Twice a year, those interested in the animal food regulatory space make the trek to attend the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) meetings. Sometimes those treks require patience while traveling through blizzards in the winter. Sometimes, it requires fortitude to handle being in business clothes instead of in shorts watching a baseball game during the summer. For both meetings, it requires preparation from all parties to make sure the AAFCO business gets due consideration and discussion. Your American Feed Industry Association staff are there on your behalf and are busy preparing for the upcoming AAFCO annual meeting, happening Aug. 3-6 in St. Louis, Mo.
Have you ever sat down to think about what gene-edited food means to you? What it is, if you would buy it, if you would trust the product itself? To answer questions like these and explore consumers’ preferences related to bioengineered and gene-edited products, Michigan State University assistant professor Dr. Vincenzina Caputo conducted a nationwide survey in September 2019 to 4,487 U.S. shoppers. I recently attended a webinar that discussed the findings of this research.
Biosecurity is often defined as procedures intended to protect humans or animals against disease or harmful biological agents. For the animal food industry, biosecurity manifests as putting in place plans or programs intended to prevent feed, people and vehicles from introducing and/or spreading pathogens to livestock and poultry.
In recent years, an increasing number of foods are being marketed and labeled as free of genetically modified (GM) ingredients. For milk, meat or eggs, this means the animals these foods come from are fed exclusively non-GM feed. You need to look no further than current headlines to see the attention given to rising food prices, the need to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other sustainability elements.
As mothers, we often find ourselves stating words of caution to our children and while some of those get adhered to, others are ignored, despite our pleading. But that is “how our children learn,” so they say, by making choices based upon the information available. When it comes to the introduction of foreign animal diseases like African swine fever (ASF), our desire is that our message and words of caution get heard, and the feed industry acts accordingly NOW to do its part to prevent the introduction or spread of ASF into the United States.
African swine fever (ASF) is top of mind for industry members and government officials alike since its confirmation in the Dominican Republic last July. For the first time in a long time, the highly contagious swine disease is in our hemisphere and although the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) had already been preparing for a “what if” ASF outbreak situation, efforts have significantly increased, and all stakeholders are engaged.
A quick internet search will pull up hundreds of animal treats and snacks containing hemp and hemp derivatives, such as CBD and various oils. The label promises the products will bring animals relief for anxiety or pain and better skin and coat health. There is only one problem: there is no legal way to offer hemp in animal food or treats.
Zinpro Corporation, a manufacturer of trace mineral nutritional solutions, has been FSC36 Safe Feed/Safe Food (SF/SF) certified since the American Feed Industry Association launched the program in 2005. In 2019, the company switched to the International SF/SF certification. In a recent article for Pet Food Processing, AFIA’s Paul Davis, Ph.D., director of quality, animal food safety and education, who oversees the SF/SF certification program, spoke with Zinpro’s quality assurance manager Fred Molenaar about why the company continues its participation in the program and some of the changes he has seen over the years.
Consumers today want to see that our food choices have a positive impact on our health, communities and the environment around us. We at the North American Meat Institute (NAMI) believe that eating meat is not only compatible with that goal, it is integral to achieving it - we cannot achieve the sustainable, healthy future people need without meat.
From comedy to drama, computers have provided rich themes for movies for nearly 60 years from bringing about the end of the world with a computerized nuclear program using the slapstick humor of “Dr. Strangelove” (1963) to the drama of “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968). For many businesses, 2021 has been the year that the reality of cybersecurity became stranger than fiction as data was encrypted and ransoms were paid in the wake of several high profile cyberattacks. It is time for business of all sizes to address computer safety and take steps to protect their data and wallets from cyber criminals.