“Food safety is key, and it is critical,” said Dr. Sarah Birkhold, manager of technical services, Nestle Purina PetCare, while speaking to attendees at USPOULTRY’s 2014 Poultry Protein & Fat Seminar in Nashville, Tenn. In addition to addressing the changing environment and needs regarding pets, Dr. Birkhold reviewed the expectations and technical deliverables Nestle Purina PetCare seeks from its’ suppliers during her presentation on Pet Food Customer Expectations. She emphasized the need for raw material quality, ingredient quality, consistency and relationships.
“We look at leveraging the relationships we have across our own companies and our industry. We want to leverage, today, what is available from a high quality ingredient perspective and what may be available in the future,” remarked Dr. Birkhold.