Good research should tell a story. At the Institute for Feed Education and Research, we have a new story to tell. Our newly released Animal Feed Consumption and COVID-19 Impact Analysis tells the story of a vibrant animal food manufacturing industry that allows domestic livestock and pets to consume nearly 284 million tons of safe, high quality and nutritious food annually. It also tells a story of the dedication of over 944,000 people who make the industry tick.
I started my career in 1984 after graduating college by going to work for Southern States Cooperative. Following a short stint in the retail division and as a store manager, I made the move to the feed division as a plant superintendent in a Southern States feed mill. Part of my “feed education” included attending the Kansas State University two-week short course on feed manufacturing in 1988. That’s when I was formally introduced to the larger feed industry.
The International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) Marketplace Week may be over, but the learning opportunities are far from done! IPPE’s TECHTalks, which are short educational presentations that discuss what the latest and greatest is out of the poultry, egg, meat and feed industries, are still available to watch on the IPPE Marketplace until Sunday, Feb. 28.
Animal food safety is at the heart of CPC Commodities’ business. They feed their own cattle feed that is produced with the same ingredients and processes and the company prides itself on providing quality feed that was “proven on our farm--made for yours.” Participating in the American Feed Industry Association’s Safe Feed/Safe Food certification program is just one way that CPC Commodities helps ensure that their feed is safe and that the resulting foods that come from those animals, regardless of whether it is meat, milk or eggs are safe for human consumption. Below is a recent interview with CPC Commodities’ Regulatory Compliance Manager Michelle Estes on the certification program.
While the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has brought a screeching halt to most of the Food and Drug Administration’s routine inspection activity, now is a good time to think about and prepare for your next inspection when they resume. The FDA has not yet ramped up to its normal level of Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) inspections, but has set an aggressive plan for fiscal year 2021.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) took on a new look this year as it went virtual due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Over eight days and several weeks, the CAC brought together over 600 participants from all over the globe, in various time zones and translation in six languages, to discuss international standard setting. The meeting went surprisingly well in a virtual format. It was encouraging to see the global commitment for moving international standards forward continues during these trying times.
Any pet owner who has watched as their dog or cat snapped at a fly or chased a grasshopper and then happily gobbled up the insect has probably inwardly grimaced as the pet crunched on the critter. Even knowing the insect is a good source of balanced protein can still make it hard to overcome the “ewww” factor of eating mealworms and crickets. In the United States, black soldier fly larvae can be fed to poultry, swine and certain types of fish in their diets and also sold for use as treats or snacks for pets.
One of the main reasons the American Feed Industry Association formed over a century ago was to harmonize state feed laws. Now, in 2020, our organization still tracks legislative and regulatory issues of importance happening at the state level, and recent actions in California highlighted yet another urgent reason why this is necessary.
Cell-cultured muscle is not a new phenomenon. In 1885, Wilhelm Roux was able to culture cells from the neural plate of a chicken embryo for a few days. Those early experiments eventually expanded to a variety of cell types, including muscle.
What is this this “new normal” we keep hearing so much about? We’re all still trying to figure out what “the new normal” means for each of us, but I know that I’m tired of saying it and I think we can all agree that we are tired of hearing it. However, looking through the lens of the advocacy world, the closer I look, the more it seems that not much has actually changed.