Blue Buffalo addresses Wilbur-Ellis petfood ingredient issue

Blue Buffalo has taken to its site to address an issue with Wilbur-Ellis petfood ingredients, after the Wilbur-Ellis' Texas processing plant mislabeled some ingredients.

"Blue Buffalo has recently learned from Wilbur-Ellis, a major US company that supplies ingredients to us and many other well-known brands of petfoods, that a Texas petfood ingredient processing plant they own had mislabeled some of the ingredients they shipped to their customers," said Bill Bishop, founder and chairman of Blue Buffalo, in an open letter to customers. "So while their customers were ordering and paying for 100% chicken meal, at times they were receiving shipments that contained poultry by-product meal.
"Since this Wilbur-Ellis plant was the source of some of our chicken meal, we may have received some of these mislabeled shipments, and there likely are numerous other petfood companies who also received these mislabeled ingredients," he said. "The FDA has been informed of this situation, and you may rest assured that this mislabeling poses no health, safety or nutrition issue. And while this is comforting, since the health and well-being of our dogs and cats comes before anything else, the fact that any Blue Buffalo food could include a mislabeled ingredient is totally unacceptable. As a result, we have stopped doing business with this plant."
The mislabeling issue was apparently corrected months ago, but Blue Buffalo strives for transparency, said Bishop, and he felt customers deserved to know.

Meat species study: Some petfoods may be mislabeled

Researchers in Chapman University’s Food Science Program have published a study focused on commercial petfoods marketed for dogs and cats to identify meat species present as well as any instances of mislabeling. Of the 52 products tested, 31 were labeled correctly, 20 were potentially mislabeled and one contained a non-specific meat ingredient that could not be verified.

“Although regulations exist for petfoods, increases in international trade and globalization of the food supply have amplified the potential for food fraud to occur,” said Rosalee Hellberg, PhD, co-author on the study. “With the recent discovery of horsemeat in ground meat products sold for human consumption in several European countries, finding horsemeat in US consumer food and petfood products is a concern, which is one of the reasons we wanted to do this study.”
Chicken was the most common meat species found in the petfood products. Pork was the second most common meat species detected, and beef, turkey and lamb followed, respectively. Goose was the least common meat species detected. None of the products tested positive for horsemeat.
Of the 20 potentially mislabeled products, 13 were dog food and seven were cat food. Of these 20, 16 contained meat species that were not included on the product label, with pork being the most common undeclared meat species. In three of the cases of potential mislabeling, one or two meat species were substituted for other meat species. While a seemingly high percentage of petfoods were found to be potentially mislabeled, the manner in which mislabeling occurred is not clear; nor is it clear as to whether the mislabeling was accidental or intentional and at which points in the production chain it took place, according to the report.
The study was published in the journal Food Control.

Glowing dog food in New Zealand blamed on bioluminescent bacteria

Glowing dog food discovered by a New Zealand woman might be due to sea-based bioluminescent bacteria, according to microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles.

A fluorescent blue glow was emanating from a pair of Jimbo's Pet Food bones Fiona Wallis bought for her dog. Jimbo's is considering a recall, but the exact cause of the glowing is still being investigated. The bones are kept in a kind of brine during production, which is hospitable to certain sea bacteria. While there are a couple strains of bacteria that could be dangerous, said Wiles, that's not likely the case with this particular strain.
Jimbo's general manager, Dave Allan, said the glowing meat was packaged at the beginning of September, so most of the product has likely been consumed. "We are not aware of any risks to the animals," he said.

Merrick Pet Care presents 2014 fall/winter seasonal petfoods

Merrick Pet Care has presented its 2014 fall and winter seasonal petfood options, using seasonally inspired grain-free ingredients. All of the dog food recipes have a balance of meat, poultry, fruits and vegetables, suitable for dogs with food allergies or sensitivities.

A special limited edition recipe, Forever Home Holiday Recipe, will benefit homeless dogs. For every can of Forever Home purchased during the holiday season, a meal will be donated to a local shelter. The recipe is made with beef, chicken, Yukon gold potatoes, red delicious apples and peas. Other recipes include Gameday Tailgate (chicken thighs, beef, carrots, peas, bacon and tomatoes in gravy), Homecoming Holiday (chicken, sweet potatoes, peas and butternut squash in gravy) and Festive Holiday Stew (turkey, sweet potatoes, pears and herbs in gravy).
Merrick's recipes will be available throughout the US in Petco and independent pet specialty stores.

Paw's Natural Pet Emporium owner eats petfood for nutrition awareness

Dorothy Hunter, owner of Washington-based Paw's Natural Pet Emporium, went on a "petfood diet" for 30 days in order to bring ingredient awareness to pet owners.

