Believe it or not, this is not a post about New Year’s resolutions; it’s about putting your best foot forward for business in 2019.
In spite of a federal government shutdown, many state department of agriculture begin their inspection sampling protocols in the first quarter of each year. (These sampling protocols were previously coordinated with federal agencies!) Some states sample in January, other states do so in April. We have a report that one agency sampled in December in 2018.
What are “they” sampling for? “Pathogens.”
Continuing the assault on allegedly pathogenic organisms that may be present in real pet food. The foods at greatest risk are those in the frozen section at local pet health food stores.
What can you do?
“Big pet food“ is aware of sampling schedules and make sure their product is “clean“ when routine inspections occur. Granted, kibble is currently being tested for presence of aflatoxins and not microorganisms, but the strategy is the same: put your best foot forward.
We are not saying to cheat here; our members are expert at making transparency part of their every day business operations. What we are saying is if a distributor or store has product older than two months on the shelves, get it off the shelf ASAP. Old product, especially frozen products, are under a greater risk of developing problems over time due to freeze thaw cycles of freezers, and human error, even if inadvertent.
Should your product be sampled and you’re a given a preliminary positive, understand laboratory procedures and preliminary positives are not confirmation. False positives are common and the presumed microorganism detected may not be pathogenic at all. This is why your trade association, its members, Board of Directors, and key players are versed in your rights and are here to help you protect them.
Here’s to another profitable year!
Are You Ready for 2019?
