Animal and Pet Food Safety Professional Development Group

Mission Statement: To exchange information and promote collaboration on research, development, and regulation to safeguard the global supply of animal food (pet food, animal feed, and raw materials and ingredients)

Meeting Information

Virtual: TBD throughout the year

In Person: IAFP 2025

                   07/27/2025 — 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

                    Room 1

                   July 27, 2025, Huntington Convention Center, Cleveland, Ohio

A full listing of PDg nad Committee Meetings can be found here:

https://www.foodprotection.org/annualmeeting/programs-and-activities/committee-meetings/

Minutes

Board Responses

2024 Board Response to Recommendations
  1. 1. Appoint Dr. Michelle Sayles (Diamond Pet Foods) as the Vice Chair for the Animal and Pet Food Safety PDG, 2024-2026.

    Board Response: Board Response: Agree.

2023 Board Response to Recommendations
  1. If we are to propose a workshop (1 to 2 days), would there be funding and support from IAFP?

    Board Response: IAFP does provide funding for workshops. Contact the IAFP Staff for assistance with developing a workshop proposal.

  2. Understandably, animal food is not traditionally a focus of IAFP. The PDG members showed great appreciation for the establishment and heathy growth of this PDG and would appreciate very much that the Board promotes this PDG whenever possible.

    Board Response: IAFP does promote the activities of all Professional Development Groups and encourages participation. Please provide your ideas for increased promotion and involvement with other partners.

2022 Board Response to Recommendations
  1. Recommend approval of Dr. Beilei Ge as Chair and Dr. Maria Ma as Vice Chair of the APFS PDG as elected by the PDG members.

    Board Response: Agreed.

  2. Recommend scheduling future year’s PDG meetings for the APFS PDG and the Low Water Activity Foods PDG to NOT occur concurrently.

    Board Response: This will be taken into consideration when scheduling PDG meetings at IAFP 2023.

  3. Recommend making it smoother for members to join this PDG. Many were confused on how to do that. Would those with badges scanned at the meeting join the PDG automatically? There is no “join” button from the IAFP Connect community link. The website for this PDG does not provide info on how to join as for other PDGs which is to “Edit profile.”

    Board Response: IAFP staff will send a message to people who attended PDG meetings who are not members of the specific PDG to encourage them to join the PDG. Interested parties can always contact the IAFP office for assistance.

  4. Recommend reaching out and fully engaging Canadian colleagues for the IAFP 2023 meeting in Toronto.

    Board Response: Agreed.

Webinars

  • Modernizing the Ways of Traditional Smoking: Application of Liquid and Dry Smoke in Meat, Poultry and Pet Foods Sep 30, 2024

    Organized by: IAFP's Meat and Poultry Quality and Safety PDG and Animal and Pet Food Safety PDG

    Smoking of poultry, fish and red meat has been increasing in popularity. Liquid smoke is obtained by condensing wood smoke from combustion of hardwood. While traditional smoking of foods like meat produces harmful heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, manufacturers purify liquid smoke via filtration resulting in a safe and natural food additive with antimicrobial, antioxidant, and flavor characteristics. The first presentation will discuss the background of liquid smoke as well as regulations pertaining to its commercial application in meat and poultry products. The next presentation will explore the role of designer smokes and multifunctional smoke systems for antimicrobial and antioxidant properties in food applications. The final presentation will cover some additional applications of liquid smoke in the mitigation of mold and mites in pet foods.

    Learning Objectives:
    -Learn about potential application of liquid smoke to meat and pet food products in preventing and inhibiting the growth and survival of foodborne pathogens and enhance overall food safety and shelf life.
    -Learn about multifaceted role of liquid smoke as an all-in-one additive to enhance food safety, sensory properties, and promote health with intrinsic antioxidants.
    -Learn about the dominance of liquid smoke over traditional smoking based on in its diverse applications, product uniformity, reproducibility in favorable sensory qualities, and in the fusion of environmental consciousness with effective functional properties.
    -Learn about liquid composition; carboxylic acids, carbonyls, and phenolic compounds, which act synergistically to impede microbial growth.

    Download Slides

    Presenters
    • Joshua Gurtler, Presenter USDA-ARS
    • Aiswariya Deliephan, Presenter Kraft Heinz
    • Surabhi Wason, Presenter Kerry
    • Saurabh Kumar, Moderator Kerry