PET Food Processing - March 2019 - 10

"Certified organic
and Marine
Seafoods Council
ingredients offer
an added level
of assurance
to us and pet
parents that
they meet strict
sustainability
criteria."

TRENDS

Jennifer Adolphe, Ph.D., Petcurean
Petcurean includes
MSC-certified, sustainably harvested krill, which
supports heart and brain
health, in its GATHER Free
Acres and GATHER Wild
Ocean formulas.
Petcurean

10

environmental impact. "At NSF International, we are
auditing pet food ingredient suppliers and manufacturers using the same rigorous audits to good manufacturing practices as those used for human food safety," says
Elaine Vanier, technical manager, animal wellness programs and supply chain food safety, and Jenny Oorbeck,
general manager, sustainability, NSF International.
Organizations, such as Bonsucro and the Roundtable
on Sustainable Palm Oil, provide a unified view of key
sustainable practices along the value chain to establish standards and encourage adoption of the practices. Other entities, such as the Pet Sustainability
Council, B-Corp and the Marine Seafoods Council
(MSC) help guide suppliers and processors toward sustainable practices. Ecovadis rates ingredient manufacturers' sustainability performance using
a methodology based on international corporate social
responsibility standards such as the Global Reporting
Initiative, the United Nations Global Compact and the
ISO 26000.
Carbon footprint is another key indicator, according to Herve, which refers to the amount of carbon
compounds released into the atmosphere due to the
consumption of fossil fuels. American Seafoods adheres to three main sustainability indicators specific to
the seafood industry: lowest possible by-catch, carbon
footprint, and fresh water footprint. Lowest possible bycatch refers to the ability to avoid harvesting undesirable
fish, or those whose absence would take a toll on the
ecosystem. American Seafoods currently achieves less
than 1% by-catch and maintains the lowest fresh water
footprint of any other protein source.
For some processors, sustainable standards go beyond the three main principles to include more specific

PET FOOD PROCESSING | March 2019 | www.petfoodprocessing.net

guidelines. Petcurean considers an ingredient sustainable if it meets five criteria: following humane animal
welfare practices; protecting water supplies and limiting
water use; protecting farmer, rancher and producer livelihoods; ensuring the preservation of natural resources;
and actively working to preserve biodiversity.
Petcurean prefers to work with suppliers who have
implemented or adhere to a sustainability program, and
often sources ingredients that are certified organic or seafoods certified by the MSC. "The primary goal of organic
production is to use farming practices that are sustainable
and harmonious with the environment. MSC certification
is based upon three principles: sustainable fish stocks;
minimizing environmental impacts; and effective management," Adolphe explains. "Certified organic and MSC
ingredients offer an added level of assurance to us and pet
parents that they meet strict sustainability criteria."
While the certification process is crucial in determining sustainability, it can be tedious for both processors
and suppliers. "Those companies who do commit to
their own sustainability journey are bound to experience
a certain amount of audit fatigue; it comes with the territory," Visser says.

Innovative ingredients

Some pet food manufacturers have turned to new, innovative ingredients to become more sustainable. Alternative
forms of protein, such as insects and vegetable- or
plant-based, have much smaller environmental footprints because they demand less resources in order to
cultivate them. According to Vanier and Oorbeck, "Pet
owners realize that dogs and cats chase and eat insects
instinctively, so this may make it more 'palatable' when
considering it as an ingredient in pet food."
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