Companion Animal Nutrition Symposia 2020 – A Review

For the 2020 ASAS-CSAS Annual Meeting held in Madison WI, the Companion Animal nutrition section had three symposia to address "Food fraud and food safety in companion animal foods", "Feeding behavior and management", and "Dairy ingredients and their application in pet food". As pets moved from the barn into homes, pet parents pay closer attention to dietary strategies and feeding practices that may improve pet health and longevity. Food safety is a key component to support health of pet animals and humans since they share the same environment, including areas devoted for food preparation and storage. Another key aspect is the use of novel and functional ingredients to improve health. While the health benefits associated with consumption of dairy ingredients are known for humans, there is a need for further evaluation of the nutritional adequacy and functionality of these ingredients for companion animals. Finally, humanization of pets may have impacted their lives more than people thought, as the number of overweight and obese animals are rising. Here, some issues that relate to how the food could be a factor in contributing with obesity and strategies to help pets to lose weight are also offered.