The Petfood Forum Europe 2024 content advisory board is seeking abstracts for noncommercial oral presentations, due 6 November, 2023.

The conference is scheduled for 6 May at the Nuremberg Messe in Germany (the day before Interzoo 2024 begins). Please do not submit an abstract if you are not sure you will be able to attend Petfood Forum Europe in Nuremberg on that day.

What to submit

Potential speakers are invited to submit noncommercial abstracts on topics including:

• New research on companion animal nutrition;
• Novel ingredients and their potential applications in pet food or treat formulations;
• Data, trends and predictions for the pet food market, either global or focusing on the European region, including opportunities for innovation;
• The supply chain outlook for Europe;
• Labor shortages and issues in Europe;
• Focus on pet food types and categories, including newer formats and technologies;
• New pet retailing information pertinent to the selling or distribution of pet food in Europe, including via e-commerce, direct-to-consumer and subscription;
• New information or ideas for marketing pet food, including via social media;
• New information, techniques or processes for product development in pet food;
• Update on regulatory information relevant to pet food in the European Union or other European countries;
• New research, technology or processes for pet food production;
• New research, technology or other information on pet food packaging;
• New, specific information on one focused aspect of pet food safety (no general overviews of regulations or pet food safety programs).

An advisory board of pet food industry experts will evaluate all submissions for:

• Relevance of topic;
• Presence of new or innovative information, concepts or research. Originality is key, so please be sure your abstract gives a clear idea of how your topic is unique and/or based on new research findings or work not found elsewhere;
• Proposed speaker’s experience or background with the topic;
• Lack of commercialization or promotion – it is crucial that the paper/presentation does not come across as a sales pitch, seeking to promote your organization or product(s);
• Evidence of previous speaking experience.

Each submission is evaluated on its own merits against these criteria but also in relation to other papers received – for example, it is highly unlikely two papers on the same or a very similar subject would be selected for presentations – and to how many sessions are scheduled for a given topic area. We seek to present a balance of timely topics as well as ensure particular areas of high industry importance and popularity are sufficiently covered.

No abstract will be considered if it seems commercial or if it has been published or presented prior to Petfood Forum Europe 2024. Abstracts similar in title or content to previously presented material should include significant new information.

How to submit

Submission guidelines

• Abstracts must be written in English.
• The abstract should sufficiently explain the topic, especially how it is unique or based on new information. The potential speaker’s expertise in or knowledge of the topic should also be clear.
• The following elements must be part of the abstract:
  • Abstract title, and name, title and organization of corresponding author/potential speaker (if different or in addition to the information given in your account);
  • Information presented in sufficient detail to support the conclusions and take-home points, plus how the topic is unique or based on new information;
  • The learning objectives/take-home points of the presentation.

The submission form also includes a required field for a 50-100 word biography of the potential presenter. For oral presentations, public speaking experience must be included. It is also helpful to include information on the speaker’s knowledge of or experience with the topic within the abstract.

Abstracts must be received no later than 6 November. After this deadline, the abstract submission system will no longer accept submissions. Any requests for late submissions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

After review of submissions

All submissions will be reviewed within about six weeks after the 6 November deadline; you will receive an email about whether your submission has been accepted.

If your abstract is chosen for an oral presentation, you will receive a PowerPoint template to use to create your presentation, including a set range of number of slides and amount of information or bullet points to include on each slide. Please use and follow this template.

Authors will be required to sign a copyright release to permit publication of the abstract and the use or re-use of other materials. For oral presentations, you will also be required to provide a photo (head shot) by a specified date, as well as other files.

Failure to provide required files and information by the specified deadlines could result in your being replaced as a speaker or for Petfood Forum Europe 2024.