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 15Pet Food RegulationsGlobal Pet Expo highlightsAlthough I haven't mentioned it through this venue before, many readers are aware that the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (APPMA) has recently retained me as its pet nutrition consultant. One of my duties in that role is to attend the Global Pet Expo, an annual event put on in conjunction with the Pet Industry Distributors Association (PIDA).Pet Food RegulationsFDA public meeting focuses on Health Consequence ScoringThe Center for Veterinary Medicine in the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a public meeting on September 12, 2006, at its headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, USA, to discuss progress on development of its Animal Feed Safety System (AFSS). This program, initiated in 2003, is a multi-pronged approach by the agency to identify and address gaps in protection against risks to animal and public health from exposure to animal feed, including petfood.Pet Food RegulationsACVN petitions AAFCOThe annual meeting of the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) was held recently. The weather was very warm, though perhaps not as "hot" as some of the topics discussed during the committee sessions. I added a little fuel to the fire by introducing a petition on behalf of the American College of Veterinary Nutrition (ACVN) to amend the AAFCO Model Pet Food Regulations that would, among other things, make calorie content statements on dog and cat food labels mandatory.Pet Food RegulationsAAFCO updateLast month I discussed the American College of Veterinary Nutrition's petition to the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) to amend the Model Pet Food Regulations regarding calorie content statements on petfood labels. This was not the sole issue of interest at the AAFCO Annual Meeting.Pet Food RegulationsAAFCO annual meeting shows some progressThe Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) annual meeting was held in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, on August 5-7, 2006. Everyone I spoke to especially enjoyed the bull riding event at the local arena on Saturday evening. For some reason, I had a particularly hard time with my cell phone while in the downtown Oklahoma City area. Based on the progress made in some of the committee sessions, I'd say my phone wasn't the only thing having trouble connecting.Pet Food RegulationsThe 'complete and balanced' petfood: is it a myth?In my research for last month's commentary on the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), I ran across a long-argued premise made by someone in the petfood industry that there is no such thing as a "complete and balanced" petfood. In the writer's opinion, no single commercial food is truly suitable to serve as the sole source of nutrition, so any implication to that effect for a product is no less than blatant consumer fraud.Pet Food RegulationsAAFCO misrepresented by websites replete with errorsBecause of its integral role in the regulation of petfoods, my commentaries frequently mention the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). I presume that the reader understands the nature of the organization and its general functions.Previous PagePage 15 of 15