21 – Pet Food: Manufacturing & Regulations

Question 1

What are the steps for making extruded kibble - ‘dry food’?

Answer 1

1. Ingredients: ground as needed’ mixed for slurry/dough
2. Slurry heated (>32 degrees C)
3. Enters extruded (giant ‘screw’)
   a. High pressure, high temperature
   b. Forced through die as cut into pieces
   c. Pressure remove then dough puffs up then forms kibble with air pockets
4. Transit through drying oven to remove moisture then cooled
5. Coated/sprayed (ex. fats and anti-oxidants)
6. Packaged

Question 2

What determines the kibble pellet shapes?

Answer 2

• Size/shape of die
• Speed of knife
• ‘rebound’ after release from pressure

Question 3

What are the steps for making moist food - ‘canned’?

Answer 3

1. Meat slurry or gravy
2. Mixing and dispensing
3. *Retort (autoclaving): high pressure & steam=sterile (so no additional preservatives do not need to be added)
4. Secondary packaging

Question 4

What are the conventional ingredients in ‘meat & grain’ – based pet foods?

Answer 4

• Animal-derived products
• Soy-derived products
• Grains and grain-derived products
• Vitamin/mineral supplements
• Non-nutritive additives
  o Additives to ‘improve’ food acceptance
  o Preservatives

Question 5

What are some non-nutritive food additives?

Answer 5

• Flavours and palatability enhancers (digests, phosphates, additional FAs)
• Pigments/colours
• Emulsifiers, stabilizers, thickeners, gelling agents
• Preservatives(microbial inhibitor acids, natural and synthetic antioxidants)

Question 6

What is the goal of food preservation?

Answer 6

• Inhibit microbial growth, oxidation and other ‘decomposition’
  o Heat/pressure=inactivates enzymes, KILL microbes
  o Antioxidants=delay fat oxidation and vitamin degradation
  o Nitrogen flushing=removes oxygen
  o Other: sugar, salt, acids, dehydration, freezing=inhibit or inactive microbes temporarily

Question 7

What are the Canadian Federal Government Regulations?

Answer 7

• CFIA:
  o Pretty much just trying to prevent foreign animal disease
  o will certify it for export
  o do NOT regulate the food made and sold in Canada
• Health Canada
  o Need to have it labelled properly
  o Regulate natural health products for humans, but not pets
• Competition Bureau
  o Packaging
• *NO specific regulations or laws in Canada

Question 8

What is the Pet Food Association of Canada?

Answer 8

• Voluntary adherence to guidelines outlined by AAFCO (Association of American Feed Control Officials)
• Following guide for labeling and advertising pet foods
• Europe: “FEDIAF”

Question 9

AAFCO

Answer 9

• Independent, non-enforcement organization
• Provides model regulations and bills that can be adopted into law yb individual states
• Provides standards for feed, including
  o Labels
  o Ingredient definitions
  o Nutritional adequacy and nutrient profile guidelines
  o Lab testing

Question 10

What are some key points on pet food regulations?

Answer 10

• Members of pet food association Canada voluntarily adhere to regulations and guidelines
• *pet foods imported from or exported to US are governed by regulations and laws of AAFCO and US FDA-CVM
• If Europe: FEDIAF

Question 11

What is general do pets need in terms of pet food?

Answer 11

• Animals do not require specific foods/ingredients
• Animal DO require specific nutrients: adequate, but not unsafe amounts
• Essential nutrient requirements vary, depending on
  o Species and life stage
  o +/- changes in health status or other physiologic demands

Question 12

What is the goal of a complete and balanced pet food?

Answer 12

• *prevent deficiencies or excess
• All essential nutrients for species and life-stage present in appropriate amounts and ratios, RELATIVE TO THE ENERGY DENSITY (kCals) of the diet
  o Amount of nutrients ingested follows calories
  o Sufficient calories consumed=sufficient nutrients consumed

Question 13

What are 3 things to ensure food safety?

Answer 13

1. HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points)
2. Good manufacturing practices
3. Food safety management systems

Question 14

What are the four main components of a food safety management system?

Answer 14

1. General management: policies, plans, etc.
2. Technical
3. Conformance: audits
4. Auditor-training

Question 15

What are some pet food safety issues?

Answer 15

• Nutrient excess, deficiencies or imbalances
  o Vit D excess (dogs), thiamine deficiency (cats)
• Contamination of adulteration of products
  o Melamine (kidney failure)
  o Aflatoxins (liver failure)
• Microbial contamination
• Unknown/unidentified

Question 16

How can you reduce risk in terms of the manufacture?

Answer 16

• Relationship of supplier and manufacture
  o Traceability and routine inspection
• Handling of ingredients to finished products
  o Temperature, storage, prevent cross-contamination, clean/sterilize equipment
• Testing ingredients, facility and end product

Question 17

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR)

Answer 17

• For food analysis (chemical ‘fingerprint’, must establish a reliable database)
• Provides consistency (incoming raw material, throughout the production line, finished products)
• Quick results: ensures product quality and helps prevent adulteration
• If potential problems IDED: ingredients or products can be rejected and/or undergo further testing