Pet Subjects

PFMA WELCOMES CLAIRE ROBINSON-DAvIES OF NESTLé PURINA AS THE ASSOCIATION’S NEW CHAIR

At its recent AGM at the end of March, the Pet Food Manufacturers’ Association (PFMA) welcomed new Chair, Claire Robinson-Davies , Nestlé Purina Corporate Communications Director (UK&I, Netherlands, Nordics). Claire brings a wealth of experience to the role following many years as a representative on the PFMA Executive Committee and Chair of the Sustainability Committee. Sustainability will be a focal point for Claire’s two-year tenure: “As a responsible industry, environmental sustainability continues be high on the PFMA’s agenda. We also know pet owners want to feed their pets in a way that respects and protects the environment for future generations. We are working closely with government and other organisations to ensure we address common challenges, including sustainable raw materials, environmentally friendly production, and recyclable packaging materials.

Supporting our members in their decarbonisation journeys is particularly critical, which is why we recently embarked on an exciting project looking at the sustainability of key pet food ingredients. We look forward to sharing the results later this summer. I am excited and honoured to take up this role and to help shape the way forward for our industry.”

Michael Bellingham, PFMA Chief Executive, adds: “Claire joins a strong Chair team with Greg Van Praagh (Benyfit Natural) as Past Chair and Anna Horrell (Goldline Feeds) as Vice Chair. Work is already underway for an action packed two years ahead.”

TROUW APPOINTS NEW PET TECHNICAL MANAGER

Sarah-Jane Godfrey has been appointed to the role of Pet Technical Manager. A graduate in Agriculture from The University of Nottingham, specialising in animal science, she brings 20 years’ experience of animal nutrition and the pet sector.

She initially worked as a pig and poultry nutritionist with a national feed compounder before moving to DSM, building 14 years’ experience in the premix business working up to the role of Pet Food Technical Marketing Manager for the EMEA region. She also held responsibilities for the UFAS scheme and HACCP.

“Working across the UK and in Europe, my role is to facilitate the formulation of our pet food customers premixes and provide them with nutritional advise and support. I am also there to support our customers NPD pipelines to provide market relevant nutritional solutions, so their pet foods and treats are on point, and provide the nutrition that pet owners demand.”

“I hope my experience in the feed and pet sectors across technical, commercial and quality focused roles will allow me to provide complete and robust support to pet food customers.”

PREMIER NUTRITION STRENGTHENS PET TEAM WITH NEW APPOINTMENT

Following a period of business acceleration, Chloe Poolman has become the latest recruit to join the pet team at Premier Nutrition, the specialist nutrition consultancy and premix division of AB Agri. Miss Poolman initially joined Premier Nutrition’s technical team as a support nutritionist, working across all the species, following the completion of a degree in Bioveterinary Science at Harper Adams University.

“As part of my new role I will be providing tailored support and advice to our customers in the pet food industry. I will be analysing the latest research and looking into developing premix formulations for a variety of diet formats, including treats, while working closely with our customers,” she says.

Joining the business just before the Covid-19 pandemic restricted Miss Poolman from getting out and meeting people from the pet food sector, but she is hoping to create new relationships through networking events and conferences this year.

“Despite the restrictions that have been in place, I’ve been very fortunate in working alongside a great team with a fount of knowledge in pet nutrition. Tapping into the team’s expertise and through my own industry research, I’ve been able to further develop my technical knowledge and will be putting this into practice by producing and publishing technical reviews for our customers.”

RESPONSE TO RECENT STUDY ON PLANT-BASED vERSUS MEAT-BASED DIETS FOR DOGS

A recent study on the benefits a vegan diet can have for pets, published in the Guardian, has sparked widespread debate on whether this is the perfect diet for your dog or not.

Responding to the study, Bella & Duke’s Chief Consulting Nutritionist, Rowan Sanderson, said: “Even within this study, the dogs that were fed raw meat diets were healthier than the vegan dogs overall.

We all want the best health for our pets, the facts show there is nothing better for your pet than a high quality species-specific raw diet, which offers the healthiest and most natural option for your pet. There are only benefits to starting your pet on a raw diet – from maintaining a healthy weight, aiding digestion, supporting healthy bones and joints, to keeping coats soft and shiny and moreover there are no long terms studies on the health impacts of a vegan diet on pets.

Dogs are facultative carnivores. This means that their primary source of nutrition should stem from animal protein, but that they can, and do, eat some plant material. These plant fibres help to develop a robust flora of protective bacteria which is one of the most important parts of their immune defences. However, a long term vegan diet poses a spectrum of health problems as it is devoid of those all-essential amino acids that are found so readily in raw meat.

There is also a strong correlation between inflammation in the heart and diets which are high in lectins and laden with omega 6 fats. This includes pea proteins and legumes, which are so often the source of the alternative protein within vegan diets for pets.” The Pet Food Manufacturers Association also commented on the controversial study stating on their website that: “We encourage research into pet diets as this contributes to the overall knowledge and better understanding of pet nutrition and health. Plant-based diets are still relatively new, the numbers of pets fed this way is relatively low and the historic information is limited. As a result, there is currently insufficient evidence to suggest that a vegan dog food diet is healthier than a meat-based diet.

The author of this most recent study acknowledges its limitations, for instance the health statistics cited are based on pet owner perceptions rather than clinical reports or facts, and with regards to sample size, the conventional diet was 4 times as large as the vegan diet”.

To help provide a broader perspective than has been shared in media articles, they have encouraged owners to read the PFMA Factsheet on Vegan and Vegetarian Diets which is available on their website.

BENEO INvESTS €50 MILLION IN PULSE-PROCESSING PLANT

BENEO, has announced a €50 million investment in a new pulse processing site in Offstein, Germany. The site will produce protein rich pulse ingredients for food and animal feed. It will focus initially on protein concentrate, starch rich flour and hulls from Faba bean, with the option to process other pulses in the future. The new production site further strengthens the company’s plant-based protein portfolio and enables BENEO to meet growing demand for plant-based food and feed ingredients.

Throughout BENEO’s entire supply chain sustainability is top of mind. Pulses help to reduce green house gas emissions at farm level and the Faba beans will be locally sourced from farmers that are certified by the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI). As BENEO is manufacturing Faba bean protein, starch rich flour and hulls, the crop will be fully used and completely valorised for functional ingredients. Furthermore, the production process has been chosen for its low energy consumption in comparison to alternative processes; overall contributing to BENEO’s carbon neutrality and sustainability targets.

Work has already begun on constructing the plant and is expected to be completed within the second half of 2024, creating up to 25 jobs at the Offstein site. However, to ensure that food and feed customers can benefit as soon as possible from Faba bean ingredients, BENEO will process the raw ingredients in intermediate production facilities, until the new plant is fully operational. This means that first quantities of BENEO’s Faba bean ingredients will be available from the start of June 2022 onwards.

BENEO’s Faba bean protein concentrate and starch rich flour will be used for protein-enrichment and texture improvement in meat and dairy alternatives, as well as (gluten-free) bakery and cereals. Faba bean hulls and starch rich flour will be used in feed as a vegetal protein or fibre source for sustainable petfood, aquafeed and livestock nutrition.