In a country where more than half the pets are overweight or obese, Hunter said it's important to pay attention to what pets are eating. A video of her discussing her experience on the show "The Doctors," including a discussion of pet obesity and the humanization of petfoods, can be found here.

Kemin acquires sustainably grown certification for rosemary

Kemin Industries has received third-party sustainably grown certification for its vertically integrated rosemary production through SCS Global Services. Kemin is the first to obtain third-party certification for this type of rosemary, according to the company.

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“Today's consumers are more interested in supporting sustainable agriculture practices than ever,” said Linda Brown, SCS senior vice president. “This certification assures Kemin Industries’ customers that the rosemary in its rosemary-based products is not just high quality but produced in an environmentally and socially responsible way.”
The sustainable, agronomic path Kemin has chosen differs from a popular but less widely known approach, said the company. Approximately 80% of rosemary that is used as a spice or for extraction is harvested from the wild in the Mediterranean region of southern Europe and North Africa under license from sovereign governments. This alters the natural ecology of these ecosystems and produces varying quality in the product. Dedicated to sustainable and environmental farming practices, Kemin contracts with family farmers in Texas and New Mexico to grow its proprietary rosemary varieties. This partnership not only increases the quality and quantity of crops but improves farming practices, promotes healthy working conditions and builds community relations, said Kemin.

Petfood may contribute to pets' behavior

Petfood can obviously affect the health of pets, but it may affect more than that. Petfood ingredients, for example, might affect pet behavior, according to some studies.

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The fatty acid DHA (docosahexaeonic acid), sometimes added to puppy and kitten food, has been shown to increase mental acuity in puppies and kittens, according to Dr. Lorie Huston, DVM, a small animal veterinarian in Rhode Island. Puppies eating dog food with DHA may also be more trainable.
Certain antioxidants have been found to be beneficial to senior pets in terms of cognitive maintenance. A series of studies conducted on dogs found that older dogs provided with an antioxidant-rich diet were able to learn complex tasks with more success than those on a control diet. Another study used an antioxidant-rich diet and found that older dogs were less likely to suffer from age-related behavior changes associated with cognitive decline. Dogs on this diet were also able to recognize family members more easily and retained more agility than the control group.
Petfood can affect other areas of a pet's life, as well, through feeding times and unbalanced diets, both of which can play significant roles in a pet's mood and behavior, according to experts. 

Seawind Foods seeks to expand distribution of dehydrated fruits, vegetables, spices

Seawind Foods, a producer and distributor of all-natural dehydrated fruits, vegetables and spices to industrial food processors, retailers and national consumer brands, has announced a new company structure and plans for expansion into new markets.

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Leading the initiatives are new management executives Garry Green (president and CEO) and Julie Swink (vice president of sales). The team is actively engaging with new wholesalers and distributors under the leadership of Swink. “The success and longevity of Seawind Foods is a result of a constant focus on innovation and quality,” said Green. “The Seawind leadership team sees tremendous opportunity to grow the business by expanding our product offering, and broadening our distribution channels and reach into new vertical markets.” 

Ingredient company Symrise to buy Diana for US$1.8 billion

German scents and flavors group Symrise will buy France's Diana Group for an agreed EUR1.3 billion (US$1.8 billion) including debt to narrow the gap on top rival Givaudan and expand in natural ingredients and petfood, according to the company. The purchase from private equity group Ardian will make Symrise the world's third-biggest scents and flavors company, up from number four, and help it toward a goal of boosting annual sales by around EUR1 billion by 2020.

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Symrise Chief Executive Heinz-Juergen Bertram said the firm would likely finance the deal via a 10% capital increase, as well as a mix of debt and equity. Based on Symrise's current share price, a sale of 10% of its stock would generate around EUR400 million (US$552.4 million). The acquisition should start adding to earnings per share from 2015 onward, said Symrise.
"We think that the acquisition, although not cheap, makes strategic sense for the company," said Berenberg Bank analyst Evgenia Molotova, saying Diana had a very strong market position in natural ingredients as well as in the petfood market. The deal values Diana at 14 times its 2013 earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA).
According to reports in March 2014, Diana had attracted bids worth more than EUR1.2 billion (US$1.66 billion) including debt from Symrise and Japan's Ajinomoto.

Two-year trial to test kangaroo meat in petfood

A two-year trial in Victoria, Australia, will involve processing kangaroo meat into petfood, creating a new industry worth up to AU$1.4 million (US$940,604) in revenue, according to reports. The trial will begin March 31, 2014, and will involve up to 69,000 eastern and western grey kangaroos which would have been culled under wildlife control permits.

