SOURCE:
http://petindustrynews.tblog.com/post/1970007981PFI Defeats California Pet Food Labeling Bill
07.31.08 (2:31 pm) [edit]
PFI defeats California bill, Minnesota "Recipe" bill dies
The Pet Food Institute (PFI), worked closely with the California Manufacturers and Technology Association and Grocery Manufacturers Association, to defeat a proposal in California, USA that would have required a telephone number and country of origin information on pet food labels. The bill SB 1773 was authored by Senator Corbett and initially would have required that country of origin information for all pet food ingredients be listed on labels. Later the bill was amended to require that country of information be listed on company Web sites, another requirement that PFI opposed.
In California, bills estimated to cost the state more than US$50,000 per year undergo an additional approval process in the Appropriations Committee called suspense. PFI and ally organizations convinced the Appropriations Committee through strategic lobbying and information provided that the cost of the bill would be significantly higher than the threshold, thus detaining the bill in the suspense process. The Appropriations Committee reviewed the bills authored by Senator Corbett and decided not to release SB 1773. There is still a bill in California - PFI calls it "problematic" - that would ban the use of perfluorochemicals, substances often used as a grease barrier in multi-wall packaging, that is progressing through the legislative process. PFI is currently working with a coalition to oppose the bill.
In other US bills affecting the pet food industry news, Minnesota HF 5318, a bill to require that pet food companies register product recipes with the state for pet foods sold only in packages of 10 pounds or less, died when the legislature body adjourned for the year. PFI is still seeking to determine whether the proposal is backed by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and will monitor future legislative activity in Minnesota for any similar proposals.
