AFIA’s largest annual event concludes in Atlanta

This year’s event featured a series of educational programs and more than 800 exhibitors displaying their latest products, technologies and services designed to benefit the feed and poultry industries.

 

Based on preliminary figures, attendance at the Jan. 27-29 event was approximately 19,000, surpassing the 2009 attendance of less than 18,000.

 

The Expo and related events are attended by feed- and poultry-industry stakeholders from the US and around the world. Exhibitors from more than 20 countries were present.

 

AFIA’s booth this year highlighted materials and signage about the organization’s centennial anniversary, its Safe Feed/Safe Food Certification Program and its representation of the pet food industry.

 

"This year’s Expo offered attendees a range of substantive programming and events to make their time in Atlanta as compelling as possible, on top of the hundreds of exhibits on the show floor," said Joel G. Newman, AFIA president and CEO.

 

AFIA members and others had opportunities to receive regulatory and legislative updates, ask questions of key decision-makers from within the federal government and the industry and gain a wealth of new insights during the Expo and related programming.

 

AFIA’s Pet Food Committee and USPOULTRY’s Poultry Protein & Fat Council organized and sponsored the Pet Food Conference, and AFIA also hosted the International Education Forum during the week.

 

These events complemented additional educational programming offered by USPOULTRY.

 

The two-day Pet Food Conference, the largest in the event’s history, included speakers such as Dr. Dan McChesney of the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine and Dr. Frank Jones of the University of Arkansas–both addressed topics related to controlling salmonella in the production of pet food.

 

Other regulatory experts from the US, such as AFIA’s own Jarrod Kersey and Richard Sellers, as well as officials from Canada and the European Union also spoke during the Pet Food Conference on matters of interest to professionals within the pet food industry.

 

The International Education Forum provided information targeted to feed manufacturers and others involved in the feed-manufacturing process.

 

Carl Allis of AFIA member-firm CPM and Dr. David Meeker of the National Renderers Association were featured speakers, in addition to AFIA’s Keith Epperson and Jarrod Kersey who contributed regulatory and legislative updates to attendees.

 

AFIA also was pleased to assist with the organization of a luncheon event that kicked off a $2-million fund-raising effort by the Institute for Feed Education and Research, or IFEEDER, a new non-profit foundation created to advance research and education programming about food and feed production.

 

The 2011 Expo is scheduled for Jan. 26-28 at the same location.