Pet Food Institute commends senators on biotech hearing

The Pet Food Institute (PFI) issued the following statement commending U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, ranking member of the committee:
“The Pet Food Institute would like to thank Senator Pat Roberts and Senator Debbie Stabenow for their leadership in scheduling a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry about agricultural biotechnology. In light of the disparate state and local laws governing the cultivation and labeling of food produced using biotechnology, it is time to conduct a fair, science-based nationwide assessment of the various policies pertaining to this important technological approach. PFI believes that biotechnology is a critical tool in the effort to meet the daunting challenging of producing sufficient food for a growing global population in a manner that is environmentally sustainable. Inconsistent approaches to food labeling from state to state with respect to biotechnology creates market confusion that could disrupt development of future genetically engineered food crops and would raise the cost of food for consumers and animals. We look forward to further constructive dialog to ensure that U.S. laws and policies governing biotechnology are based on science and common sense.”

Pet Food Institute names new president, CEO

Cathleen Enright, PhD, has been named the new president and CEO for the Pet Food Institute, effective April 27, 2015.
Most recently, Enright served as executive vice president, food and agriculture for the Biotechnology Industry Organization, where she spearheaded the development and launch of GMO Answers, an industrywide initiative to address negative perceptions about GMOs.
Prior to this, Enright led Federal Government Affairs for the Western Growers Association and served in senior roles across the federal government, including policy analyst, U.S. Department of State; assistant deputy administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; and in the Office of the United States Trade Representative, as deputy assistant.

Pet Food Institute helps fund responsible breeding research

The Pet Food Institute, (PFI), the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council and the World Pet Association have announced that they will be providing funding for a research project to be conducted that will develop independent, scientifically validated animal care and welfare standards for the responsible breeding of dogs. The two-year project by Purdue University's Center for Animal Welfare Science will be led by Dr. Candace Croney, director of the center.

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The goal of the research is to develop, implement as a pilot project and evaluate substantive, science-base standards for the care and welfare of dogs raised by commercial breeders. “We will have new standards of care for dog breeders by the fall, and the evaluation process will begin shortly thereafter," said Duane Ekedahl, president of PFI. "These practices will be thoroughly vetted by experts, including breeders, and refined as necessary prior to implementation.”
The first phase will be to draft comprehensive care practices for dog breeders that are based on the most up-to-date research on animal welfare science, including health, genetics, behavior and reproductive management. Once drafted, Purdue will enroll breeders in Indiana and several other Midwestern states in a pilot project to evaluate and monitor the health and well-being of animals while the new standards are followed.

Pet Food Institute redesigns website for consumers, members

Pet Food Institute has redesigned its website, www.petfoodinstitute.org, which now features updated, consumer-friendly information, enhanced profiles for PFI members and improved functionality. 
For the public, the new site includes information on how petfood is made, ingredients that go into it, nutrition petfood provides, safety practices companies must follow and more. New features include petfood myth busters, information on consumer confidence and a video about the petfood making process.
The Members-Only section features enhanced functionality, with access to industry documents, allows members to manage their profiles and more.

Pet Food Institute elects new officers

The Pet Food Institute elected new officers, including Dan Rajczak, senior vice president of pet care at Procter and Gamble, as chairman of PFI.

Rajczak previously served as vice chairman of PFI and succeeds Bob Kelly, president of Bil-Jac Foods. Other officers include Mike Wright, president and CEO of Pro-Pet, as vice chairman; Bud Wright, president and CEO of Texas Farm Products, as treasurer; and Bill Behnken, president and CEO of American Nutrition, as secretary. All officers were elected to serve a one-year term.

PFI releases new publication

Pet Food Institute (PFI) is releasing a new publication, PFI Monitor.
Through the release of PFI Monitor, PFI hopes to reach out to all segments of the industry, particularly suppliers, to strengthen ties and reinforce the association within the petfood industry.
The magazine includes feature articles on consumer confidence levels in the industry, the effort PFI is leading to establish international trade rules for petfood under the World Organization for Animal Health, an introduction to the veterinary staff of the APHIS National Center for Import and Export and a preview of PFI’s Feed and Petfood Joint Industries Conference.