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According to Agriculture Minister Peter Walsh, the number of kangaroos killed isn't expected to rise because it's illegal to kill one without a permit. "It will not mean any increase in the wildlife control permits at all, it is just utilizing the waste that is there from the current controls," he said.
The government plans to closely monitor the number of wildlife control applications to ensure that the new kangaroo petfood industry doesn't cause a spike in kangaroo killings.

AFIA seeks comment from member companies on ingredient approvals

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) ingredient approval process, used by 49 states, has an unclear future with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Despite a 35-year cooperative relationship, the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) has learned that FDA feels specifically "the AAFCO process ultimately falls short" and "the majority of ingredients that are included in the AAFCO 'official publication' are neither approved food additives nor are they generally recognized as safe (GRAS)."

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The Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 (FDAAA) requires FDA to establish petfood processing and ingredient "standards." Initially, this caused FDA confusion over the legal differences in interpreting "definition"-the term used in the AAFCO OP-and FDAAA's use of the word "standard," a term of legal art found nowhere in the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (fFDCA). It now appears FDA is trying to harmonize the AAFCO process with the requirements in the fFDCA. FDA is working to complete a GRAS analysis for ingredients listed in the OP and are exploring the options to address the other ingredients in the OP that are not GRAS nor approved food additives.
After several situations where FDA agreed to either a legislative fix or an administrative remedy-only to back out at the 11th hour-AFIA turned to Congress for help. AFIA has recently met with congressional offices to put pressure on FDA to stop complicating the issues surrounding ingredient approvals. Instead, AFIA is pushing FDA to administratively remedy a situation that is discouraging ingredient development.
Last fall, with strong AFIA membership support, 38 members of Congress wrote letters to FDA asking for a solution and clarifying that it was never the intent of Congress to interfere with the AAFCO ingredient approval process.
AFIA met with Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and his staff again recently. They have not decided how they will respond to FDA but remain willing to help. The staffs in other offices continue to demonstrate their willingness to assist AFIA.
AFIA equipped several dozen state grain-feed/agribusiness leaders who flew to Washington, D.C., recently with a one-pager and briefed them on the issue. What AFIA is looking for now is the industry's help. The organization would like to hear from member companies about their experiences with ingredient approvals so AFIA can share them with congressional offices and with FDA.
Please think about recent ingredient approval processes your company has experienced-FDA has told Capitol Hill this agency confusion has not held up pending approvals-and let AFIA know what an ideal process would be moving forward. Also please think about how regulatory uncertainly has affected your business, especially in terms of investment/innovation, revenue and jobs. AFIA will soon send out a form to collect such information.

Amalfi ingredients absorbed into new parent FoodSafe Technologies

Amalfi Ingredients LLC of Deer Park, New York, USA, has been absorbed into a new parent holding company, FoodSafe Technologies LLC. The new structure highlights the growth in the food safety and pathogen protection sectors which match the company's overall long-term strategy.

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"We are very excited to open this new chapter for our company," said FoodSafe Technologies President Frank Monteleone. "While the core historic roots for Amalfi Ingredients may have been food protection through antioxidants, our key direction and continued growth is in pathogen prevention and control. This is especially true in Salmonella and E. coli elimination, where our TopShieldR Plus and Meat DefendR products have proven to be leadership products in these areas."
FoodSafe Technologies LLC will also be located in Deer Park, New York, USA. FoodSafe Technologies is in the midst of a five-year strategic organic growth plan, which will include people and facility expansion.
"Amalfi Ingredients will be a division of FoodSafe, and the EXTEND-OX antioxidant and stability products will continue to be a part of our product portfolio. This change is necessitated by the organic growth we are seeing in food protection in all key markets, driven by our TopShieldR Plus and Meat DefendR products, and we are excited to give this part of our business, and the customers we serve in food protection, a greater focus."

Aker BioMarine earns Marine Stewardship Council certification for krill fishery

Aker BioMarine Antarctic Australasia Pty has achieved Marine Stewardship Council certification for its sustainable practices and krill fishery infrastructure.
Aker BioMarine's krill-derived products sold in Australia are now eligible to bear the MSC eco-label, providing consumers with a guarantee of sustainability, effective fisheries management and traceability from sea to shelf. To maintain MSC Certification, Aker BioMarine undergoes annual auditing during which it must maintain certain benchmarks and conditions.
"Sustainability is central to our business operations," said Webjørn Eikrem, executive vice president, Upstream Operations, Aker BioMarine. "Our ultimate goal is to continuously meet the highest environmental standards in sustainable management while producing great krill products for our customers in Australia and worldwide."

