Having a pet is no easy peasy job. Its like becoming a parent. We grow increasingly concerned on what our pets eat, drink, the toys they play with and the other pets they interact with. Fortunately there are several Regulating Agencies in the Pet Industry that drive policies and standards in this space.
For example, in each state, Pet Food is regulated by the Department of Agriculture and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in their respective States. These two state entities, State Department of Agricultures and the FDA, colloborate to form an organization called the American Association of Feed Control Officials, or AAFCO. AAFCO develops Model Laws and Model Regulations for the labeling, sale and manufacture of commercial feed which then may be adopted in part or in whole by the states. The laws allow flexibility on a State to State level, but there are exclusive Federal level requirements that must be followed to sell pet food in the everywhere. pet food, each state may require a registration fee for each product.
If you are looking to enter the market with a Pet food or Pet edible treats, There are consultants that will advise you and help with getting your products to laboratories that will test pet foods and ingredients. VIsit americanpetproducts.org for vendor list. There is an even an online news community PetProductNews.com, consists of reporters that specialize in covering the pet industry and its communities. Regulating Agencies in the Pet Industry have a major impact here.
The law dictates [13] that if any product claims that it is intended to “prevent, destroy, repel or mitigate any pest” then that product will be considered a pesticide. Even if there arent any chemicals in them. Law further regulates Devices and classify them as pesticides. Some common pet products that are classified as pesticides include shampoos and other grooming aids that claim to control fleas or ticks, tick powders, flea powders, collars and certain water clarifiers and algae control products. Regulation also covers certain cat and dog behavior modifiers. Pesticides considered minimum risk are exempt from some of EPA and/or State requirements. TO qualify as minimum risk your product must be considered exempt against all the ingredients must be on the exempt list. For more information see the EPA’s Pesticide Web Site for detailed information on pesticides.
Further advocacy in the industry is driven by Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council [2], a non profitable organization, headquartered in Washington, District of Columbia that promotes and represents the interests of all segments of the pet industry. Bloomberg media reports[2], Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council designs, publishes, and establishes acceptable standards of animal care within the pet industry. The organization caters to retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, and other trade organizations.The Joint Advisory Council was founded in 1970. This is a great example of Regulating Agencies in the Pet Industry making their mark.
An awesome technology collaborator in the industry is Petluvs.com. Their mobile app allows users to share pictures and videos with friends. send Play Date Alerts, and even report animal abuse claims. The app collects key location details and images from the user. Petluvs then acts immediately working with the local animal rescue agencies. This mobile technology is available to both iOS and Android users at no charge. Petluvs promotes a sustainability and green platform. Its founders have implemented programs that continues to generate hundreds of thousand dollars for University of Texas scholarship programs. Contact Petluvs.com [1] for more details.