Pet food manufacturer executive discusses importance of USDA

In a recent webinar series, Paul Hughes, an executive with pet food manufacturer Nestle Purina PetCare, discussed the importance of the US Department of Agriculture in the petfood industry, amid concerns over budget cuts for the department.
Hughes provided an analogy relating the importance of an umpire in the game of baseball to the importance of USDA in providing information to the commodity market, on such things as petfood ingredients. “The USDA is the global unbiased umpire of the grains and oilseeds markets,” Hughes said.
Hughes' example referenced Don Denkinger, a major league baseball umpire who admittedly made a bad call in the 1985 World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Kansas City Royals. Hughes said that in commodity markets, USDA is looked upon to give quality, unbiased information, but, like Denkinger, sometimes only gets attention when the reports are controversial or unexpected.
Hughes worries that if USDA is not able to provide the reports due to possible budget cuts, the information might instead only come from parties with vested interests in the outcomes. “What this does is leave the market ripe for all sorts of manipulations by those with the best independent information.” USDA's reports, he says, level the playing field for all manufacturers, regardless of the size. 

FDA schedules March 29 hearing on Food Safety Modernization Act implementation

The US Food and Drug Administration will hold a meeting on March 29, allowing petfood companies to provide input on how the agency implements the Food Safety Modernization Act's import safety provisions.
FDA's notice said the agency seeks information on importer verification, the Voluntary Qualified Importer Program, import certifications for food, and third-party accreditation.
The meeting will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA, and will be available on that day as a live webcast. FDA also scheduled a public hearing on March 30 and 31 in College Park, Maryland, USA, to discuss its use of international comparability assessments to enhance the safety of imported foods and animal feed.

Performance Pet Products petfood facility certified by USDA inspection service

Performance Pet Products announced that its canned petfood facility was approved by the US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for shipments to the European Union (EU).
In compliance with APHIS regulations, every ingredient used in these products must be sourced from EU-certified suppliers. FDA is currently in the process of establishing more rigorous guidelines for petfood processing plant compliance and inspections of petfood facilities.

NOSB scheduled to meet about organic petfood in October

The US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) will meet October 25-28 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, to discuss NOSB Handling Committee’s recommendation that it adopt a plan to regulate organic petfood.
The recommendation is one of 66 items on the committee’s agenda, as part of USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service's National Organic Program. The Handling Committee first recommended the plan in September 2008, following an initial report by the Organic Pet Food Task Force that was completed in April 2006.
Individuals and organizations may submit comments on this matter until October 12. The agenda and proposed recommendations can be viewed online. Comments can be submitted at www.regulations.gov (preferred) or via e-mail at nosb@ams.usda.gov. Requests to speak at the meeting can be made to Lisa Ahramjian, executive director of NOSB, at nosb@ams.usda.gov or +1.202.720.3252.