Pet Food Production Line

The pet food production line employs high-expansion corn flour grains as the primary ingredient, enriched with bone meal, meat, protein, vitamins, fiber, and other essential nutrients. Utilizing a screw extruder, the line successfully produces various shapes of dog food through powerful extrusion and instantaneous expansion molding. It also extends to cat food and different aquatic feeds, including floating feed for fish, pellets for mackerel, goldfish, shrimp, crab, mud, and bullfrogs. Additionally, the production includes a flavorful coating that augments the taste of the final product, and automated packaging ensures efficiency. Particle sizes range from 0.9-15mm to cater to fish of varying sizes. Our pet food production line delivers high output and superior quality products, making it the top choice for medium to large-scale feed processing plants, aquaculture farms, and the pet food industry.

How Pet Food is Produced: A Detailed Overview

Typical raw materials in pet food processing encompass grain flour, vegetable protein, minerals, vitamins, and sometimes meat or fish meal and fresh meat. The dry ingredients enter a pre-conditioner where they get steam hydrated. A mixer ensures the proper integration of steam, moisture, and ingredients, resulting in partial gelatinization of starch and polymer texture. The mixture is then funneled into a double-screw extruder where precise control over shear, internal temperature, pressure, moisture, and residence time optimizes starch gelatinization without degrading food quality. Depending on the processing stages, liquid or steam can be injected through ports in the extruder barrel, and an exhaust filler might be used for degassing.

Step-by-Step Pet Food Production Process

1. Ingredient Mixing

Ingredient mixing is crucial in the pet food production line. Raw materials are weighed according to the formula, crushed, and stored in a bin. Once prepared, all ingredients are blended thoroughly.

2. Extrusion Processing

Extrusion is a high-temperature, short-time heat treatment process that minimizes nutrient loss, enhances protein and starch digestibility, and eliminates anti-nutrients and microorganisms. Various shapes of dry pet food, such as round, triangular, floral, and bone-shaped pieces, can be produced using different molds in the feed extruder. Fat is usually added during this process to improve palatability, and pigment water might be incorporated to give the pet food tablets different colors.

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3. Drying

Drying is essential to remove moisture from the extruded pet food. Initially soft with 20-30% water content, the material is dried to 8%-10% moisture, ensuring longer storage stability.

4. Addition of Oils

As a prime energy source, oil constitutes 2%-40% of the pet food formula, depending on the pet's growth needs. It is advisable to keep the total oil content in the extruder within 12%. If a higher oil content is required, it's recommended to add extra oil post-drying using either normal or vacuum spraying methods. This not only enhances the pet food flakes' appearance but also improves palatability with added powdery attractants.

5. Cooling and Screening

The cooling section aims to reduce the temperature of dried material to near room temperature while removing excess moisture. During this stage, unqualified food tablets are separated from acceptable ones.

The pet food manufacturing industry significantly contributes to the US economy, adding nearly $11 billion in value, including $2.9 billion in labor income, creating 32,938 jobs, and generating almost $35 billion in sales. These impressive statistics are outlined in the American Feed Industry Association's (AFIA) report, "Economic Contributions of the Animal Feed and Pet Food Industries, April 2023."

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Pet food production intricately involves several steps, each vital for creating high-quality, nutritious pet food. Using a blend of grain flour, vegetable proteins, essential minerals, vitamins, and sometimes fresh meat, the dry ingredients are steam-hydrated in a pre-conditioner. A mixer ensures an even blend of moisture and ingredients, partially gelatinizing the starch and texturing the polymer. This mixture then undergoes further processing in a double-screw extruder, where controlled conditions of temperature, pressure, moisture, and residence time optimize the final product's quality. Depending on the production stage, various inputs like liquid or steam are added, and degassing might occur to ensure product integrity.