Petfood Industry Electronic Newsletter February 06, 2007

February 20, 2007
Volume 7, Number 4

This newsletter is also available in an Acrobat PDF format. To download the PDF click on the following link: Feb20PDF.

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.

Here's what's been happening lately:

Industry news

Jack Behnken, founder of American Nutrition, dies
Jack Behnken Jr., who founded and operated American Nutrition Inc. in Ogden, Utah, USA, died of cancer recently at his home. He was 80. Behnken had a degree in industrial engineering and worked for the Welch Grape Juice Co. and the Kellogg Co. before founding American Nutrition in 1972. He never retired. When he died, he held engineering licenses in six states. He also had petfood plants in Phoenix, Arizona and Woodland, Washington, USA.

In a profile of Behnken and his company in 1997, Behnken said he was proud of his company's contributions to the community, not the least of which was the 450 jobs it provides. Behnken said he chose Ogden as the start-up point for his company because of its central location in the West and good access to both rail transportation and grain producing companies. Behnken was an active member of the Pet Food Institute.

Eukanuba customized pet nutrition
Procter & Gamble Pet Care's brand Eukanuba has been relaunched, offering the first and only line of pet nutrition customized by breed type, size, health requirements and performance needs, the company says. Eukanuba's Breed-Specific formulas were scheduled to be available at pet specialty stores in March 2007.

These formulas include Labrador Retriever Formula; Yorkshire Terrier; German Shepherd Formula; Boxer Formula; and Dachshund Formula. In addition, the brand will soon offer a Custom Care line-up for dogs with special health concerns. Eukanuba Custom Care diets address key health issues such as weight loss, sensitive skin and stomach and joint care issues. Eukanuba's Customized Nutrition line-up includes Small Breed Formula; Medium Breed Formula; Large Breed Formula; Natural Lamb & Rice; Premium Performance Formulas.

Wild Kitty Cat Food found to have Salmonella contamination
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently informed consumers not to purchase or use Wild Kitty Cat Food due to the presence of Salmonella, a bacterial pathogen. During routine monitoring activities, FDA collected and analyzed a sample of frozen raw Wild Kitty Cat Food and detected Salmonella in the product. The specific products covered by this warning are Wild Kitty Raw All Natural, Frozen Cat Food—Chicken with Clam Recipe, net weight 3.5-oz. (100g) and 1-lb. plastic containers. FDA noted that some of these containers may be uncoded. The Wild Kitty Cat Food is sold nationwide to retail stores and through distributors and Internet sales. The FDA's website can be found at: http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html.

TE Ibberson Co. receives Excellence award
TE Ibberson Co., Hopkins, Minnesota, USA, received a top award from the Minnesota Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) for its West Coast Expansion Project in the Industrial Construction—over 5 million category. TE Ibberson Co. was the general contractor selected to construct the premium petfood manufacturing project in Victorville, California, USA. The project entailed proper scheduling of materials and sequencing of subcontracting work. TE Ibberson Company completed the project on time and on budget.

Masterfoods Petcare plant opens in Australia
MasterFoods Petcare has added a production and petfood packaging plant in Wodonga, Victoria, Australia that employs more than 700 people. The plant will reportedly manufacture a wide range of dog and cat food in single-serve packs with the capacity to produce more than 100 million units per year for both the Australian market and diverse export markets within the Asia Pacific region. The plant represents an investment of approximately US$35 million, and will use the latest state-of-the-art robotics on product lines that can be changed rapidly, allowing maximum flexibility to meet customer demands.

Petfood Forum cut off March 15
The registration fee for Petfood Forum 2007 goes up after March 15, 2007. So register now at www.wattnet.com/petfoodforum. With a new format for Wednesday morning, this year's Forum is on track to set an attendance record. This unique event is the meeting place for petfood professionals—an opportunity to learn, network and visit with suppliers.

It is scheduled for April 16-18 at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare near Chicago, Illinois, USA. New this year, three general sessions on Wednesday, April 18, will provide distinct insights from petfood company and pet retailing executives, plus exclusive research on the future of the industry.

