The American public has a deep connection with its pets and a primary consideration is what they feed them. With this in mind, it is important that pet food manufacturers carefully monitor ingredient quality. The melamine contamination crisis has provided challenges to the pet food industry, the regulatory agencies dealing with the industry and the food industry in general.

The American Feed Industry Association and the Poultry Protein & Fat Council will sponsor its first Conference On Pet Food Ingredient Quality Jan. 22-23, 2008, at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Ga. The conference will begin at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 22, prior to the opening of the International Poultry Expo and the International Feed Expo the following day. All conference attendees will receive complimentary admission to the IPE / IFE.

Topics to be discussed will include: It’s a Small World: Global Perspective on the Pet Food Industry and Ingredient Training; Melamine: Catalyst to Focusing on Ingredient Quality; Consumer Marketing: Pet Food Public Relations; Ingredient and Feed Quality Assurance, Control and the Laws and Regulations Dictating Them; and Quality Aspects of Poultry Protein.

Speakers will include: Dr. Greg Aldrich, Pet Food and Ingredient Technology; Dr. Christine Daugherty, senior counsel, Tyson Foods; Dr. Dave Dzanis, Dzanis Consulting, former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine; Dr. George Fahey, professor of animal and nutritional sciences, University of Illinois; Barry Griffith, project manager, Tyson Foods; Dr. David Lummis, senior pet market analyst, Packaged Facts; Dr. Kenneth Petersen, assistant administrator for the office of field operations, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service; and Dr. Kristin Schmitz, senior staff veterinarian, USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, National Center for Import and Export.

The IPE / IFE features more than 900 exhibitors displaying the latest products, services and technology for the poultry, pet food and feed sectors of the industry. There are currently more than 100 exhibitors signed up who sell to the pet food industry. Pet food conference attendees are encouraged to visit these suppliers as well as to attend the educational programs offered during the show by the American Feed Industry Association and the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association.

The on-site fee is $50 (USD), payable only by credit card. For more information on the Conference On Pet Food Ingredient Quality, go to www.petfoodconference.com.