David A. Dzanis, DVM, Ph.D., DACVN.Dr. Dzanis is a board-certified veterinary nutritionist and CEO of Regulatory Discretion Inc. He is also the author of Petfood Industry magazine's monthly column, "Petfood Insights."From the Author - Page 14Pet Food RegulationsPet supplement safety: NRC forms new committeeAs most readers are aware, the National Research Council (NRC), under the auspices of the National Academies, published its long-awaited Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats last summer. While NRC is not a regulatory body, its reports are considered by agencies such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in determining policy.NutritionVegetarian petfoods:Can they be "complete and balanced"?Safety & QualityOrganic regulationsTask Force makes recommendations for petfoodsNutritionMycotoxins & petfoodDealing with the fungus among usPet Food MarketIngredient declarationsUse (and misuse) of parentheticalsPet Food MarketGot compliance?Training regulatory affairs professionals at USCPet Food MarketFun factsA hodgepodge of information to know and sharePet Food RegulationsThe MUMS ActThose who follow the animal drug industry are familiar with the developments with MUMS (Minor Use, Minor Species) regulation. Clearly, the law is not intended to apply to dog and cat food products. However, there may be aspects of the MUMS Act that, with a little regulatory creativity, can be put to use to address a pressing petfood issue: namely, the use of novel ingredients.Pet Food RegulationsPetfood in South AfricaMy career in and around the petfood industry has afforded me the opportunity to do a lot of travel to places I normally would never get to visit. Because of the nature of my work, the majority of these outings are domestic, though occasionally I am able to attend international functions as well.Pet Food RegulationsThe new NRC is here!I admit, I may have been a tad premature in my announcement of the imminent publication of the National Research Council (NRC) Nutrient Requirements of Dogs and Cats based on the release of its preliminary report (Dzanis, D.A., 2003). Regardless, I can now say with utmost confidence that the final NRC report is now available to the public.Pet Food RegulationsPetfood 101Few people are inclined to describe the Association of American Feed Control Officials' (AAFCO) Model Regulations for Pet Food and Specialty Pet Food (more succinctly, Model Pet Food Regulations; or MPFR) as particularly "reader-friendly." Efforts to foster greater understanding and more uniform interpretation of the MPFR have been made over the years. An expansive "rewrite" of the regulations to regain a more logically flowing structure and more understandable wording to the document was promulgated in 2000.Pet Food RegulationsNegative claims on petfood labels can hurt the entire industryAs I penned this month's commentary, the United States was a few weeks away from its 2006 elections. Predictably, the television airwaves were saturated with political advertisements, the majority of which made negative statements regarding a candidate or proposition.Previous PagePage 14 of 15Next Page