For details and to register, go to www.wattnet.com/petfoodforum/home.cfm or E-mail Marcia Riddle (attendees) at mriddle@wattnet.net or Ginny Stadel (exhibitors) at gstadel@wattnet.net.

The Goodlife Recipe
Goodlife Recipe Pet Care Company, a division of Mars, Inc., recently launched a new line of dog and cat food and treats under the brand The Goodlife Recipe. The company calls the launch, "the largest new brand launch in recent petfood category history." The initial line includes 12 SKUs of dry dog food and snacks and eight SKUs of dry cat food and treats. Market reaction will dictate any future brand expansions such as a wet or semi-moist line, as reported by Pet Product News.

The products will reportedly have price points comparable to Nestlé Purina's Beneful brand, and will be carried by retailers such as PetSmart, Petco, Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart and most major supermarkets. More on this new company/product can be read in the Market Watch column by Dr. Huntley Manhertz, Jr. in the March issue of Petfood Industry magazine or online at www.goodliferecipe.com.

Wedlock Paper Converters celebrates 75th Anniversary
In 1935, Louis M. Wedlock founded Wedlock Paper Bag Co. Ltd. The company started in Toronto, Canada, producing paper bags for products such as grocery, candy, notions, corsets, shoes and bottles. In 1955, Alan Wedlock took control of the company, changing and expanding the product line to high-end printing and packaging for the food industry—including flour, sugar, coffee and petfood. In 1959, the company moved to its present location in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Today, the Wedlock brothers, Marcus and Sean, continue the family tradition as the company celebrates its 75th year.

Wellness CORE launched by Old Mother Hubbard
The Wellness brand recently announced the debut of Wellness CORE—a high-protein dry cat and kitten food “designed to address the unique dietary needs of cats and support their inner health,” according to manufacturer Old Mother Hubbard (OMH). Wellness CORE is said to be based on the raw feeding philosophy of providing a diet rich in meat.

Flaxseed and salmon oil are added to “help maintain feline skin and coat health.” Tomato pomace, cranberries, Yucca schidigera and rosemary extracts are also main ingredients in the new product. According to OMH, after cooking, each kibble is coated with a blend of temperature-sensitive probiotics. Wellness CORE Fish & Fowl Recipe features five different meat sources. The product is available in three sizes. More about OHM can be found in the February issue of Petfood Industry magazine, or online at: http://www.petfoodindustry-digital.com/petfoodindustry/200702/ on page 18 of the digital edition.

Woolworths brand dog food withdrawn from retail shelves
According to news from iafrica.com, Woolworths branded dry dog and cat food in Africa may be at risk from microtraces of ethylene glycol. Woolworths said it had been alerted by its supplier that there might be traces of the contaminant in the store's private label line of petfood.

Market data

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

Total US food, drug and mass merchandiser (excluding Wal-Mart) dog biscuits/treats sales for the 52 weeks ending October 08, 2006. Source: Information Resources Inc.

Vendor	US$ sales	% chg vs. 2005	Unit sales (in US$)	% chg vs. 2005
Milk-Bone	$86.2 million	4.9%	$26.8 million	5.3%
Private label	$72.2 million	4.0%	$30.1 million	1.5%
Beggin Strips	$55.6 million	3.9%	$15.4 million	1.9%
Pup Peroni	$33.3 million	4.5%	$9.3 million	1.1%
Greenies	$28.3 million	23.9%	$3.1 million	14.5%
Milk-Bone (flavor snacks)	$26.7 million	3.2%	$7.6 million	3.0%
Purina Busy Bone	$25.0 million	43.6%	$7.7 million	43.0%
Pedigree Jumbone	$22.6 million	11.9%	$5.6 million	10.4%
Meaty Bone	$17.2 million	8.0%	$6.0 million	5.0%
Purina T Bonz	$16.3 million	-15.5%	$5.2 million	-18.6%
Category total	$650 million	5.7%	$218 million	2.1%

New report: Pet Food and Pet Care Products in Argentina
According to Euromonitor International's new report, Pet Food and Pet Care Products in Argentina , companies competing in Argentina's dog food market are not concerned with their loss of value share, since nearly all of them increased their sales from 2001-2006. Competition is focused on increasing the overall share held by prepared food rather than on competing for each other's shares in specific subsectors.