Court orders FDA to publish proposed FSMA regulations by November 30

A federal court has ordered the US Food and Drug Administration to complete the new food safety regulations of the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act. According to a decision by the US District Court for the Northern District of California, FDA must publish all proposed FSMA regulations by November 30. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton ordered the comment period for the regulations will not close later than March 31, 2014, and all final regulations shall be published in the Federal Register no later than June 30, 2015.
FSMA improves FDA's regulation and authority over food production, including petfood and treats, in numerous areas, including preventing contaminated petfood imports, new preventative controls and hazard analysis requirements for production facilities, and safer production of fruits and vegetables used as petfood ingredients. FSMA also grants FDA new authority to, for the first time, mandate recalls and suspend facilities, as well as new inspection and enforcement powers. But, FDA regulations implementing the statute's mandates were needed before these improvements take effect.
On April 22, the US District Court for the Northern District of California held that FDA violated the law in "unlawfully withholding" the FSMA regulations. The court then ordered the parties to submit rvised proposals for new deadlines to complete the regulations, which the parties did on June 10. After consulting experts, the Center for Food Safety submitted new deadlines to the court. FDA refused to submit meaningful deadlines, offering only "target timeframes" well into 2016, which it argued it could unilaterally change.
The court's Order Granting Injunctive Relief, issued on June 21, rejected the FDA's proposal. "Congress indicated that the rule-making process should be close-ended, rather than open-ended," according to the order. "Thus, the court finds defendant's 'target timeframes' to be an inadequate response to the request that the parties submit a proposal regarding deadlines that can form the basis of an injunction." The court granted the Center for Food Safety's motion for an injunction, set 2014-2015 deadlines as described above, and retained jurisdiction to enforce the terms of the order.

Animal nutrition company invests in German production facility

Family owned Leiber, a German manufacturer of specialty products made from brewers' yeast, is investing 7.5 million euros (US$9.8 million) in its production facility in Lower Saxony, Germany, in 2013. 
The plant's recent groundbreaking, which comes three years after construction of a spray-drying tower and finished goods warehouse were completed, will result in an additional spray-drying tower and doubling of storage capacity to 4,000 pallet slots when finished. When construction is completed, the plant will be powered by electricity from renewable resources that the company says will dry more than 2,000 tons of brewers' yeast cell-wall products for the company's animal nutrition business. Adaptation for use with other special brewers' yeast products for animal nutrition is also being planned.
The new spray drying tower is expected to begin production in April 2014, and the semi-automated, computer-controlled warehouse will open at the beginning of 2014. An additional four to five jobs will also be created when the project is completed. 

Sensient Colors focuses on sustainability

Sensient Colors LLC, a business unit of Sensient Technologies Corporation, is focusing on its commitment to applying sustainable practices to secure quality raw material and create sustainable color solutions.
The company says its global supply chain is managed regionally for optimal monitoring and to ensure a collaborative relationship with the grower of raw ingredients to improve growing standards, produce stable botanical sources and optimize food quality. Specifically, Sensient has focused on energy reduction by installing motion-detected energy efficient lighting systems, working with raw material suppliers to limit usage of non-renewable energy sources such as coal, and implementing zero-discharge programs with suppliers in China and India to eliminate wastewater.
The company also implemented waste-reducing systems, including a corporate-wide recycling program, capital investments in packaging systems with reduced carbon footprint, and new software programs to eliminate paper transactions.
Additionally, products are developed with the goal of reducing product and application waste. Sensient recently introduced new AccuPak dissolvable color bags in the US, which are dissolvable bags that reduce packaging materials and minimize plant clean-up costs. Soon it will launch new Elvajet digital ink technology, which Sensient says reduces water consumption by up to 90 percent, energy consumption by 60 percent and CO2 emissions by up to 75 percent versus conventional printing processes.
"We evaluate and renew our commitment to sustainability constantly at Sensient Colors because we believe that implementing sustainability programs is an important ethical decision for Sensient and it makes good business sense. Our approach involves examining all aspects of our business, how they interact and discovering new solutions that deliver a lasting, positive environmental impact," says Mike Geraghty, president, Color Group, Sensient Technologies Corporation. 

