Top 3 issues…

The manufacture and supply of pet food is complex with both industry and consumer challenges.

The top three issues facing this sector are:

1.       Regulation
The industry in Australia is self-regulated, which means of course that manufacturers and suppliers can pretty much do what they like.  This leads to a lot of misinformation, provided by the sector and misunderstanding, for the average consumer.

The sector should conform to the Australian Standards AS 5812 – which covers the good practice of manufacturing and marketing of pet food.

The Australian Standards also make reference to compliance with the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO).

These ‘regulations’ are for the most part complied with for the major pet food manufacturers, however, they may not be followed by some of the smaller operations due to lack of knowledge.

Having said that, there is no-one really policing any regulations.  It’s up to the integrity of the supplier and/or manufacturer to ensure that the food is made and delivered safely.

The industry needs to be regulated and policed.

2.       Transparency
There are literally hundreds of options for pet food.  A great deal of information that would be of interest to the consumer is not available, either on packaging or on companies’ media platforms.

Where ingredients are sourced and how they are processed are very much protected, as is some key information like carbohydrate percentage and sugar content for example. 

Unless the supplier or manufacturer volunteers the information – it’s very much a ‘buyer beware’ scenario.

3.        Consumer Education
As mentioned previously, there is a great deal of misinformation available.  Every supplier and manufacturer is trying to convince the consumer that their product or their process is the best.

Consumers are offered too much choice and too much information, making the decision process on what to feed their pets extremely confusing and often very overwhelming.

A dedicated, independent, pet food consumer information portal should be developed to assist consumers in their ability to make the right choices for their pets.The manufacture and supply of pet food is complex with both industry and consumer challenges.