Nestlé led sales of dog food in 2005 with a value share of 33%, down from 37% in 2004. The launch of Dog Chow, segmented according to lifestage and size, was not highly successful, leading to this decline, since pet owners have been focusing on taste rather than lifestage and size. However, Nestlé maintained its leadership of dog food, which it built through the acquisition of Cargill's and Ralston Purina's petfood businesses. Masterfoods was the second-largest dog food player in 2005 with a 15% value share. The main reason for Masterfoods' position and share gain was product development, as the company focused on the taste of its products.

Euromonitor International publishes petfood and pet care reports on 52 country markets. Click here for more information about petfood and pet care reports from Euromonitor International and to buy reports online.

Product news

Centrifugal impact mill grinds, de-lumps wet or dry solids
A new 24-inch (610 mm) sanitary stainless steel centrifugal impact mill Model CIM-24-SS from Munson Machinery provides coarse to fine grinding (325 mesh) of friable materials into controlled particle sizes, as well as lump breaking and conditioning of fibrous materials. High-speed rotation of the inner disc creates centrifugal force that accelerates bulk material entering the central inlet of the opposing stationary disc. Setting the variable rotor speed between several hundred rpm and 5,400 rpm provides the flexibility to use the machine for coarse grinding and de-agglomerating as well as for fine grinding.

Also called a “pin mill,” the unit is said to handle wet or dry materials, to produce tight particle size distribution at any given rotor speed setting and to sanitize rapidly. According to the manufacturer, the unit provides high throughput rates per horsepower relative to machines employing screens, hammers, knives or rolls, depending on application.

High-speed continuous motion stand-up pouch machinery platforms
The Robert's new generation C-series stand-up pouch packaging systems offer production outputs of up to 200 pouches per minute for popular stand-up style packaging targeted for the packaging of a wide variety of products packaged in stand-up style packaging. The C-Series systems may be configured for press-to-close or slider zipper reclose features.

According to the company, the new generation Robert's C-Series models incorporate new rapid change tooling modules for improved changeover. The new C-series models utilize advanced servo technology, improved operator interface (HMI) and new standard stainless steel construction for both dry and USDA production environments.

New controls package for palletizers
Columbia Machine announces a new controls package that will be included with all floor level and high level palletizers. This makes the complete line of palletizing solutions even easier to operate, according to the company. The new controls package comes standard with an Allen Bradley Compact Logix PLC, PanelView Plus 600 Color Touch Screen and Columbia 's Product Manager. Columbia notes that the addition of the new controls package makes for a user-friendly interface helping to increase palletizer up-time and productivity.

E-news

One-tenth of China online
According to a semi-annual survey by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), as of the end of 2006 the number of Internet users in China was estimated to be 137 million—a 10.5% penetration rate. While that penetration rate is small compared with many other countries around the globe, China ranks second only to the US in the overall number of users online.

In fact, many analysts feel that the number of Internet users in China will surpass the number of US users within two years. At the current rate of growth it is forecast that Chinese Internet users will exceed the 210 million US users by 2009. Chinese Internet users closely resemble users around the world, though the user population does skew more male than female. For more information on Internet development in Asia, read eMarketer's China Online, India Online and Japan Online reports.

Canada's digital divide is between the young and the old
Instead of a digital divide in Internet access based on race, Canada has one that's based on age. According to emarketer, only 61% of Canadian adults ages 55 and older have access to the Internet from any location, compared with 88% of adults ages 18-54. Findings show that not only are older Canadians less likely to be online, those who are spend less time on the Internet than do younger adults—nearly 35% less.