Organic petfood task force asking for your input

The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) task force that developed the proposed organic petfood standard now under consideration by the National Organic Program (NOP) is soliciting input from both member and non-member companies. The task force is comprised of organic growers, certifiers, representatives of petfood companies, AAFCO members and FDA staff.
In November 2007 the NOSB unanimously accepted the proposal of the task force and forwarded it to NOP for rulemaking. The organic petfood segment, valued at about US$250 million in sales, was upended by a recent directive from NOP prohibiting the use of certain nutrients in pet ood to make them complete and balanced. While PFI encourages NOP to act on the proposed organic petfood standard, the Pet Food Institute (PFI) launched into action to resolve this impasse by establishing an Organic Task Force with Brian Connolly of Castor & Pollux as chair. PFI hired Dave Carter – a former chair of NOSB and a former maker of organic petfood – as a consultant and is supporting the process of petitioning NOP to accept nutrients necessary for petfood, such as taurine, that are not currently on the National List of substances allowed in organic production.
The task force is soliciting input from both member and non-member companies. This issue will be discussed at a PFI committee meeting on July 30 in Portland, Oregon, USA, just prior to the AAFCO meeting, and at the Feed and Pet Food Joint Industries Conference this fall. For more information, please write to info@petfoodinstitute.org or visit www.petfoodinstitute.org.

{The task force is soliciting input from both member and non-member companies. This issue will be discussed at a PFI committee meeting on July 30 in Portland, Oregon, USA, just before the AAFCO meeting, and at the Feed and Pet Food Joint Industries Conference this fall.}

What do executives think about petfood safety? Send your questions!

You can find out--and join the discussion--if you attend Petfood Forum 2010, where industry executives will participate in a roundtable: Why issafety the most critical issue for the petfood industry?
Starting at 10:45 on Tuesday, April 13, the panel will include:
* Lafe Bailey, VP of Wenger Manufacturing;
*Duane Ekedahl, president of the Pet Food Institute;
* Jill Franks, director of scientific and regulatory affairs in R&D for Mars Petcare US;
* Greg Kean, VP of product development and quality assurance for WellPet;
* Jim Marsden, PhD, regents distinguished professor, food safety and security, Kansas State University; and
* Angele Thompson, PhD, president of Thompson Pet Tech.
They will discuss petfood safety from a strategic perspective; technical sessions during the conference will address specific safety processes and protocols.
You can participate in the discussion by posting questions for the panel members in response to this discussion thread or e-mailing them to dphillips@wattnet.net.
And don't forget to register for Petfood Forum! (If you also register for the follow-up symposium, Petfood Workshop: Hands-on Nutrition, you'll save up to 20% off the Workshop registration.)

PFI elects Bob Kelly as chairman

The Pet Food Institute (PFI) announced the election of Bob Kelly as its new chairman of the board. Kelly, president of Bil-Jac Foods Inc., was elected by the board of directors at PFI’s 52nd Annual Industry Meeting on October 15. Prior to election as chairman, Kelly served as vice chairman of PFI.
“I am honored that my colleagues in the petfood industry elected me chairman of PFI,” said Kelly. “I look forward to a productive tenure as I serve as chairman of PFI, a great organization that represents an industry dedicated to ensuring that our pet cats and dogs live long healthy lives.”
Other officers elected at the PFI meeting include Dan Rajczak, senior vice president of P&G Pet Care, as vice chairman; Rick Shields, executive vice president for technical services of Menu Foods, as treasurer; and Neil Thompson, president and chief executive officer of Hill’s Pet Nutrition, as secretary.

FDA addresses PFI meeting

The animal-related division of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) looks at what it can do to prevent a problem before it becomes a problem, FDA Deputy Commissioner Joshua Sharfstein told those attending the Pet Food Institute (PFI) annual meeting in Washington, DC.
He said the agency strives to make sure all parties affected know what the standards are and what they have to do to comply.
He also noted that if there is an issue, FDA needs to know about it. On the topic of generally recognized as safe (or GRAS) clearances, Sharfstein said he finds that area "interesting" but said FDA wants it to work.

PFI GRAS recommendations, speaker lineup

The following is a summary of the Pet Food Institute's (PFI) recommendations on self-affirmed generally recognized as safe ingredients (SA-GRAS). Geoffery Wong of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will present on this topic October 15 at the PFI Annual Industry Meeting.

1. FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) does not have the resources to review ingredients under both SA-GRAS and the Association of American Feed Control Official's (AAFCO) Ingredient Definition Committee (IDC). The firm seeking the approval should determine which way they want to submit.

2. A firm can make a determination that a particular use of a substance is GRAS and go to market. Or, notify FDA of its notification.

3. The scientific standard for a determination of GRAS requires the same quality and quantity of information in a food additive petition.

