Hill's launches new cat, dog foods in reformulated Science Diet line

Hill's Pet Nutrition launched five new food varieties and eight new treat varieties for cats and dogs as part of the reformulated Hill's Science Diet line, now featuring natural ingredients.
The new petfood varieties contain a balance of essential nutrients with natural ingredients, quality protein as the first ingredient, no chicken by-product meal, and no artificial colors, preservatives or flavors. Dry food varieties include Adult Grain Free for cats, Adult Grain Free for dogs, Adult Indoor Long Coat for cats, Senior Indoor Long Coat for cats, and Senior, Small and Toy Breed Age Defying for dogs. 
Newly launched Science Diet treats are all natural, made with real chicken and beef, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables, and are free of corn, artificial colors flavors and preservatives. Treats include Baked Light Biscuits, Dental Chews, Fruity Snacks and Veggie Chips. 
Additionally, Hill's launched a new brand of Ideal Balance treats for dogs and cats. Ideal Balance treats are made from quality, natural ingredients, such as chicken, tuna, lamb, duck, beef, apricots, carrots, and other fruits and vegetables. These grain-free pet treats come in Oven-Baked Naturals, Soft-Baked Naturals and Crunchy Naturals, in a variety of flavors.  

Kemin to host petfood quality, technology symposium on September 10-11

Kemin will host a symposium for the petfood industry on September 10-11 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, focusing on approaches that can be taken utilizing new technologies to improve petfood quality.
The Petfood Insights: New Approaches to Quality & Technology symposium will address challenges the industry has faced, such as in raw material sourcing and the Food Safety Modernization Act, and discuss what impact these have on manufacturers of petfood ingredients and petfood. 
Presentations topics will include:

• The financial costs of a product recall, stability issues and their effects on petfood formulation
• The importance of petfood quality to retailers 
• Innovative approaches to quality measurements 
• The relationship between palatability enhancers and petfood stability
Registration for the event is free and will open on July 26. 

Monge opens new dry petfood production facility

Monge celebrated its 50th anniversary on June 28-29 by inaugurating a new dry petfood production facility in Europe.
The event was held at the company's headquarters in Monasterolo di Savigliano, Italy. The new petfood facility will create additional jobs at the company.  

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."

Homemade dog food may not meet dogs’ nutrient needs, study finds

Most homemade dog food recipes do not meet all of a pet's nutritional requirements, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine. Researchers caution that, unlike commercial petfood, homemade petfood is not usually nutritionally complete.
The study, published in the June issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, analyzed 200 homemade dog food recipes, but found that just nine contained enough of the nutrients required by dogs. 
"Some of the deficiencies, particularly those related to choline, vitamin D, zinc and vitamin E, could result in significant health problems such as immune dysfunction, accumulation of fat in the liver and musculoskeletal abnormalities," said Jennifer Larsen, an assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at UC Davis and lead author on the study.
Additionally, researchers found that 92 percent of the recipes contained instructions that were too vague and required pet owners to make assumptions about ingredients, or they failed to include calorie information or account for the size of the dog being fed. 
"It is extremely difficult for the average pet owner - or even veterinarians - to come up with balanced recipes to create appropriate meals that are safe for long-term use," Larsen said. "Homemade food is a great option for many pets, but we recommend that owners avoid general recipes from books and the Internet and instead consult with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist. These specialists have advanced training in nutrition to help formulate customized and nutritionally appropriate recipes."

Research and Markets adds two new petfood market reports

Research and Markets has added two new pet market reports to its offerings.
A report entitled Global Pet Food Market 2012-2016  from TechNavio projects the global petfood market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6.35 percent from 2012-16. The report covers the market for petfood in the Americas, EMEA and APA regions, including market landscape and growth prospects.  
Research and Markets also added the Pet Market Market Report 2013 to its offerings. The report's authors predict the UK pet market will grow by 12.6 percent from 2013-17, with the majority of growth seen in the pet insurance and petfood sectors.
This market report focuses on petfood, pet accessories and pet insurance in the UK. The report says petfood is the largest of the three categories of focus in the report, accounting for more than two-thirds of the market in 2012. The petfood sector's growth is attributed to rising commodity costs and premiumization linked to new product development , centered around trends in human food like organic and environmentally friendly.

Dr. Tim’s petfood brand founder vaccinates rural animals in trip to Alaska, USA

Dr. Tim Hunt, founder of Dr. Tim's Pet Food brand, traveled through rural Alaska, USA, villages to conduct spay/neuter and vaccination clinics for rural pet owners.
Funded by a grant from the US Department of Agriculture and working along with two other people, one from the Alaska Native Rural Veterinary Corporation and another from Yukon Kuskokwim Delta Health Corporation, Hunt's group traveled by motor boat through several Yup'ik villages along the Kuskokwim river in western Alaska.
The group walked the villages and was often pointed to homes that own dogs by the children in the villages. The anesthetic protocol for the animals during the procedures included the use of a mobile gas anesthetic machine, which was donated by Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine.


Hunt and his team performed 40 spay and neuters and vaccinated nearly 200 dogs.

In total, Hunt and his team performed a total of 40 spays and neuters, as well as vaccinated nearly 200 dogs.
He says he hopes to increase the frequency of these rural spay/neuter and vaccination clinics. If you are interested, contact him at drtim@drtims.com or contact Angie Fitch, director of the Alaska Native Rural Veterinary Corporation, at angief@alaska.net.