Despite the long-ranging impact of the largest pet food recall in U.S. history, 73 percent of consumers say they are “confident or very confident” in the safety of the food they feed their pets, according to three public opinion surveys by the Pet Food Institute (Washington).

Conducted May 18-21, April 24 and April 4, the surveys also show that a nearly identical percentage of consumers are staying with their preferred brand of pet food.

“Continued, strong confidence in pet food products is a testament to the fact that Americans’ cats and dogs are living longer, healthier lives due in large part to the carefully formulated, safe and nutritious pet foods on the market,” said Duane Ekedahl, president of PFI.

In an effort that could help maintain consumers’ confidence in pet food made in the United States, ChemNutra (Las Vegas)—a company that imported melamine-contaminated wheat gluten from China and supplied it to pet food maker Menu Foods Inc. (Streetsville, Ontario)—in July organized a one-day Pet Food Ingredients Safety Summit for ingredients importers, analysis laboratories and manufacturers to begin drafting import standards and specifications for pet food ingredients from China and the rest of the world.

“Just as E. coli incidents have forced retailers and restaurateurs to get more directly involved with ensuring the safety of growers, the melamine adulteration of pet food mandates that importers and manufacturers establish new protocols for ensuring the safety of our suppliers,” said Steve Miller, chief executive officer for ChemNutra.

“We are not trying to in any way supersede or interfere with the government agencies who will also, we’re sure, be establishing new protocols,” he continued. “Rather, we seek to move for self-improvement at the quickest possible pace, even while new rules or legislation are being considered.”

Also to maintain consumers’ confidence in pet food, Integrated Management Information Inc. (Castle Rock, Colo.), a company that has worked with America’s leading meat industry supply chains to build and audit U.S. Department of Agriculture verification programs, launched Pet Supply Verified. Through the new pet food verification system, the company provides a third-party auditing service that helps pet food manufacturers implement quality management systems and verified production processes.

“Pet Supply Verified, which is modeled on our industry-leading USVerified and Supply Verified services for the cattle and livestock industry, enables pet food suppliers and manufacturers to build consumer confidence in the origin and safety of pet food products,” said John Saunders, president and chief executive officer of the company. “The recent recalls and related consumer confusion in the marketplace underscore the need for a more comprehensive and reliable pet food verification system. Our verification processes, which are setting the standard for verification of meat products for human consumption, are ideally suited for the pet food industry.” [August 2007 PET AGE]