Preventive cat food diets become more available over the counter

In recent years, petfood manufacturers have began creating more over-the-counter preventive pet food diets that help cat owners manage their cat's special health condition, says a recent article in Pet Product News International.
Previously, cat foods to manage cat health issues, such as allergies, urinary problems, hairballs and diabetes, were only available from a veterinarian, but petfood retailers are now offering special cat diets from grain-free to novel protein-sourced formulas, all without a prescription.
Pet food companies like Halo, Purely for Pets and Wellness have began creating more grain-free diets to respond to consumer demand. These grain-free diets are usually selected for cats with digestive issues or allergies, according to Halo's Donna Spector, DVM, because the formulas usually do not contain grains, like corn or wheat, but instead contain vegetables and meat. Spector says that refined grains like white rice should be avoided in cat food because these overprocessed grains lose much of their nutritional value, and can lead to blood sugar spikes and obesity in cats. 
Feline allergies may also be caused by the protein sources in traditional petfoods, like chicken, beef and lamb. But, new over-the-counter petfoods, such as those made by Addiction Foods, are formulated by a veterinarian and nutritionist to include unique proteins such as venison, bushtail, kangaroo and rabbit, which are less likely to result in allergies, according to CEO Jerel Kwek. Another specially formulated cat diet being made more available on retailer shelves, rather than by prescription only, is a high-water content food that can help cats with bladder problems, according to Spector. She also recommends pet owners feed a diet formulated with proper pH levels. The wider availability of these new cat foods means also that pet food manufacturers and retailers must do a better job of educating consumers about preventive diets, rather than relying on a veterinarian to do so when prescribing the food. David Yaskulka, vice president of marketing communications for Halo, says his company provides an educational website to help retailers understand the special cat diet products they are selling to customers. Petfood retailer Holistic Pet Center says it, too, goes to great lengths to educate consumers on preventative diets for cats by providing these foods with more space and signage in stores, as well as by bringing the special diets to street fairs, business events and other marketing opportunities.

Pet industry spending at record US$50 billion in 2011, report finds

The American Pet Products Association's annual pet industry spending and data report found that pet industry spending grew by 5.3 percent to an all-time high of US$50.96 billion in 2011.
The American Pet Products Association projects a 3.8 percent growth rate through 2012 and US$53 billion in overall pet spending, driven by new, innovative products including petfood, pet supplies and over-the-counter medications, veterinary care, live animal purchases and other pet services. Pet services, like grooming, boarding, pet sitting and others, experienced the largest growth, rising 7.9 percent from 2010 to US$3.79 billion in 2011. The report projects pet services will grow by 8.4 percent in 2012 to US$4.11 billion in spending. Pet food spending had a slower, but steady increase in 2011, rising 5.8 percent to US$19.85 billion, and is projected to rise 3.1 percent to US$20.46 billion in 2012. Spending on pet supplies and over-the-counter medications also grew in 2011, up 7.6 percent from 2010 to US$11.7 billion in 2011. According to the association's president, Bob Vetere, two reasons for the slower growth in petfood sales are that pet sales and adoptions are flattening, and most consumers have already been drawn to high-end petfoods so the segment is reverting back to a more traditional growth pattern. "As the total pet population continues to grow, despite a slower pace, we still see the overall industry expanding year after year," Vetere said. "As pet owners continue to pamper pets and treat them like members of the family, we see positive growth and a response to consumer demand for more products and services which we expect to see through 2012.” 

Compy petfood allegedly linked to kidney failure in Spain pets

Spanish pet food brand Compy has removed its products from some Mercadona supermarket shelves in Spain after complaints that the pet food is allegedly linked to kidney failure in pets, according to a report.  
The pet food products are being tested by Compy's technicians to determine whether or not the pet food is connected to the kidney failure reports in dogs. “At this stage we have only removed the product as a precaution," said Mercadona spokesman, Jorge Romero. “We have received various calls, six complaints, and it has been removed from shops in Albox, Garrucha and Mojacar. This is not all over Andalucia." According to the manufacturer, the products in question are only wet petfood products for cats and dogs produced by Escuris, in Tetra Brick (cartons of 375ml). Compy said that a test was done in 190 out of 1365 Mercadona stores with wet food in tetra brick as a substitution for canned wet pet food. Consumers who are concerned can call a helpline, in English and Spanish, at +900500103.

Evermore Pet Food earns top dog food review, expands retail network

Evermore Pet Food announced that since partnering with Rhode Island, USA-based distributor Pet Food Experts in May 2011, the pet food company has quadrupled its accounts.
Evermore says its network now includes retailers in Maine, USA, and Pet Sage in Virginia, USA. Following being granted the Animal Wellness Magazine seal of approval in August 2011, the pet food company also says it earned its first five-star review on dog food review website Dog Food Advisor in December 2011.

Food Safety Validation team presented on safety of low-moisture pet foods

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. 

Pet Food Institute urged state Senate committee to strip pet food tax provisions from bill

The Pet Food Institute expressed its appreciation to the West Virginia, USA, Senate Agriculture Committee for amending a bill to remove pet food tax provisions.
The Senate Agriculture Committee passed an amended version of S.B. 479 that removed the pet food tax provisions, which would have funded a spay and neuter assistance program with supplemental money from the fee increase on pet food retailers and distributors, the group says. Instead, the bill now funds the program through the general state budget, and supplemental revenue is raised through an income tax refund checkoff. As part of its initiative to fight the petfood tax provisions, the Pet Food Institute launched a Facebook campaign called "Save our Pets from Onerous Taxes," which the group says received the support of more than 1,300 Facebook users within the first two days of being created.  “It is not fair to tax responsible pet owners to fix a situation they did not create. We are grateful that the concerns of West Virginians were heard and that the unfair tax provisions were stripped from S.B. 479,” said Duane Ekedahl, president. “Every state that has debated a proposal to tax petfood to fund spay/neuter programs ultimately rejected a tax on pet food. Now West Virginia joins that list.” 

Obese dogs may have lower vitality, more pain, UK study shows

Researchers at the University of Liverpool in the UK recently conducted a study to determine the effect of weight loss on obese dogs.
The study enrolled 50 obese dogs of various breeds and genders at the University's Royal Canin Weight Management Clinic. Prior to the attempted weight loss, dog owners completed a questionnaire on categories such as activity, pain, aggression, sociability, anxiety, happiness, mobility and enthusiasm.
The weight loss program involved feeding the dogs either a high-protein, high-fiber dog food or a high-protein, moderate-fiber food, along with making changes in exercise. To determine the amount of food to give to each dog, the investigators estimated the maintenance energy requirement using target weight and factors such as gender and presence of associated diseases. During the course of the study, 30 of the dogs reached their target, with an average weight-loss percentage of 24.4% of their starting weight. Following the study, owners again completed a questionnaire, from which results were evaluated based on the dogs' vitality, emotional disturbance and pain. The study found that all of the dogs that lost weight experienced an improvement in quality of life, as judged by improvements in vitality scores and lower scores for emotional disturbance and pain. Dogs that did not attain their ideal weight after the survey had lower vitality scores and higher emotional disturbance scores. “This research indicates that, for obese dogs, weight loss can be important for staying both healthy and happy,” said Dr. Alexander German from the University of Liverpool. “Obesity is a risk for many dogs, affecting not only their health, but also their quality of life."