This may be an omen - the "Mid" year meeting has been changed, apparently. Every sign in the complex has a typo. Proof reading anyone?
When I attended my first AAFCO meeting six months ago we were lucky enough to have ten consumer advocates sitting in our row. We are not so lucky this time, but we do have Susan Thixton (Truth About Pet Food), Jean Hofve DVM (Only Natural Pet), B.C. Henschen (Platinum Paws in Indiana), Roxanne Strong (Answers Pet Food), and me. We are a small, but mighty group.
The first morning was spent with the usual introductions. There are approximately 350 people in attendance (yep, we are heavily outnumbered) from 5 countries and 42 states. There are 30 FDA representatives, ZERO people from USDA (which is the norm, sadly), and Purina had the most representatives for a single pet food company. All the big players are here: Simmons Pet Food, Hills, Champion Pet Foods, Elanco, Nutramax, Mars, Royal Canin, Big Heart, Halo, Diamond, Wellpet, and BilJac, among others. The National Renderer's Association, National Oil Seed Processors, Distiller's Trade, Cargill, Organics Recycling, and a whole bunch of different ingredient manufacturers are here.
One that stuck out to me was 3D Corporate Solutions. I couldn't figure out what they could possibly represent, so I looked them up. I found this video, which you might find interesting. If you don't want to watch the whole thing, just head to the 3 minute mark, where you can learn about hydrolyzed chicken feather protein for dog food. Mmmm. Mmmm.
http://3dcorpsol.com/about-us/locations-operations/
Stay tuned for my blog on the next sessions, where we get to hear about the new Food Safety Modernization Act, which is taking only about a decade to implement, as well as the results of the "FDA Sampling in Raw Food for Dogs and Cats Initiative".
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