Date: January 16, 2012
Location: Grand Sierra Resort, Reno NV
Registration fee: $250/person, registrations will be limited by the space available
AAFCO 2012 Official Publication: $90 when available

Approximate registration time frame: August 15, 2011 until filled or mid-December

A frequently asked question from packagers of wild bird feed is what must be included on the package label. The items that must be included on the label are specified by the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO), a non-profit organization of state control officials that works to establish uniformity in state feed regulations.

The workshop scheduled for January 16, 2012 will cover livestock feed, equine feed, and wild bird feed labeling requirements. Single ingredient feeds will also be covered. Medicated feeds and Blue Bird labels will not be covered in this workshop; a workshop for these specialty labels may be planned in the future.

Wild bird feed is not pet food. The requirements for pet food labeling are different from wild bird feed and companies packaging wild bird feed are advised to not follow the pet food labeling requirements.

WBFI submitted a proposed label format to AAFCO for inclusion in the Non-Pet Food Label Guide. If this proposed label format is accepted in the Guide, then wild bird feed packagers will have a label format to follow. The complete Non-Pet Food Label Guide is available for download from the AAFCO website WBFI members may download the proposed label format from a link in Members Only on the WBFI website.

Companies interested in attending the workshop should monitor the AAFCO website for further details. Registrations will be accepted on a first come basis.

The US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) released a report on the first year on utilization of the Reportable Food Registry (RFR) by food and feed manufacturers and government.

There is no information in the report that relates specifically to wild bird feed.

The most reports were entered into the RFR in March 2010 as a result of the salmonella in Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP). During this month, of the 1117 reports entered into the RFR, 1001 related to the HVP issue. These reports could be Primary or Subsequent reports depending on where the company issuing the report is operating within the supply chain. The FDA report notes that no illnesses resulted from the HVP recall.

The report also shows that no serious illnesses related to a separate recall for an undeclared allergen were reported. To date, it would appear that no serious health problems were reported in connection with any of the RFR reports.

The RFR is an internet based portal for Bioterrorism Act (BT) Registered Food Facilities to report potential problems with FDA-regulated food and feed products. Facilities that manufacture, process, pack, or hold food or feed must submit a report when there is a reasonable probability that a product will cause serious adverse health consequences to humans or animals. This includes wild bird feed as commercial feed.

The RFR was activated in September 2009 in accordance with the FDA Amendments Act of 2007 to: (1) provide a “reliable mechanism to track patterns of adulteration in food;” and (2) “to target [the FDA’s] limited inspection resources to protect the public health.” In response to language in the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) signed into law in January 2011, FDA is mandated to conduct more inspections of food facilities.

WBFI Headquarters received the following email on May 12, 2011 from Carol Salvador:

Hello,

The contact information for Mike and Carol Salvador at Pierce Elevator on Main (D & D Commodities) has changed. This may be important to you or not. I have gone through email list and am sending this to those that it might be important to. I may have sent to more than one person in your organization but trying to cover all basis. If it is relative to you, please make the change as it is effective immediately. If not, just disregard.

The new contact for anything involving Pierce Elevator or Mike Salvador or Carol Salvador is as follows:

D & D Commodities Ltd.
Attn: Carol Salvador
6715 W. 28th Street
Greeley, CO 80634
970-673-8932 (new office number)
970-673-8124 (new fax number)
970-302-8827 (same cell number)

D & D Commodities Ltd.
Attn: Mike Salvador
6715 W. 28th Street
Greeley, CO 80634
970-673-8932 (new office number)
970-673-8124 (new fax number)
970-302-1866 (same cell number)

If you have questions, please feel free to contact either Mike or Carol Salvador at the information provided above. Email addresses remain unchanged.

WBFI has a tradeshow display for sale for $250 plus you pay the shipping. The display was purchased in 2002 and used a few times at Birdwatch America.

Details on the display are:
- 8 ft wide curved pop-up display
- Covered in black textured fabric panels on the front and the ends
- Magnetic strips hold the fabric panels in place
- Attach display pictures with velcro
- 2 each 200-watt halogen flood lights
- Packed in one rolling case

Our estimate of your shipping cost is $85.00.

To see an example of a display that is similar to what the WBFI has, please go to this link:
http://tradeshowsolutionsinc.com/ProductDetails.asp?id=6994147231420099&item=1790&cat=Displays

If you are interested in purchasing this display, please send an email to WBFI Headquarters.

• Have you recently thought about the future of wild bird feeding?
• How would you promote responsible wild bird feeding?
• What is the best way to connect with children and young adults about wild bird feeding?

Are you ready to build for the future?

The WBFI Research Foundation is accepting nominations for three vacancies on the Board of Trustees. The activities of the Foundation in the coming months will include the design and launch of a consumer education campaign that many feel should be targeted at our youth and young adults to educate the next generations of people to feed wild birds.

If you are interested in helping with this and wish to nominate yourself or an industry leader you know, please send an email to Foundation Headquarters.