Pet Habitat South Africa

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20 Sep 2014

Buy Only Registered Pet Food

Posted By : Guest

Filed Under : Nutrition | Chinchillas | Guinea Pig Food | Rabbit Food | Bird Food

The Pet Food Industry Association of Southern Africa (PFI) has vowed to eliminate petfood fraud and protect South African pet owners from "rogue petfood manufacturers." Consumers can do their part by only buying commercial petfood that has a "V" number followed by "Act 36 of 1947" on its packaging. This indicates that the food has been registered by its manufacturer or distributor. “It is absolutely critical for pet owners to ensure that the food they purchase is registered with the department, as this is the only way to ensure that the minimum nutritional standards are met and that the food has been examined to ensure this, and, further, that your pet is getting the best possible and safe food for them,” said PFI Executive Director Barry Hundley.

Pet Habitat is pleased to announce that all Burgess Excel Nuggets and Roudybush bird pellets have been approved and are registered with Department of Agriculture. It was not easy since we had to submit all our laboratory test reports, clinical feeding trials and all scientific evidence to verify any claims made on packaging of Burgess and Roudybush products. The whole process took about 8 months, but it was worth the wait. We have a great respect for the strict rules and regulations of our Agriculture Department.

The Pet Food Industry in South Africa operates in a highly regulated environment (which is designed to ensure the nutritional safety of your pets when they are consuming commercial pet food). The first aspect of this regulation is the control exercised by registration with Act 36 of 1947 which simply states that NO PET FOOD (Animal Feed) may be sold on the South African market for consumption by any pet if it has not first been registered by the manufacturer/distributor under the Regulations attached to Act 36 managed by the Registrar of Act 36 of 1947. Only snacks and treats that have NO nutritional value need not be registered before sale. As a public statement for consumers as proof of the registration of a pet food, a food that has been registered will carry on its packaging a ‘V’ number (V followed by a number of digits) followed by ‘Act 36 of 1947’ located near the manufacturer/distributors contact details. Look for it! It is not that difficult to find.

The process of registration entails full declaration to the Registrar of South Africa’s Technical Advisor on Animal and Pet Feeds/Foods of the materials used in the manufacture, nutritional ingredients, a feeding guide so that energy intake and ratios of protein and energy with other ratios can be calculated and examined. There are a number of signed declarations and affidavits relating to the food design, who the nutritionist is that designed the food and who is manufacturing the food. All of this is scientifically applied to ensure that the food placed on the market for sale when fed close to the recommended intake guidelines is nutritious and safe for your pet to eat provided the food is meant for the life stage and life style of your pet. Pet nutrition and safety is the target of both the Registrar of Act 36.

The sight of a “V” number on the packaging of a pet food product should ensure a feeling of comfort and safety to the consumer who has bought the food for their pet!

All pet foods must carry this “V” number when registered, this includes locally produced product, or imported product from foreign countries where it has been manufactured, large bags of dry food to the smallest bags of dry food, from the smallest 30 odd gram tin or pouch containing one meal to the largest of tinned food. Snacks and treats that offer simultaneously nutrition to the pet and frozen complementary foods.

Consumers are being warned to ensure that they only purchase the registered foods for their pets, carrying this “V” number on the packaging.

Once a brand of petfood is approved by Department of Agriculture, and a V number issued, the distributor is allowed to import the brand for a period of 3 years. There are very strict rules and regulations. All imported petfood is checked by a South African appointed state vet for veterinary certificates before it is released for distribution in South Africa.

Recently we came across some illegal chinchilla food . It even has a sticker with nutritional analysis and V number on it. The V number on the label is fraudulent as the food was never registered with the department of Agriculture and the food was never sent to a laboratory for nutritional analysis. We assume the protein, crude fibre and mineral values were made up by individual mixing this food.

Consumers buying these illegal food mixtures need to ask themselves, what was the quality of the ingredients used? Where and how was the food made? Did they use chemical preservatives? How do you know if the food provides proper maintenance or is even safe for your pet to consume? These rogue manufacturers are normally very convincing when it comes to persuading pet owners into buying their products. Consumers need to know exactly what they feeding their pets. The biggest reason why South Africans buy this food is because it’s cheap.

These pet food manufacturers that do not adhere to regulations of Department of Agriculture, which means they are selling their pet food illegally. To not conform to the Regulations of Act 36 and in particular to not register a food under this Act is recognized as a criminal act on the part of the person or persons placing this product in the market for sale. Despite this, good legislation is only effective, if it is properly enforced.

“Carrying pet food that is not registered (No “V”) on store shelves is effectively supporting crime and fraud, and if a customer buys it, it is also seen as supporting crime and fraud,” says Barry Hundley, Executive Director of the Pet Food Industry Association (PFI). “Purchasing this food is also supporting illegal (criminal) activities, although many South Africans, and this includes retailers, do not seem to realize this.”

“It is absolutely critical for pet owners to ensure that the food they purchase is registered with the Department as this is the only way to ensure that the minimum nutritional standards are met, and that the food has been examined to ensure this, and, further, that your pet is getting the best possible and safe food for them,” says Hundley. “Our role as the PFI is to also ensure that minimum standards in pet food are met and that the nutritional well-being of household pets is being correctly taken care of,” he adds. “We can however not protect the market totally from pet food that is brought onto the market circumventing the legal processes, not registered and therefore not technically vetted, so consumers and pets are placed at risk by these foods and consumers need therefore to take care that they become the first line of defense by NOT purchasing them.”