Those marketing to Canadian online users need to pay special attention to older users. Older Canadians lack experience and skill online, and have what appears to be an inherent distrust of online security. New and unique strategies may need to be developed to reach what is a rather lucrative and rapidly growing spending group in Canadian society, according to emarketer.com.

Research notes

Linseed cake supplementation in dogs
This experiment was conducted with a 6X4 cyclic changeover design. Six adult Alaskan Huskies were assigned to diets containing 0%, 2%, 4%, 6% and 8% linseed cake. A linear decrease in the apparent digestibilities of organic matter ( OM ) (p<0.020), ether extract (EE) (p<0.003), neutral detergent fiber (p<0.015), nitrogen-free extract (NFE) (P<0.001) and crude carbohydrates (P<0.001) was noted. Digestibilities of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) were unaffected by the treatment.

Wet weight of feces increased (P<0.001) and DM of feces decreased (P<0.001) linearly as the percentage of dietary linseed cake increased. Serum cholesterol concentration tended to decrease (p = 0.094) as the proportion of linseed cake increased. Apparent OM , EE, CP and NFE digestibility coefficients for linseed cake were 52%, 77%, 54% and 37%, respectively, and the digestible energy (DE) value was 13.22 MJ/kg DM.

Results showed that working and racing dogs fed the extruded and kibbled diet can utilize up to 4.2% linseed cake of diet DM as a fiber source without severe reductions in nutrient digestibility or feed consumption. Even higher levels of linseed cake, up to 8.5% of diet DM, can be used for normal or obese dogs, but more feces will be excreted.

Source: Kempe, R. and Saastamoinen, M., 2007. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition (OnlineEarly Articles).

Food intake and ingredient profile affect viscosity of ileal digesta of dogs
Two experiments were conducted to determine dietary factors affecting digesta viscosity. In experiment 1, six ileal-cannulated dogs were either full (607.1 kJ/BW^0.67) or restricted (303.5 kJ/BW^0.67) fed. In experiment 2, four dog foods were surveyed for effects on digesta viscosity based on protein source [animal protein (AP) or plant protein (PP)] or dietary fiber source [soluble dietary fiber (SDF) or insoluble dietary fiber (IDF)].

Dry matter (DM) intake was higher (P<0.05) when dogs were full (11.4 g/kg) compared with restricted fed (5.98 g/kg). Ileal digesta viscosity tended to be higher (P=0.07) for full fed [10 251 centipoise (cP)] compared with restricted-fed dogs (6677 cP). Ileal digesta viscosities were 6561, 11 074, 13 830 and 15 967 cP for dogs consuming IDF, SDF, AP and PP treatments, respectively.

Ileal DM concentrations were 11.4%, 13.6%, 14.8% and 14.8% for SDF, IDF, AP and PP treatments, respectively. DM digestibility coefficients were lowest (71.2%) for the PP treatment and highest (88.7%) for the IDF treatment. Organic matter digestibilities followed a similar pattern. Ileal digesta viscosity of dogs appears to increase with increased diet intake, and increased ileal DM concentration. More digestible diets result in less ileal DM and lower viscosity constants.

Source: Dikeman, C.L., Murphy, M.R. and Fahey, Jr., G.C., 2007. Food intake and ingredient profile affect viscosity of ileal digesta of dogs. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition (OnlineEarly Articles).

Positions available

Production and quality control manager sought
Busy petfood company seeks innovative, take-charge person with food industry background to run day-to-day operations, maintain quality control and assist with new product development. See our website at www.evangersdogfood.com. E-mail resume and references to cstoner@evangersdogfood.com.

Sales account manager needed
SPF North America Inc., the worldwide leader of palatability enhancers, is seeking a sales account manager. This position will play a major role in our development in North America. Individuals with entry-level sales experience are encouraged to apply. Contact Judy Gehler with your resume at jgehler@spf-usa.com or fax to +1.715.926.5285.

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.

References

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