• Finding the right insurance.
• Case studies on quality/safety programs at a petfood supplier and a manufacturer.
• ISO 22000—the world’s most advanced food safety management system
• A panel discussion on the consumer connection: how best to communicate with consumers, especially during a safety crisis.

Registration for both of these events will be available soon.

The FeedME (Feed ingredients for Manufacturing Evaluation) Phazir application is a ready-to-use handheld feed ingredients analyzer for the identification of authentic feed ingredients. The analyzer records data needed for report generation as recommended by the FDA ALERT program. By pointing and clicking, the result is presented on the display. User-customizable software on the Phazir allows the user to instantaneously obtain results of an analysis, according to Polychromix Inc. Each Phazir is bundled with a developer's package for Microsoft Windows. www.polychromix.com

The Peerless Tine Dough Feeder has been re-designed for enhanced sanitation and maintenance, according to the company. Meant for dry and/or agglomerated doughs, the Tine Dough Feeder efficiently breaks, spreads and forwards the dough for even feeding of downstream dough-forming machines. Designed and certified to BISCC standards, the machine's components can withstand wash down sanitation. The units can be fed by multiple mixers and integrated with the Peerless proprietary Automated Conventional Batch Mixer (ACBM) system for a fully-automated dough production. www.thepeerlessgroup.us

The Print and Apply Labeler with Sato print engine from EPI is ideal for manufacturing label printing requirements. The print system is designed to integrate with case and corner labeling systems, or can be added to your packaging equipment for product labeling. The EPI labeler can be utilized to print production and lot numbers, bar codes, product information and more. www.epilabelers.com

Extru-Tech Inc. introduces the Multi-Color/Multi-Shape Die System designed for single screw cooking extruders. The die assembly design allows the production of multiple colors and multiple shapes of finished product simultaneously and is revolutionary in the industry, according to the company. The system eliminates the need for post-run mixing and blending of product without reducing production capacity, thereby reducing costs and improving profit. It is available in a variety of configurations—two-, three- and four-color—to allow for tailoring the number of product colors and product shapes in a single production run application. www.extru-techinc.com

The objective of this study was to determine the copper (Cu) requirement of female cats for gestation. Cuproenzyme activities were evaluated to identify a noninvasive indicator of copper status. This study used a depletion-repletion model. Specific pathogen–free queens (n = 28) were adapted to a purified diet. After consuming a copper-depletion diet (0.8 mg Cu/kg diet) for four months, they were randomly allocated to three dietary treatment groups receiving copper sulfate at 4.0, 5.8 or 10.8 mg Cu/kg diet. Lower dietary concentrations of copper significantly increased the time taken for queens to conceive (P = 0.04). The current NRC recommendation of 5 mg/kg diet copper for cats appears marginal for optimal reproduction.

The objective was to examine the effects of fructan supplementation on the immune response of weanling puppies subjected to bacterial challenge. Previous studies in bacterial challenged neonatal piglets have reported benefits of fructan supplementation. Thirty hound-cross puppies (12 weeks old) were used in a 2 x 3 factorial randomized complete block design. Following a 7-day baseline period, puppies were assigned to diets containing:

• No prebiotic
• 1% short-chain fructooligosaccharides (scFOS)
• 1% inulin

After 14 days on the treatment diet, dogs received an oral gavage of either Salmonella typhimurium or 0.9% saline. Food intake, fecal and activity scores, body temperature, body weight, blood chemistry, intestinal nutrient transport, intestinal morphology and pathology and gut microbiota were measured. Food intake decreased and body temperature increased in infected puppies. However, the decrease in food intake was less in those consuming fructans. Infected puppies consuming fructans also had decreased severity of enterocyte sloughing than those fed the control diet. Puppies fed inulin had an increase in Lactobacillus concentrations compared with scFOS and controls. In summary, fructan supplementation appeared to attenuate some of the negative responses associated with Salmonella challenge and may provide protection against infection in weanling puppies.

PhD Animal Nutritionist

Trouw Nutrition USA, is a leading manufacturer of unique feed ingredients, base mixes and premixes for the agricultural and companion animal nutrition industry. The company is part of the Trouw Nutrition International Business Group of Nutreco. Trouw Nutrition International is the leading European premix and specialty feeds supplier with extending global positions. Nutreco is based in the Netherlands and has operations in more than 25 countries. 

Due to our growth and commitment to meet our objectives in the United States, we are in constant search for talented people who aim to work in a challenging but supportive organization and be part of a global network of experts - experts with an entrepreneurial drive who put the customer first and take responsibility for the further development of our business. An effective combination of a technical background, developed commercial skills and the desire to provide customers with profitable products and advice is a basic requirement. 

Because of our growth scenario we are currently searching for a PhD Animal Nutritionist. Preferred candidates will be goal oriented, skilled in formulating diets for all species, possess excellent interpersonal skills and sound judgment, having the ability to process formulation requests from the Sales Managers/Field Specialist to the appropriate plants in an accurate, timely manner.  A PhD in animal nutrition or a related field is required.  Previous experience in the pet food industry would be helpful.

For consideration, please fax, mail or e-mail your resume with salary history to the attention of:

PhD Animal Nutritionist
Trouw Nutrition USA
P.O. Box 219
Highland, IL 62249
Fax: (618) 654-3157
susan.boostrom@nutreco.com