4. Proceeding with the AAFCO process has a lower data hurdle, in part because these ingredients are ones for which FDA does not have safety concerns.

5. If they notify FDA the result will be: Letter of no questionsLetter stating insufficient basisCVM does not support listing an ingredient that goes through the FDA-SA-GRAS process in the OP.If a state takes action against an ingredient that is the subject of a no questions letter and is listed on the Web site, FDA will not support the state challenge.

6. An ingredient the firm wants listed in the OP must go through the AAFCO-IDC process.

At the PFI Annual Industry Meeting, The Update Session, October 15, at 2 p.m., will feature:

*Ricky Schroeder, manager, Feed & Fertilizer Reg., Texas A&M University (AAFCO Perspectives)
*Bill Burkholder, petfood specialist, FDA, CVM (Current state of petfood regulations)
Geoffery Wong, supervisor, Ingredient Safety Team, FDA, CVM (More information on Self-Affirmed GRAS)

*Kim Young, deputy director, Division of Compliance, FDA, CVM (Reportable Food Registry)

*Kristin Schmitz, senior staff veterinarian, USDA, APHIS, VA, NCIE (Canadian Export Issues)

FDA urged to implement online process in phases

The National Grain and Feed Association, National Oilseed Processors Association and Pet Food Institute have urged FDA to phase in the implementation of its portal, Reportable Food Registry, through which facilities will be required to report food- or feed-product safety incidents, according to a news report.
FDA had announced that firms would have to report through the portal from September 8, the same day as its launch. In their written statement, the organizations have asked FDA to either extend by 45-60 days the effective date for reporting food- or feed-safety incidents through the electronic portal, or to exercise enforcement discretion for a comparable period to provide a phase-in duration.
A phase-in period would provide the agency and industry time to conduct necessary training on the use of the electronic portal, the groups said, and would give FDA additional time to improve the functionality and usability of the portal itself.

PFI annual meeting schedule announced

Pet Food Institute’s (PFI) Annual Industry Meeting will be held October 13-15 in Washington DC, USA.
The first day’s petfood program will be held at the PFI office. For the next two days, the meeting’s venue will be the Omni Shoreham hotel.
Registration can be done on the PFI site.

PFI to hold China export training program

The Petfood Institute is holding a special training session for its members and others from the U.S. pet food industry on China’s facility certification and product registration requirements on July 30 in Washington. The training program coincides with the Association of American Feed Control Officials annual meeting.
For U.S. companies to export pet food to China, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services must certify to China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine that the manufacturing facility meets specific requirements and the products must be registered with China's Ministry of Agriculture. At the training program, a representative from AQSIQ will provide an overview of the agency's requirements.

PFI responds to study of fluoride in dog foods

The Pet Food Institute issued a statement June 30 in response to the Environmental Working Group's study of the amount of fluoride in 10 national brands of dog food, saying the report "makes a scientifically invalid extrapolation on the safe consumption level of fluoride for dogs based upon the established level for the water that people drink" and that it includes no new research beyond its own test results.
According to EWG, the study showed that eight of the brands contained fluoride amounts between 1.6 and 2.5 times higher than the US Environmental Protection Agency's maximum legal dose in drinking water. The EWG questioned whether the levels of fluoride found in the foods were safe for pets.
"The biology of humans is very different from the biology of dogs," the PFI said in the statement, calling the report "high on sensationalism, low on fact."
The EWG also claimed that bone meal and animal by-products were the "likely source of the fluoride contamination" and suggested that dog owners purchase petfoods that do not contain bone meal and other animal by-products to "protect pets from excessive fluoride exposures."
"Many petfood products contain bone meal and other animal by-products because they are critical sources of quality nutrition for dogs," the PFI's statement read. "Bone meal and other animal by-products are allowed for use in dog food by the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Department of Agriculture, the same agencies that regulate human foods."
To view the PFI's full statement, click here.

PFI reviews petfood legislature

At its meeting in March, the Pet Food Institute board of directors reiterated its legislative priorities: petfood specific proposals, including taxes on petfood; food safety legislation; and expansion of the legal standing of pets.
Below are updates on legislation the PFI has fought against.
Active
S.B. 250, which reiterates existing California requirements that all dogs be licensed and that the licensing fee for intact dogs be double the fee for spayed/neutered dogs, is currently under consideration in the California Assembly. PFI is arguing for the commercial exemption that would free petfood companies operating kennels in California from the licensing requirement.
Pending/defeated
A proposed 1% sales tax increase in Maine was defeated. However, the Joint Standing Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry is setting up a working group that will meet outside the legislative session later this year to explore funding options for the state’s Animal Welfare Program, possibly bringing the petfood tax back for consideration.
Defeated
A proposal to require petfood companies to register and provide their product recipes to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture was defeated.
A proposal to tax $57.50 per ton of petfood to fund a spay/neuter program was defeated in Washington.

