Exciting times continue and the report of new petfood related plants under construction. In Europe, German petfood manufacturer Josera putting a plant in Poland for pet products, Çorum Halk Et is building a wet petfood plant in Turkey and in France, Kapsera, is putting in a plant for possible petfood additives, microencapsulated natural ingredients. These activities are exciting as petfood continues to grow matching the needs of the industry.
Illinois Institute of Technology and other institutions are exploring the addition of lactic acid to enhance High Pressure Processing for effective elimination of pathogens in raw petfoods. Sounds new and interesting, one percent lactic acid at a pressure of 586MPa or 85,000PSI for four minutes. It will be interesting to see this develop at rates suitable for the industry. As a note current normal processing technology of extruded kibble is simply to reach 77 degrees C for zero seconds and the hardest to kill pathogen, salmonella is eliminated. Proven processing methods with verification which results in and still is leading the world in the way petfoods are produced. 85,000PSI is only about six bar to assist in understanding that this is not out of the possibility of developing into a process producing bacteria free products.
Having opened the discussion on raw petfoods above and having wondered how and if these products are cooked, research shows that articles are out there stating 25 percent of raw petfoods contain pathogens. In other words, they are not cooked to elevate the temperature for bacteria elimination. This is good for kibble producers to know that the recommendations for feeding raw petfoods is: wash hands well after handling raw petfood, clean all surfaces the food made contact with, refrigerate without contact of any other food in the fridge, no facial contact with pet after eating, completely wash all hands and body parts that contacted the pet and/or was licked and no licking open wounds or broken skin. These protections are from a Penn State Extension article. At this time, it seems too complex for me to use raw petfoods having worked with extrusion for decades and understanding the process and their exacting production techniques and advantages. No doubt time will change this as the processing raw petfoods advance.
Ryan Ponquett, Lead Scientist, Maltento, South Africa has shared an article included discussing cooking of petfoods and insect meal inclusion. It is interesting as taste and smell is important in petfoods and he also discusses meat and insect use. I am assuming the Maillard discussion and how this relates to attractability to the pet points out that insect meal might not smell as good as other ingredients. What is this maillard reaction? It is a chemical reaction when foods are heated causing browning and flavour development. A grilled steak smells much better than a raw steak to humans. Pets are a bit different as they smell much better than we do and Ryan goes into this. A bit of history, this maillard reaction discussion in relation to petfood has been around for decades. It was determined by testing that a flavour developed in extrusion cooking. It was this maillard reaction where sugars and amino acids react at high temperatures resulting in this flavor development. It was and is actually controllable to a degree. Higher water use at higher capacity this reaction can be minimised some, less water and lower capacity, more energy input per throughput, resulted in higher maillard reactions and flavour development. Feeding studies showed cats likes feed that had this effect more so than dogs thus the method of production as noted were used to improve palatability. It was a natural thing based on shapes, protein levels etc that required catfoods to run about 20 to 25 percent less capacity when compared to dog food rates all else being equal. Advancements in equipment and controls makes this effect easy to manage over time and control the impact of the final product based on the cooking formulation, time, temperature, moistures etc. Just like on the stove at home. I enjoyed this article as it tied together the use of a new novel advancing ingredient, insect meal, and the need for the correct processing avenue for acceptance of these products by pets where it counts, right under the nose.
Alternate ingredient discussions continue with Heikki Keskitalo’s article. Mycoproteins, proteins derived from fermentation processes with exceptional amino acid profiles. Protein dispersibility is discussed and a topic followed as it relates the use of the protein by its availability. Dispersibility in water is a good test for ingredients and if they will be easily processed. For example, ring drive blood meal versus spray dried with spray dried resulting in a higher protein digestibility. No doubt fermented ingredients would lend towards a good protein digestibility. We will be seeing more of these kinds of options in the future.
Petfood coating methods are discussed and a wide range of possibilities exist to achieve the goal. You should define the goal to determine which method to use before selecting the equipment. Factors such as defining your expected accuracy in achieving the exact percent to be added, what is being added, high/low level applications etc. Accuracy could be as simple as hitting the correct percentage but it should include not only this but the evenness in coating. Is each piece coated evenly? Sometimes the coater is not at fault and an example would be uneven dried product, kibbles with a moisture variation between kibbles. The kibbles with higher moisture levels will not pick up and hold coatings as well as kibbles which are over dried. Evenness in drying affect coating as well as the spray pattern and mixing action in the coater. Define and test to get your desired results.
KSE has a profile on their services and understanding the importance of movement of raw materials is critical and directly associated with achieving the desired plant capacity. Designing these systems up front is no doubt better than trying to fix them after installation and commissioning. Over sizing is one topic not reviewed. I would be surprised if manufacturers of equipment who offer their capacities do not have a safety factor added in. Ask for figures showing the designed capacities, this allows you to determine how to size conveyors. If an extruder is sold to do 10 tonnes but could possibly do 12 tonnes per hour how would you size your conveyors? Balance the system to achieve maximum possible production rates and avoid bottlenecks, usually in the conveyor category.
Our Industry Events section highlights all of the upcoming shows worldwide and the first of this year is stacked with possibilities. There are 17 possibilities of worldwide shows on petfoods production and all aspects of this industry. Hope to see you at some of these events.
Published in the February 2025 issue of International Petfood.