Safe Food for Your Pets

Obviously, there is currently a great deal of consumer concern about pet food safety, Dr. Buchanan says. “This concern is changing the world,” he relates. “This concern is finding its way in to the changing regulatory environment.”

At the root of heightened consumer concern about pet food safety, Dr. Buchanan says, is the simple, undeniable fact that, for many pet owners, companion animals are not viewed as just animals.

“FDA traditionally receives more public comments regarding pet foods than about anything except babies,” he relates. “Thus, increased regulation of pet foods is more closely aligned with human foods than with animal feeds.”

A key multi-faceted take home message, Dr. Buchanan says, is that the pet food industry has the attention of the public health community, regulatory agencies, and the legislative branch of governments.

“Salmonella is changing the pet food industry and is leading to major changes,” he emphasizes. “Dry pet foods are now part of a much greater food safety problem, most especially how to control the microbiological safety of dry products. These challenges will become even more critical as pet food manufacturers have to find alternative protein sources that are not in direct competition for human food.”

Concern about the safety of commercially prepared pet food has led some consumers to switch to raw diets for their pets, Dr. Buchanan adds. “This practice must be considered carefully, due to the potential for introducing more Salmonella into the kitchen,” he advises.

Embracing Industry Challenges: Producer’s Point of View

“One of the most important food safety challenges facing the entire pet food industry in recent years has been to dramatically change the food safety culture within our production facilities, as well as with our ingredient vendors, customers, and regulatory agencies,” says Michele Evans, PhD, executive director of food safety and quality for Diamond Pet Foods.

Dr. Evans’s professional efforts are driven on behalf of a Border Collie mix named Corndog, Meow the cat, and two registered American Quarter Horses, Roxy and Jane.

In addition to the plant at its Meta, Missouri corporate headquarters, Diamond operates manufacturing facilities in Lathrop, Calif., Gaston, S.C., Ripon, Calif., and, most recently, Dumas, Ark. Some 500 employee are part of the Diamond family, and another 100 are expected to be hired in Dumas by the end of 2016, Dr. Evans mentions.

Diamond products are used in all 50 states and more than 70 countries, she notes.

Diamond Pet Foods ranks sixth on the top 10 list of the world’s largest pet food companies, with annual sales of $1.15 billion, according to petfoodindustry.com.

A few years ago, the company was in the news for an entirely different reason. The aforementioned 2012 Salmonella outbreak was linked to dry dog food produced at Diamond’s Gaston facility.

Dr. Evans joined the Diamond management team in April 2012, just as that recall was unfolding. Since that time, under her leadership, Diamond continues to fine-tune its food safety initiatives.

It’s All About Education and Communication

“Without education and acknowledgement concerning the importance of food safety within our Diamond organization and supply chain, it’s very hard to implement effective food safety programs,” Dr. Evans relates. The key has been to not only educate, but also communicate the progress of the company’s food safety programs, she says.

“For example, most employees only hear from management when things are bad, such as out of specification or broken,” Dr. Evans begins. “We have found that starting out with basic food safety education, followed by sharing the specific success criteria for food safety programs, and then after a given time (annual, biannual), presenting the progress to the employees, works really well to maintain a company-wide food safety culture.”