CVM addresses questions about GRAS program

David Fairfield of the National Grain & Feed Association (NGFA) shared with the Pet Food Institute (PFI) answers to questions he raised with FDA regarding the GRAS notification program for animal feed announced earlier this year.
Geoffrey Wong, leader of the ingredient safety team at the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), provided the answers.

David Fairfield: Is there a planned date for when the program will be launched?
Geoffrey Wong: CVM plans to start the pilot program late summer of 2009. However, this date is not definite and will be impacted by a number of factors, such as receiving proper authorization to publish a Federal Register notice that will announce the pilot program.
DF: As I understand, this program is being characterized as a “pilot” project. I am curious as to what this means, such as will the agency initially be limiting the scope of the program to certain ingredients and to a certain timeframe?
GW: The program is considered a pilot program in the sense that the April 17, 1997 proposed rule has not yet been finalized. We intend to be operating under an interim policy similar to the one described in Section VIII of the April 17, 1997 proposed rule. The scope of the program will include substances intended for use in food for animals.
DF: Will there be an established timeframe for the agency to respond to industry GRAS notice submittals?
GW: CVM does not plan to have formal statutory deadlines of when the agency must respond to a firm’s GRAS notification. Our timeframes for reviewing the notices will be largely impacted by the resources available to CVM to implement the program.
DF: Will animal feed ingredients that receive a “no questions” review from CVM be listed in the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) Official Publication?
GW: The FDA evaluation process for AAFCO feed ingredient definitions is very different from FDA’s process to evaluate GRAS notifications and these processes result in agency conclusions which are not equivalent.

In the AAFCO ingredient definition process, CVM serves as a science advisor to AAFCO to establish ingredient safety, evaluate utility of the ingredient for specific use (claim), and determine if the manufacturer’s process in under control and analytical methods are acceptable. As part of the review, FDA often evaluates proprietary safety data, utility data, and manufacturing data submitted by the firm.
In contrast for GRAS notifications, FDA reviews summarized data and information submitted by the notifier and data and information otherwise available to the Agency, to determine whether there is a basis to question the notifier’s view that the technical element (evidence of safety) and both facets of the common knowledge element regarding the use of the substance are satisfied – i.e., general availability and general acceptance (consensus).
CVM intends to have discussions with AAFCO to understand the manner in which state feed control officials will recognize a response letter from the agency stating that it has no questions regarding the rotifier's determination that the substance is GRAS under the intended conditions of use in animal food.

Maine votes on tax increase for petfood

Maine's Senate Agriculture Committee has passed a preliminary proposal to increase the petfood tax by 1%. If signed into law, petfood in Maine would be taxed 6% as opposed to 5% for most other products.
The Washington D.C.-based Pet Food Institute issued a statement saying, “PFI will mount a major effort to mobilize consumers, retailers, pet groups, business groups and others to fight this.”
The bill is scheduled for a vote in the state Senate followed by a House vote. An outcome on the proposal is expected by the end of June.

Proposed bills impose fee on petfood

Two bills (SB 5329 and HB 1406) were introduced Wednesday in Washington state that would impose a fee on petfood of $57.50 per ton to fund spay/neuter programs.
This fee would be unprecedented in both its size (the highest tonnage fee is $1 in Louisiana right now) and intended use (to fund spay/neuter programs rather than inspections).The bills would establish a companion animal spay/neuter assistance program within the Department of Agriculture.
The program would provide assistance to low-income residents as well as “caretakers of feral and free-roaming cats.” (Sec. 3(2)(b))
The bill requires that “each initial distributor or responsible buyer of petfood must pay to the department a companion animal spay/neuter fee on all petfood distributed by such person during the reporting period.” (Sec. 7 (2)(b))The digest on both bills asserts that “the program should be funded through a fee that is practical, administratively feasible, and targeted at the class of Washington residents that is most responsible for companion animals and their impact on our communities: Owners of cats and dogs.”
The Pet Food Institute is currently attempting to stop the bills' progress