Chinese pet food industry gathers at CAFIC Shanghai on ingredients, technologies, cooperation

SHANGHAI, Dec. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- China International Companion Animal Food Ingredients Conference (CAFIC), China's best annual grand event for technical professionals of Chinese pet food industry, is building supply chains connecting ingredient suppliers in the world with Chinese pet food industry and facilitating application of latest ingredient technologies.

The second China International Companion Animal Food Ingredients Conference (CAFIC) was held by LAMB Consultancy Limited (www.lambconsultancy.co.nz) in Shanghai on Nov. 14-16, 2021, with the attendance of some 200 professionals from the Chinese pet food industry in the midst of COVID-19, while travel in northern and southwestern China has been strictly restricted.

Due to the cancellation of Pet Fair Asia 2021 and CIPS 2021, the second CAFIC became the only major event for Chinese pet food industry to gather, communicate on ingredients and technologies, seek new cooperation and celebrate remarkable market growth over the past year.

Dr. Yulong Yin, China's nationally renowned nutritionist and a Chinese academician of engineering, gave a keynote speech on "Current Status and Trend of Research in Companion Animal Nutrition and Pet Food Development", forecast continuous increase in number of pet- adopting households in upcoming decade after showing China's demographic trend, and pointed out ingredient technologies and supplies are major challenges to further growth of Chinese pet food industry.  

Dr. Min Xue, chief research professor of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences for Extrusion & Processing Technology Group introduced her mile-stone findings with those feed applications of numerous novel single cell proteins (SCP) and shared over 50 nutrients and physio-chemical parameters in extrusion for protein extracted from Clostridium autoethanogenum and Methylococcus capsulatus with CAFIC attendees in pet food manufacturing industry.

This conference also invited senior canine veterinary specialists, such as Dr. Guoyao Wu from Texas A&M University, Dr. Emma Bermingham from AgResearch of New Zealand, and Dr. Bo Han from College of Veterinary Medicine, Chinese Agricultural University, and ingredient quality control specialists, including Dr. Zhigang Zhou from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Haipeng Yang from the National Feed Quality Supervision Center, as well as manufacturing specialists, like Dr. Mian Riaz from Texas A&M University and Dr. Javier Polo from APC to present most recent findings in dietetic strategies for canine chronic diseases, ingredient adulteration report and ingredient selection strategies for various extruded pet foods, treats and canned pet foods.

"The manufacturers of premium pet food ingredients should not just be unknown heroes. Their great names and the dedication should be recognized, complimented and remembered by societies of hundreds of millions of pet owners in China, so are their loyal customers in Chinese pet food manufacturing industry, who constantly produce better pet food products by sourcing premium ingredients and using advanced manufacturing technologies. Our team is devoted to construction of China's 1^st pet food ingredient platform for thousands of supply chains connecting ingredient suppliers in the world with Chinese pet food industry and for exchange of latest pet food ingredient technologies as well as for health, welfare and longevity of hundreds of millions of 'hairy kids' in China," said Susan Xing, Organizing Committee Chairwoman of 2021 CAFIC.

Tonje Elisabeth Dominguez, director of QRILL Specialty Animal Nutrition Products of Aker BioMarine Antarctic AS, global leading krill ingredient supplier, and representatives of other leading ingredient suppliers in various pet food ingredient categories presented progresses with technologies of QRILL Pet and other pet food ingredients as well as market forecast. A total of 27 invited presentations covered most of routine pet food ingredients and novel ingredients, including U.S. pet-grade poultry by-product meal, meat and bone meal, fish meal, krill meal, egg product, chicken cartilage product, improved soy protein, peas, cottonseed protein, yeast, bacterial protein, chlorella product, black soldier fly product, earthworm product, vitamin/mineral premixes, Yucca extract, bile acid product, etc.

Mr. Mark Hanzel, Deputy Director of USDA's Agricultural Trade Office in Shanghai, Mr. Hernán Viola, agro-industrial counselor of the Embassy of Argentina in China, Ms. Echo Tan, business development manager of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, and Mr. Andre Zhu, senior business development manager of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) in Shanghai, introduced premium pet food ingredients and pet food products in their countries respectively and seek direct cooperation with the Chinese pet food industry.

Following the keynote speech, an award ceremony was held to recognize outstanding entities in both the Chinese pet food industry and global suppliers of premium pet food ingredients.

It was the first time that the CAFIC Scientific Committee selected individual entities in pet food industry for their excellence in ingredient control and presented "Hexa-I Award for Pet Food Industry" to them. The "Hexa-I Award" recognizes pet food companies for their "Care in Ingredient Quality, Attention to Ingredient Technologies, Development of Ingredient Supply Chains, Tact in Ingredient Market Quotations, Regard of Ingredient Safety as Life of the Entrepreneurs, and Service for Innate Nature of Companion Animals".

A total of 17 pet food companies won the awards. Seven out of the 17 pet food companies were presented with "Outstanding Hexa-I Awards." Those recipients are FULL Pet (Shanghai, China), ENOVA Pet Products (Shanghai, China), RONSY PET FOOD (Hebei, China), NOURSE (Shanghai, China), Liaoning Oceanking Organic Pet food (China), PETPAL Pet Nutrition Technology (Wenzhou, China) and BRIDGE Petcare (Shanghai, China). 

The Scientific Committee also selected pet food ingredient entities and presented the "2021 Triple I Award for Pet Food Ingredient Industry" to recognize those ingredient companies for "supply of premium pet food ingredients, development of pet food ingredient technologies and contribution to health of eco-system of Chinese pet food ingredient & manufacturing industries."

China domestic recipients of "2021 Triple I award" are Angel Yeast (Single Cell Proteins), Baiyang Investiment Group (Fishmeal), Beijing Enhalor International Tech (Probiotics & Enzymes), Xiamen Manuka Biotech (Functional Fatty Acids), Legendary Petfood Ingredients (Trading Service for Rendered Proteins, Egg Product, Plasma and Other Premium Pet Food Ingredients), Kenon Group (Therapeutic Supplements), Shanghai Muyou Technology (Insect Proteins), Shandong Huachang Animal Health Product (Phytochemical Supplements), and Wing Pet Food (Antioxidants & Palatants).

The overseas recipients of "2021 Triple I Award" are ADM-Wisium, USA (Vitamin and Mineral Premixes), Aker BioMarine Antarctic AS Qrill Pet, Norway (Marine Proteins and Oils), APC, USA (Functional Supplements), J. Rettenmaier Söhne, GMBH+CO.KG (Fiber and Prebiotic), Triple A a/s, Denmark (Plant Ingredients), and Tyson Ingredient Solutions-River Valley Animal Foods, USA (Rendered Poultry Proteins, Fats, MSC, palatants and Specialty Products).

The third CAFIC is scheduled to be held in Shanghai from May 6 to 8, 2022, featuring "How Functional Ingredients Improve Health and Intelligence of Companion Animals."

Recipients of "2022 Hexa-I Award" and "2022 Triple I Award" will be announced at the conference and spread to Chinese pet owner societies through various gateway media.

SOURCE LAMB Consultancy Co., Ltd