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After recent reports of wet pet food containing melamine levels in excess of the 2.5 mg/kg legal limit, the European Commission created a Regulation to amend Annex 1 to Directive 2002/32/EC, which sets the legal maximum level of melamine in animal feed.
Although the legal limit of melamine in canned pet food will remain at 2.5 mg/kg, a footnote has been added to state that this is on an “as sold” basis rather than a 12 percent moisture basis.
Once passed by the European Parliament, the Regulation to amend Annex 1 to Directive 2002/32/EC will be published in the Official Journal. The Regulation will then be enforced on the 20th day after publication, which is expected in early 2013.
Members of a food safety validation team met at the 2012 edition of the Global Food Safety Initiative's Global Food Safety Conference, February 14-17, in Orlando, Florida, USA, to give a presentation on food safety of low-moisture foods, including pet food. The Food Safety Validation team presented to the GFSI board, including representatives from Yum! Brands, Walmart, petfood manufacturer Cargill, Danone, Kroger, COFCO Corp. (China), Tyson Foods and others. Steve Akins of Petfood Industry magazine began the presentation with an overview of the team and its members, made up of representatives from Extru-Tech Inc., Del Monte Foods, Food Safety Validation LLC and Petfood Industry magazine. Norm Schmitt of Extru-Tech presented the team’s goals and how they align with those of the GFSI. These goals are to reduce food safety risk and build on the competency of workers responsible for ensuring food safety, with a focus on low-moisture foods including petfood and pet treats that are manufactured using extrusion and baking and drying processes. Schmitt said the team aims to enhance existing food safety programs, increase food safety awareness across the food industry, reduce the number of recalls and strengthen consumer trust. David Anderson of Del Monte Foods provided a description of the team’s extrusion equipment enhancements and plant layout and safety changes. Anderson and Schmitt also spoke about the team’s upcoming milestones, such as planned May 2012 extrusion thermal process validation testing on an Extru-Tech production machine. Finally, Frank Yiannas, GFSI board vice chairman and Walmart’s vice president of food safety and health, encouraged retailer promotion of low-moisture food safety, including in the fast-growing petfood market, through universal adoption of the GFSI standards and a common validation approach.
Nestle Purina PetCare annnounced plans to invest more than US$48 million to double the production of wet pet food at its manufacturing site in Russia.
The money will be used to add production lines at Nestle's pet food manufacturing facility in Vorsino, Russia. Company officials say the investment will double wet pet food manufacturing capacities within the next three years, as well as to produce the entire Purina range of pet food products sold in Russia and exported to other Commonwealth of Independent States countries.
Many pet owners debate issues such as nutrition, dental health and cost when deciding whether to select a dry or wet petfood, according to an article on zootoo.com.
Dry and wet foods possess much of the same nutrients. Dry food, however, was found to result in less calculus buildup and less gingivitis, according to Colin Harvey, professor of surgery and dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania's School of Veterinary Medicine. In dogs, these results were seen in the first upper molar teeth; in cats, calculus buildup was slightly less likely on eight major teeth and gingivitis was less likely on two teeth.
Cost is another factor when choosing a dry or wet food. According to Consumer Reports, wet food, which contains about 75% water, is more expensive per serving than dry food because more of it is required for the pet to receive the same amount of nutrients and calories.
Petfood factory Lovitt’s NZ in Tauranga, New Zealand, shut down after being sold to an Australian competitor, according to the Bay of Plenty Times.
While operational, the company was a supplier of canned petfood to Coles and Woolworths supermarkets in Australia.
Savings can often be achieved by optimizing usage of gels and thickeners. Read the full article.
