Have you ever taken paid attention to the list of vitamins and minerals on the labels of petfood packages?
This extensive list and their not-so-familiar terms used may scare us a bit, but vitamins and minerals are vital components for the well-being, health, and longevity of our pets. Each vitamin and mineral play a unique role in the body, so it is important to properly balance these nutrients in pet food.
Vitamin and mineral supplementation are used in all types of food for cats and dogs such as: dry food, canned food, wet food. These supplements are used to provide the essential nutrients in the correct proportions that they require.
In petfood, vitamins and minerals are generally added as a premix. It means that some ingredients are included in small amounts in the formulation of dog and cat food, such as vitamins and minerals. Due to the need for high precision in weighing the micro-ingredients that make up the premix, petfood factories choose to buy this ready-made product from a supplier, rather than mixing micronutrients in their own factory. In addition, with the use of the premix there is greater reliability that the mixtures are more homogeneous, guaranteeing a much safer petfood.
It is important to take into account the loss of vitamins that occur during the extrusion process and shelf life. These losses must be taken into account when formulating a premix. It is essential to know the sources of microminerals to choose, since there are significant differences in their bioavailability.
Currently, there are several companies specialising in developing premixes in an attempt to facilitate the process of factories that produce complete food for dogs and cats. These companies have been refining to deliver personalised petfood premixes to the market, which perfectly complete the missing micronutrients in the ingredients used in a greater proportion in the formulations of the products, as if they were missing pieces in the puzzle, being essential for any food to become balanced and whole.
As a market trend, we understand that in addition to being personalised, the premix must also offer innovation so that in addition to improving nutritional quality, it can also facilitate processes, since new technologies are emerging for the commercialisation and conservation of food for dog and cats. Micronutrients must be bioavailable in all types of whole foods, ensuring the safety of the food factory.
