Pet food makers put food safety execution in focus at 2026 exchange
Bottom line
Food safety was a central theme at the 2026 Pet Food Processing Exchange, where consultant Jarrod Kersey, Ph.D., urged pet food manufacturers to focus less on the quality of written plans alone and more on whether those plans actually work in practice. Reporting from the Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 meeting in Kansas City, Pet Food Processing said Kersey highlighted mock recalls, cross-functional crisis teams, stronger preventive controls, and top-down food safety culture as the building blocks of an effective response before, during, and after a safety event. His message lands against a regulatory backdrop in which FDA requires many animal food facilities to maintain written food safety plans, including recall plans when a hazard requires a preventive control. (petfoodprocessing.net)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this is manufacturing news with clinical relevance. When a pet food recall happens, clinics often become the first place worried pet parents call. Better lot coding, traceability, supplier controls, sanitation, and recall readiness can shorten the time between contamination detection and product removal, which may reduce exposure risk for patients and confusion for clients. FDA’s preventive controls framework for animal food specifically ties hazard analysis, monitoring, verification, supply-chain controls, and recall planning together, underscoring that food safety failures are often execution failures, not paperwork failures. (fda.gov)
What to watch: Expect continued scrutiny on recall preparedness, traceability, and plant-level execution as manufacturers respond to recent recalls and FDA enforcement activity in the pet food sector. (fda.gov)
Food safety took a prominent spot at the 2026 Pet Food Processing Exchange, where industry consultant Jarrod Kersey, Ph.D., told attendees that pet food manufacturers need systems that work under pressure, not just plans that look good on paper. In coverage of the Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 conference in Kansas City, Pet Food Processing said Kersey focused on how companies should prepare for, manage, and recover from food safety incidents, with emphasis on mock recalls, preventive controls, and cross-functional alignment. (petfoodprocessing.net)
That message reflects the broader regulatory environment shaping pet food manufacturing. FDA’s Preventive Controls for Animal Food rule, finalized in 2015, established CGMP and hazard analysis and risk-based preventive control requirements for animal food facilities. Under that framework, covered facilities must maintain a food safety plan, identify hazards requiring preventive controls, verify implementation, and, when applicable, maintain a written recall plan. FDA guidance also makes clear that recall preparation is not optional once a hazard requiring a preventive control has been identified. (fda.gov)
At the conference, Kersey’s practical advice centered on execution. Pet Food Processing’s recap said many plants already have strong written food safety plans, but fail in day-to-day implementation when employees create workarounds for processes that are too difficult. A related Pet Food Processing post on LinkedIn summarized his recommendations in plainer terms: build a quality culture from leadership down, gather facts broadly when contamination occurs, and make sure the crisis management team includes communications, QA, legal, and supply-chain or warehouse leaders. That aligns closely with FDA guidance, which says recall plans should assign responsibilities, support direct consignee notification, public notification when needed, effectiveness checks, and proper product disposition. (petfoodprocessing.net)
The timing matters. FDA’s recalls database shows pet food recalls continued in 2026, including an Aug. 28, 2026 recall involving Northwest Naturals chicken recipe products for possible Salmonella and/or Listeria monocytogenes contamination. FDA also issued multiple 2026 warning letters tied to pet food manufacturing, including letters to Waves and Wine, Viva Raw, and Best Buy Bones that cited concerns ranging from inadequate preventive controls to insanitary practices and contamination risks. Taken together, those actions suggest regulators remain focused not only on whether companies have plans, but whether those controls hold up in real operations. (fda.gov)
Industry groups have been making a similar case, though in more general terms. The Pet Food Institute says member companies rely on comprehensive food safety programs, ingredient traceability, preventive controls, and good manufacturing practices that meet or exceed federal and state requirements. PFI also says recall plans are part of how manufacturers remove affected products from circulation when problems arise. That’s not an independent expert critique, but it does show where industry wants the conversation to land: prevention first, then rapid containment. (petfoodinstitute.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary teams, this is upstream news that can shape downstream case management. Clinics are often asked to interpret recalls, triage possible exposure, and advise pet parents on switching diets or monitoring for illness. The more robust a manufacturer’s traceability, coding, supplier verification, and recall execution, the easier it is for veterinarians to identify which patients may be affected and how urgently. Kersey’s emphasis on mock recalls and cross-functional readiness is especially relevant because the operational speed of a manufacturer’s response can influence how quickly clinics get clear, usable information. That’s particularly important in categories with microbiological risk, such as raw or minimally processed products, where regulatory and public health attention remains high. (fda.gov)
There’s also a business and trust dimension. Pet Food Processing framed the broader Exchange around trust in pet nutrition, and food safety is one of the clearest places where that trust is either reinforced or lost. For veterinary professionals who recommend diets, field client questions, and monitor adverse events, manufacturing discipline matters well before a product reaches the bowl. In that sense, Kersey’s argument is less about crisis communications than about operational credibility. (petfoodprocessing.net)
What to watch: Watch for more discussion across the pet food sector on mock recalls, traceability readiness, supplier verification, and food safety culture, especially as FDA continues inspections and enforcement and as manufacturers adapt plans to emerging hazards and evolving recall expectations. (fda.gov)