Diamond Narrows Product Recalll
Based on independent analysis of retained lots of dog food, Diamond Pet Foods (Meta, Mo.) in early January specifically identified products and “best by” dates of foods tainted by aflatoxin...

Central Agrees to Buy Farnam
Central Garden & Pet Co. (Walnut Creek, Calif.) in January agreed to purchase the stock of Farnam Cos. Inc. (Phoenix) for approximately $287 million plus $4 million for the purchase of related real property, strengthening the company’s presence in the animal health care market...

Pet Franchises Rank High in Annual List
Five pet-related franchises kept spots on this year’s Entrepreneur Franchise 500, making “pet products and services” one of the hottest category in the annual ranking of franchise opportunities...

New Law Helps Agents Fight Organized Retail Theft
Legislation to establish an Organized Retail Theft Task Force at the Federal Bureau of Investigation was signed into law in January...

European Union Extends Live Bird Import Ban
Following the recommendation of a panel of food and animal health experts, the European Union in January extended its ban on imports of live birds from non-EU countries until the end of May...

AAFCO Will Take Closer Look at Pet Food Labels
The Association of American Feed Control Officials told pet industry representatives in January that they are seeing more pet products with inappropriate labeling and will begin looking more carefully for these products, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association (Greenwich, Conn.)...

Proposed OSHA Amendments Favor Entrepreneurs
Small-business owners facing fines and citations from the Occupational Safety & Health Administration may get help this year in defending themselves...

Retailers Focus on Growth in 2006
Faced with an increasingly competitive environment, more retailers are turning sales growth into high-priority missions than in previous years, according to research by the NRF Foundation, the research and education arm of the National Retail Federation (Washington), and BearingPoint Inc. (New York)...

Retailers Continue to Face Challenging Environment
Although retailers met sales expectations for the 2005 holidays, they can expect to face continuing business challenges this year, according to the Deloitte Research (New York) Leading Index of Consumer Spending...

Backer's 18th Annual Spring Show Offers Buying, Learning and Fun
More than 8,000 pet store owners, managers, distributors, boarding kennel operators, grooming professionals, mail-order catalog representatives and specialty gift store owners are expected to attend the 18th Annual Pet Industry Spring Trade Show and Educational Conference, April 7-9 at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City, N.J...

Pet Fashion Week NY Set for August
Buyers, manufacturers and high-end designers from around the world will meet at the elegant Metropolitan Pavilion in the heart of New York for Pet Fashion Week NY, to be held Aug. 19-20...

SuperZoo Offers Upgrades
The World Wide Pet Industry Association (Arcadia, Calif.) is partnering with BDMetrics Inc. (Baltimore) to launch a new service to maximize sales opportunities for exhibitors and attendees of SuperZoo 2006, scheduled for Sept. 20-22 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas...