Pet Food Manufacturing Process
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Regulations for US Pet Food Manufacturers
Be sure to read up on the AAFCO's regulations and the US Food and Drug Administration's regulations. In broad terms, the safety standards expected from pet food tend to be related to:
- Reliable suppliers
- Products must be free from harmful substances
- Products must be labeled truthfully and correctly
- Clear specifications regarding nutritional value, ingredients used, technical parameters, etc.
- Appropriate chemical analysis/studies to verify the nutritional content of the product
- Products meeting the same low-acid canning regulations as canned food made for human consumption
In essence, you can expect many of the same regulations and standards that you might find in food made for human consumption.
Dry Pet Food Manufacturing
The dry pet food manufacturing process usually involves a cooking process that removes the fat from the meat components of the product. Other dry ingredients, such as grains and cereals, can also be added, dried, and sieved to create a dry mix. The dry mix is then combined with the wet ingredients and hydrated, creating a "dough". The dough is then pressure cooked in an extruder and extracted into "ribbons" in a specific shape. At this point, they can be cut into the desired sizes and shapes, whether that's kibbles or small dog treats. After this, the product is dried to remove any remaining moisture and ensure it can be stored without spoiling. Finally, the product is placed in a revolving drum, where it gets mixed with any last bits of flavoring and preservatives, giving the product its final delicious taste.
Wet Pet Food Manufacturing
In the wet pet food manufacturing process, the product is usually cooked in the can (or another container) that it comes in when purchased by the customer. The ingredients are carefully measured and added into the container—this includes animal products such as meat, grains, thickening agents, vegetables, and extra vitamins and minerals, all in accordance with the recipe and nutritional needs of the animal. The container is then sealed, and the product is cooked within. The cooking process must be highly regulated in terms of temperature and the length of time the product is cooked to ensure the nutritional content, taste, and shelf-life of the product remain intact. Once cooked, the product is cooled, labeled, and stored.
Dry vs Wet Pet Food
After learning about the pet food manufacturing process for both dry and wet products, you might be wondering—which is better? The truth is, both come with their advantages and disadvantages, so there isn't a clear answer. Let's go over some of them to help you figure out the type of product you want to focus on and how you might want to market it to your customers. Both are potentially healthy options, so there are no worries there. Different dogs and cats might have different nutritional requirements and preferences. Ultimately, the most important factor is the actual nutritional content of the product.
Advantages of Dry Pet Food
Dry pet food is easy to store and generally cheaper. Chewing helps sharpen a cat's teeth and keeps dogs' teeth clean. This can be especially helpful in fighting the gum problems faced by certain dog breeds.
Disadvantages of Dry Pet Food
Dry pet food can be harder to break down and chew for older pets or breeds with weaker jaws and teeth. Its lower fat content might also be insufficient for more active dogs.
Advantages of Wet Pet Food
Wet pet food can help cats and dogs with hydration issues due to its higher moisture content. It also helps with certain urinary tract conditions and is often preferred by dogs for its taste.
Disadvantages of Wet Pet Food
Wet pet food does not help clean a dog’s teeth as well as dry dog food. Once a can has been opened, it tends to spoil quickly and cannot be stored as easily as dry products.
The Good and the Bad of HPP Dog Food
High-pressure pasteurization (HPP) is a controversial topic regarding raw dog food. Some may avoid HPP food altogether, while others may feel reassured about the reduced risk of bacteria such as Salmonella, Listeria, or E. coli. Let’s explore the topic of HPP to clear up some questions and misconceptions.
What is High-Pressure Pasteurization (HPP)?
You may be familiar with pasteurization, which uses high heat to control food pathogens. High-pressure pasteurization is different. Most high-pressure pasteurization processes don’t use heat. It’s a cold temperature method used to prevent food spoilage. HPP applies extremely high pressure to foods to manage bacteria and is also called high-pressure pascalization or cold pasteurization. It’s used for many grocery store products, such as juices, fruit purees, baby foods, dips, sauces, pre-made meals, meats, seafood, and soups.
The HPP Process for Raw Dog Food: In some cases, the manufacturer grinds, mixes and packages the raw ingredients before applying HPP. Some may open the packaging and regrind the food before repackaging, which poses a risk of post-processing contamination. In other cases, foods aren’t HPP'd in their final packaging, and companies further process the foods in clean rooms. Other companies may dehydrate, air dry, or freeze-dry the HPP'd product. Here’s the HPP process:
- The product is put in hermetically sealed packaging.
