Americans Urged to Buy 100% American Pet Food

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Americans Urged to Buy 100% American Pet Food

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From cars to pet food, Americans are urged to purchase only products in the United States. But, will this work with the pet food industry?

I read  with interest the news that market research is indicating a strong preference amongst American consumers to buy only products that clearly state  "Made In America" (Petfood Industry e-Newsletter April 15 2008).

In the aftermath of the melamine crisis, whilst I appreciate the sentiments associated with this, how feasible is it  for a producer to source all of their raw materials from the country where the pet food is produced?

Whilst this might be OK for a lot of commodities eg meats, fish, corn, rawhide etc, there is no escaping the fact of life that a lot of essential ingredients eg amino acids are imported from countries like China and some only grow in specific geographical regions eg carrageenan from the Far East.

Given this scenario or faced with the prospect of potentially higher ingredient costs (no doubt passed onto the consumer) for "locally" manufactured materials, one wonders just how feasible a "Made in America" claim is or what it actually means?

Does it mean "Made in America" from 100% US made ingredients or from a mixture of US sourced and imported ingredients?

The "Made in America" logo might work in some cases eg the Pet factory's rawhide product cited in the article but can it really apply to diets that are complete nutritional products or require functionality from materials only produced in certain geographical regions?

We all operate in a global economy and as consumers expect value for money products that are safe for our pets to eat.

If this means the need for importing essential raw materials then the onus is on our industry to demonstrate to the consumer that we have systems in place that demonstrate due diligence with respect to safety and dare I say it ethically produced raw materials and products?

The "Made in America" claim is a great concept but is only part of the overall complex picture.

The real challenge is to convey the message on the label that the pet food ingredients  are safe to eat.