Pet Food Processing - September 2024 - 66

ASSOCIATIONS
PET FOOD alliance
Uniting the pet food and rendering industries through
the common goal of guiding industry research.
CONTACT PFA
Colorado State University
350 W Pitkin Street
Fort Collins, CO 80521
(970) 491-8381
cas_pfa@Mail.colostate.edu
www.fprf.org/pet-food-alliance/
S
Since its founding in 2017, the Pet Food Alliance (PFA)
has been identifying and funding research on behalf of
the pet food and rendering industries.
PFA is a joint initiative facilitated through Colorado
State University (CSU) and funded largely by the Fats
and Protein Research Foundation (FPRF), which finances
research designed to support the future of the rendering
industry and its industry partners, including pet food
producers. The primary mission of the alliance is to guide
industry research and develop implementable solutions
by uniting industry representatives at the same table.
The first-ever PFA meeting was held at CSU in Fort
Collins, Colo., seven years ago with around 85 participants
from the rendering and pet food Industries -
now the alliance has more than 400 members.
Jennifer Martin, Ph.D., assistant professor at CSU's
Center for Meat Safety and Quality in the Department
of Animal Sciences, leads the alliance and its activities.
David Meeker, Ph.D., former senior vice president of the
North American Renderers Association (NARA) and director
of the FPRF, has also played a significant role in
founding the PFA.
The alliance hosts annual Technical Meetings, during
which a handful of industry professionals present on
topics relevant to current research efforts. The meetings
also provide opportunities for working groups to meet
and discuss priorities and next steps. Registration fees
for PFA's meetings go directly toward funding research
deemed most important by the alliance's three working
groups: Product Safety, Product Quality, and Consumer
Perception and Sustainability.
The 2024 Pet Food Alliance Technical Meeting, held
May 1 and 2 in Kansas City, Mo., was centered around
three key topics: foreign materials, workforce and educational
gaps that exist in the pet food and rendering industries,
and continuing efforts for each of the alliance's
working groups.
The product safety group has been working on optimizing
and standardizing tank wash practices, specifically
moving away from prescriptive steps to a more solutions-oriented
approach. Members of the group have
put together educational materials to be shared on the
PFA website.
The product quality group continues to work toward
standardizing peroxide value methods used to measure
oxidation in fat and protein meals. The group also identified
research opportunities to support a unified decision
in peroxide value methodology in the future.
The consumer perception and sustainability working
group is working to reeducate industry members, the
veterinary community and consumers about rendered
protein meals in pet food.
During NARA's annual convention in December 2023,
the FPRF presented the 2023 Dr. Fred D. Bisplinghoff
Research Innovation Award to Martin for her support of
the foundation and its programs including the PFA.
" I am grateful for the opportunity to serve the rendering
industry through the Pet Food Alliance and
thankful for the numerous industry partners who are
willing to collaboratively develop solutions for industry-wide
challenges, " Martin said after being presented
with the award.
66 PET FOOD PROCESSING | September 2024 | www.petfoodprocessing.net
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Pet Food Processing - September 2024

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