- It’s placed into a "pressure vessel."
- The pressure vessel is filled with cold water.
- High levels of isostatic pressure (300–600 MPa or 43,500-87,000 psi) are applied through the water to the food.
- "Hold" times range from a few seconds to a few minutes.
These extremely high pressures disrupt the cell membranes of microorganisms in the food. They die and viable cells can’t survive, but HPP doesn’t kill spores.
Spores Survive HPP
Some spore-forming organisms, like Clostridium botulinum (responsible for botulism poisoning in people), aren't eliminated by HPP. One study concludes: "Spores of bacteria remain the most difficult problem to eliminate for making HPP-treated low-acid foods stable at room temperature. Eliminating all spores in a low-acid commercial food while maintaining non-thermal processing conditions is not possible at the present time." Spores may become dormant during HPP but often germinate later. Heat treatments like PATS (pressure-assisted thermal sterilization) are more effective for eliminating these spores. However, botulism or other Clostridium poisoning is rare in dogs. This is more of a risk for the owner handling the food. Wash your hands and you’ll be fine!
Toxins from Food Packaging
The main concern here is toxins that might leach from packaging into the food. BPAs are chemical compounds in food packaging known as endocrine disruptors, linked to thyroid issues and obesity in pets and people. One study concluded, "There is a need for further research on HPP effects on mass transfer processes between food, packaging films, and storage environment. The possibility of packaging components and packaging degradation substances transferring into foods during high temperature and pressure processing, where they can experience further chemical changes, has to be investigated." In general, research shows the pressures and hold treatment times used for raw dog foods don’t cause any transfer of packaging chemicals into the food. If you buy HPP foods, ask the manufacturer about their packaging to ensure they use BPA-free materials and have tested for any leaching of chemicals.
HPP Isn’t Legally Required
HPP has become increasingly popular for pathogen control since the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) was introduced in 2011. There’s no law requiring raw pet food makers to use HPP, but many have been forced into it. Before FMSA, the FDA didn’t do much proactively about pet food safety. For example, they didn’t investigate the melamine-tainted pet food that sickened or killed thousands of pets in 2007 until after the fact, in 2008. There are still no FDA laws about Salmonella or other bacteria in pet foods. There’s a July 2013 document called Guidance for FDA Staff on salmonella in foods for animals. It states that "FDA’s guidance documents, including this guidance, do not establish legally enforceable responsibilities." HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point, a USDA enforcement program to ensure food safety and quality control. It requires human and pet food companies to maintain a detailed log of manufacturing processes, standards, and tracking, but it doesn’t specifically require methods like HPP.
FDA Actions
But the FDA believes raw food is dangerous, and some state Departments of Agriculture have pressured raw food manufacturers. Though there have been serious salmonella outbreaks from contaminated kibble, the FDA has targeted raw food manufacturers. They have applied a zero-tolerance policy to bacteria like salmonella or listeria in raw pet food, even though they allow salmonella in grocery store chicken for humans. They conduct frequent raw pet food plant inspections and sample-testing to find "adulterated" foods, often forcing manufacturers into product recalls. They’re mostly concerned about people getting sick from handling raw pet foods.
There have been no reported cases of bacteria in raw pet foods harming people or animals. Meanwhile, kibble contaminants have harmed pets, such as excess vitamin D and aflatoxins. The constant onslaught makes it difficult and expensive for raw manufacturers. One well-known raw food manufacturer reported, "After your first recall, you get a target on your back and get retested over and over. There’s a huge amount of paperwork, and your plant is shut down while the Department of Agriculture is in your plant asking for information. Since we moved to HPP, all the salmonella tests have been negative." So, some manufacturers have resorted to using HPP for their raw foods, possibly only for higher bacteria risk foods like poultry. Some freeze-dried foods may also be HPP.
In some cases, manufacturers will disclose their use of HPP. Others may not mention it, so you’ll have to call them to find out. They’re not required to disclose HPP on their labels or websites. Let’s examine the effects HPP has on raw dog food.
Food Changes After HPP
What you need to know is how HPP changes the quality of your dog’s food. The research can be confusing because some studies focus on human foods with higher temperatures, longer hold times, and higher pressures than what raw dog food makers use. Typical levels for raw food manufacturers are 600 MPa, with hold times of around 2 minutes and cold water temperatures.
Is It Still Raw?