Dogs' digestive system health may improve with pine tree carbs, study finds

Dogs' digestive system health may be improved by consuming carbohydrates from pine trees, according to new collaborative studies by US Department of Agriculture, university and corporate scientists.
The carbohydrates, known as GGMOs (galactoglucomannan oligosaccharides), are a by-product of treating wood chips that remain after trees are cut into lumber. The chips are treated with heat, high pressure and water to separate them into cellulosic fiber and hemicellulosic carbs, such as the GGMOs. 
USDA Agricultural Research Service chemist Neil P.J. Price began his studies of these fiber-rich carbs in 2007 under the terms of a cooperative agreement with a company called Temple-Inland. This Texas, USA-based producer of wood products made from loblolly pine and other southern yellow pine trees approached ARS about potential new applications of the carbs.
Price used proton magnetic resonance and other analytical techniques to study the potential benefits of the carbs as a petfood ingredient. This research led to another collaborative study directed by George C. Fahey, Jr., a University of Illinois emeritus professor of animal sciences.
In the second study, purified GGMOs from southern yellow pine were added, in place of dietary cellulose, to a high-quality kibble at the rate of 0.5-8 percent. The kibble, or a "control" kibble containing no added GGMOs, was then fed to six healthy female dogs. Analyses of the dogs' fecal samples showed that increasing the percentage of pine GGMOs in the kibble was, in general, associated linearly with several significant indicators of a healthy lower digestive system, including an increase in populations of beneficial Bifidobacterium bacteria.

Specialty ingredients supplier adds custom blending services

The Peterson Co., a supplier of proteins, yeasts, fibers, specialty ingredients and custom dry blends to the petfood industry, established BlendCo LLC in Ottumwa, Iowa, USA.
BlendCo LLC provides custom blending services specifically taking into account the quality expectations of the petfood industry.
“Our customers rely on The Peterson Co. to meet their ingredient, formulation, production and quality needs,” said Leigh Ann Sayen, president of The Peterson Co. and BlendCo. “With the addition of blending services, we were able leverage Peterson’s core competency with the added benefit of quality control and reduced time to market for new products. 

WATTAgNet hosts webinar for 2013 grains, wheat, oilseed commodity outlook

WATTAgNet will present the webinar “2013 Feed Grains, Wheatand Oilseeds Commodity Outlook,” January 22 at 10 a.m. CST.
Register for the webinar.
The webinar will cover information on the 2013 crop outlook based on the USDA’s January 11 crop reports. Speaker Tim Brusnahan, vice president of consulting, Brock & Associates, will analyze the USDA reports in light of last season’s drought, which wreaked havoc on much of the US’s crops. The information in these reports is likely of the most singular importance to the animal feed industry in recent memory. Brusnahan will use his considerable expertise to sift through the data and highlight the information that those in the feed and related industries need to know.
What you’ll learn:

• Important information regarding the US animal feed market for 2013
• Insight about supply and demand for US and South America oilseed in 2013
• Information related to the outlook for US ethanol
• Strategies for animal feed users
• Observations about whether the US crop production will get back to a trend line yield in 2013

Ken Jennison, editor Feed Management and Feed International, will moderate the webinar.

AFIA hosts seminar on pet food ingredient trade requirements

The American Feed Industry Association recently hosted its Import/Export Seminar, in Arlington, Virginia, USA, which provides opportunity for discussion and education on trade requirements for feed, pet food and ingredients.
Key speaker Suzanne Heinen, administrator of the US Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service, delivered an overview of the Foreign Agricultural Service, whose strategy, according to Heinen, is comprised of four criteria: trade policy, market development and export assistance, market intelligence and analysis, and international development. Heinen said a constraint facing the agency is selecting what to include in export reports, as types of pet food, feed and feed ingredients vary from country to country; generally, she said prepared animal feeds, pet food and pet food/prepared foods as reporting variables are included.
Kim Young, deputy director, Division of Compliance, FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, presented on his agency’s role in importing and exporting products. For exports, a product must meet four requirements: has to meet the foreign purchaser’s specifications; cannot be in conflict with the laws of the country where being exported; must be labeled that it is intended for export; and cannot have been offered for sale in domestic commerce. Young said the Center for Veterinary Medicine must review applications, verify licenses and/or registrations, and may inspect a product prior to issuing an export certificate.
Panels on exporting, trade agreements, and the food and feed regulatory systems in other countries were held on the second day of the conference. In a panel with presentations on China, Becky Rasdall, international trade specialist, Foreign Agricultural Service's Office of Agreements and Scientific Affairs, said US feed and feed ingredient exports to China grew at a rate of 478 percent over the 2009 rate to reach US$1.6 billion in 2011. Additionally, Fred Gale, Economic Research Service, USDA, explained how the rise of living standards and growth caused China’s demand for meat, eggs and animal feed to increase, while Rosanne Freese, senior international trade specialist, USDA, explained the current reform of China’s food safety law.
The next Import/Export Seminar will be held in late 2014.