petfood pro 4/2022
PetFood PRO is the international magazine for executives and specialists in the manufacture of food for domestic animals – the pet food industry. The magazine focuses on food and delicacies for dogs, cats and other small animals, ornamental birds and fish, as well as animals kept in terrariums. We publish feature articles, reports and announcements about new ingredients, technology, equipment and processes, packaging machinery and materials as well as marketing trends and developments. Readers are executives, product developers and specialists in the pet food industry, including process and packaging engineers. PetFood PRO will be published in English. Circulation is worldwide, with an emphasis on important growth markets.
PetFood PRO is the international magazine for executives and specialists in the manufacture of food for domestic animals – the pet food industry. The magazine focuses on food and delicacies for dogs, cats and other small animals, ornamental birds and fish, as well as animals kept in terrariums.
We publish feature articles, reports and announcements about new ingredients, technology, equipment and processes, packaging machinery and materials as well as marketing trends and developments. Readers are executives, product developers and specialists in the pet food industry, including process and packaging engineers. PetFood PRO will be published in English. Circulation is worldwide, with an emphasis on important growth markets.
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INGREDIENTS<br />
Pet Food Safety and Freshness<br />
Concerns: Origins and<br />
Consequences<br />
by Cristina Murcia García, Ph.D., Elena Fraccaroli, DVM, Bartosz Lebida Msc Eng<br />
Photos: sarahb-fotos.de<br />
1. Pet food industry quality<br />
expectations and risks in<br />
matter of safety<br />
Today, pet owners have at their disposal<br />
a wide range of high-quality pet food<br />
<strong>pro</strong>ducts to <strong>pro</strong>vide their pets with<br />
nutrient-rich foods ap<strong>pro</strong>priate to<br />
their lifestyle, pet's activity, and their<br />
purchasing preferences. ⅰ Increasingly<br />
advanced knowledge of pet nutrition and<br />
pet food technology means that more and<br />
more ingredients are being incorporated<br />
into pet food formulations, and therefore<br />
increasingly pet food ingredients ⅱ are<br />
being <strong>pro</strong>tected at each stage of the<br />
<strong>pro</strong>duction <strong>pro</strong>cess. Food safety in the<br />
pet food industry refers to ensuring that,<br />
the feed does not cause harm to the<br />
pets and possibly to the consumer, such<br />
as kids being able to grab it in the bowls<br />
when prepared and/or consumed as<br />
intended. Food safety is a multi-faceted<br />
and multi-stage activity, starting with the<br />
origin of the animal by-<strong>pro</strong>ducts at the<br />
slaughtering and rendering <strong>pro</strong>cesses,<br />
through the transport of ingredients<br />
used in <strong>petfood</strong> <strong>pro</strong>duction, including<br />
the <strong>pro</strong>duction <strong>pro</strong>cess itself including<br />
<strong>pro</strong>duct formulation, and ending with the<br />
delivery of the <strong>pro</strong>duct to the customer<br />
and post-delivery activities. Actions are<br />
needed to <strong>pro</strong>tect against the risks of<br />
contamination and fraud at every stage<br />
of the food <strong>pro</strong>duction <strong>pro</strong>cess, as each<br />
of these elements may have an impact on<br />
food safety.<br />
The mission and responsibility of pet<br />
food companies and their owners is to<br />
<strong>pro</strong>vide safe and balanced food. This<br />
mission, along with their vision, are often<br />
included in the company's strategy and<br />
marketing activities to convince the Client<br />
that, the safety of their family members is<br />
a priority in their operation. Food safety<br />
in the pet food industry is now a shared<br />
responsibility of all actors involved in the<br />
<strong>pro</strong>duction of the <strong>pro</strong>duct, including the<br />
pet owner.<br />
Existing legislation on animal by<strong>pro</strong>ducts,<br />
ⅲ additives authorized in animal<br />
feed, presence of undesirable substances<br />
in feed, labelling rules combined with<br />
ap<strong>pro</strong>priate preventive actions consisting<br />
in the application of good hygiene and<br />
<strong>pro</strong>duction practices (GHP, GMP), risk<br />
analysis of critical control points (HACCP)<br />
and other standards contribute to the<br />
achievement of safe food standards. Such<br />
a broad perspective allows for <strong>pro</strong>per<br />
management and monitoring of the entire<br />
<strong>pro</strong>duction <strong>pro</strong>cess, as well as continuous<br />
control of the ingredients used in the<br />
feed recipe, including essential nutrients,<br />
such as minerals, vitamins, flavors, and<br />
stabilizers. Each of the ingredients has a<br />
strictly defined specification, not only in<br />
terms of nutritional value, but also for the<br />
parameters responsible for freshness and<br />
organoleptic characteristics.<br />
When analyzing what pet food safety is<br />
and how to achieve it, the primary focus<br />
should be on the slaughterhouse raw<br />
material (RM) as one of the primary food<br />
ingredients. It is the quality of the RM that<br />
further translates into the <strong>pro</strong>perties of<br />
the food in terms of safety, palatability,<br />
nutritional value, and shelf life. Proper<br />
handling of a given type of RM in the<br />
initial phase at the slaughterhouse or<br />
<strong>pro</strong>cessing plant stage, translates further<br />
into <strong>pro</strong>cesses related to oxidation<br />
(formation of toxic compounds),<br />
freshness (the level of free fatty acids),<br />
appearance of meat structure (biogenic<br />
amines, odor of toxic gases), microbiology<br />
(formation of bacteria, moulds, yeasts),<br />
and aspects related to oxidation because<br />
of further RM <strong>pro</strong>cessing. It is precisely the<br />
determination of the place of formation of<br />
factors that determine a given RM activity,<br />
such as enzymatic reactions (temperature,<br />
pH, time, presence of metal ions, water<br />
activity, light), as well as the method of<br />
their monitoring and prevention, that<br />
determines an effective ap<strong>pro</strong>ach in<br />
the field of food safety. Bacteria growth<br />
generates more enzymatic activity and<br />
increases the amount of free fatty acids<br />
and the initiates formation of biogenic<br />
amines.<br />
The safety of pet food, irrespective of<br />
the <strong>pro</strong>duction technology used (dry,<br />
wet, or fresh <strong>pro</strong>ducts) ⅳ , is a priority<br />
that must be observed in relation to the<br />
regulations in force in this area. Today, the<br />
available portfolio of antioxidants and<br />
preservatives, such as anti-bacterial, antisalmonella,<br />
anti-moulding agents, allows<br />
the use of high-quality, safe solutions<br />
which are ap<strong>pro</strong>priate to the <strong>pro</strong>duct<br />
(dry, wet, fresh food ingredients) and the<br />
customer's preferences.<br />
In most countries pet food is regulated<br />
at every stage, from the ingredients<br />
used, through the <strong>pro</strong>duction <strong>pro</strong>cess, to<br />
marketing and sales. However, pet food<br />
safety presents significant challenges<br />
compared to traditional food safety<br />
issues, as hazards have the potential<br />
to directly affect the pet and indirectly<br />
affect the humans around it. Pet food can<br />
serve as a carrier for infectious disease<br />
agents, as well as naturally occurring<br />
and inadvertently added undesirable<br />
8<br />
Technology & Marketing