How We Work
The Pet Food Industry Association of Australia was established in September 1972 to promote standards of excellence in the pet food industry in Australia.
The mission of the Association is to promote standards of excellence in the development of the pet food industry through:
- consideration of the needs of pets and the community;
- active promotion of the benefits of responsible pet ownership; and
- promotion of prepared pet food as the preferred method of pet nutrition and reinforced through establishment and self regulation of industry standards.
Meetings
The PFIAA meets quarterly. Our meetings are engaging and provide members with professional and social networking opportunities. An annual technical seminar attracts national and international participation, attracting speakers from across the globe in addressing issues of interest to members.
Alliances
The PFIAA continues to work closely with federal and state government departments and relevant stakeholders on issues of importance to the pet food industry including pet food safety and pet health.
The PFIAA is a key member of the Global Alliance of Pet Food Associations (GAPFA) who meet every two months via teleconference and annually face to face. GAPFA’s agenda is to improve the safety and nutrition of pet food, and to reduce trade barriers.
Supporting our members
The Pet Food Industry Association of Australia (PFIAA) represents Australian pet food manufacturers, pet food importers, and companies from the pet food supply chain with government, regulators and consumers. It regularly liaises on issues relating to standards and consumer concerns to ensure the safety of pet food.
The PFIAA works with regulators to influence the development of standards and regulation to achieve good policy objectives. The Association is represented on several committees across the pet food sector to ensure a consistent and transparent voice on behalf of members.
The Association works closely with the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) to manage the PetFast Reporting System. The PetFAST team include three vets from the AVA and the PFIAA Executive Manager.
The Australian Standard for the Manufacture and marketing of pet food is: AS5812. 2017 is a voluntary standard that was developed through the Australian Standards Committee FT-033. The committee includes Australian Department of Agriculture (DoA), the Australian Veterinary Association, the RSPCA, Department of Economic Development, Jobs, Transport and Resources (Victoria), JAZ ANZ – Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand, and The Pet Food Industry Association of Australia.
The voluntary standard was developed to ensure the safety and quality of pet food products and to provide consistency and clarity to manufacturers, importers and wholesalers.
The PFIAA has partnered with Aus-Meat to conduct third-party audits for members. Certification includes system requires members are annually audited for compliance with AS5812. The certification system operates under the Letter of Exchange with the Department of Agriculture, and forms one criteria when seeking an export listing from the Department.
To achieve AS5812 Certification companies are required to be a financial member of the PFIAA, comply with the Association Rules and Code of Conduct, and ensure an AS5812 audit is successfully undertaken annually.
The PFIAA recommends all companies engaged in the manufacturing, importation, wholesale and marketing of pet foods in Australia to join the PFIAA and become accredited to AS5812, for pet food safety.
Need more information on how to become a member?
Members have access to various resources, technical assistance, guidance and support across the pet food industry. Become a member today.