Texture and color changes in HPP foods cause people to question whether the food is still raw. It is as long as heat wasn’t used during the HPP process. Some HPP processing involves higher water temperatures, so ask your food manufacturer about the temperatures they use for their HPP. Also, consider whether all your dog’s food is really raw. Veterinarian Marion Smart points out that dogs bury food and incubate it in the ground for weeks or months. When they dig it up, is it still raw? Mother wolves eat food and regurgitate it for their cubs. Is it still raw after exposure to powerful stomach acids? These are considerations when evaluating the pros and cons of HPP food for your dog.
Let’s look at what HPP does to meat since it's the main ingredient in your dog’s raw diet.
HPP Effects on Meat
Research shows that HPP may "denature" protein, breaking down the protein molecules, affecting the myofibrillar structure of the meat. This means the muscle fibers differ from non-HPP meat. However, the process affects the color and texture of meat more than nutrient value. HPP can give the meat a more gelatinous quality, make red meats like beef look lighter and almost cooked, and make the meat more tender and digestible. These changes are more critical to people than to dogs, who don’t typically care about color or texture.
Digestibility
Several studies report that HPP makes meat more digestible because the altered protein structure allows digestive enzymes to break down the nutrients more readily. At least one raw pet food manufacturer has tested food bioavailability after HPP, showing 95.6% protein digestibility, 97% fat digestibility, and 96% caloric digestibility. This data suggests dogs can still gain most nutritional benefits from HPP food.
Lipid (Fat) Oxidation
Lipid oxidation is when fats turn rancid, which can be harmful. Cooked meats are more prone to lipid oxidation than raw meats. HPP appears to increase fat oxidation during storage, though it’s less likely with raw dog foods due to shorter hold times, lower pressures, and water temperatures. Oxidation varies with exposure to air during storage. Removing air from bags and using vacuum packaging protects against oxidation, and freezing the food may help slow lipid oxidation. Poultry may suffer more from lipid oxidation; reducing fat content helps lower the risk. Some manufacturers use antioxidants like rosemary or sage to slow degradation, and vitamin C content can also help prevent oxidation. Use extra care when thawing HPP foods, thawing in an airtight container to minimize exposure to air and fat oxidation.
Vitamins
Studies on vitamin C show higher pressure levels and longer hold times cause vitamin C loss, with alkaline foods more susceptible. One study found that antioxidants and carotenoids in vegetables were unaffected by HPP treatment at 400 and 600 MPa, which is the pressure used for most HPP dog foods. One raw pet food maker found vitamin A deteriorated by about 20% after HPP, with lower amounts of pantothenic acid, pyroxidine, and vitamin B12. The company increased liver and other organ meats to meet AAFCO requirements for these nutrients.
Minerals
Minerals, including important ones like calcium and phosphorus, appear minimally affected by HPP. A manufacturer review found some minerals slightly increased during HPP.
Enzymes
Live enzymes are a reason to feed your dog a raw diet. Pressures of 800 MPa or more, longer hold times, and warm temperatures increase enzyme inactivation. At water temperatures under 45 Celsius, there’s no impact on enzymatic activity. The lower pressures, water temperatures, and hold times used in raw dog food mean enzyme loss is minimal.
Summary
Nutrient losses during HPP appear small at the pressures and hold times used for raw pet foods. A 2011 joint Mexican-Spanish-US study concluded, "In general, HPP causes no significant losses of functional compounds in foods, and often HPP induces lower losses than conventional thermal processes. Additional research is required on compounds such as vitamin E. Polyphenols seem favored by HPP treatments, and in some cases, HPP may increase their availability. Studies on antioxidant activity are few and contradictory."
Should you use HPP foods for your dog? You may not have much choice. Many raw and freeze-dried food manufacturers use HPP, possibly only for higher bacteria risk foods like poultry. It can be hard to find a brand that doesn’t use HPP. Based on the research, I'd be comfortable feeding HPP foods to my dog. Though I don’t worry about bacteria, the FDA does, and some conventional vets do too. I eat quite a lot of HPP foods myself, such as hummus, soup, or salsa, without considering them less nutritious. HPP foods offer peace of mind, minimizing bacteria risk for dogs and families, and ensuring manufacturers aren’t worried about bacteria harming pets or people. Changes in raw dog food after HPP are related to texture and color, more critical to people than to dogs.
Questions for Food Manufacturers
First, ask if they use HPP. Some may not make this information accessible, so you might have to dig or make phone calls. Many companies send their foods out to be HPP'd, technically not a lie if they say "we don’t HPP our foods". I'd rather choose a company that's honest and open about their processes and reasons.
Then, ask about the specific process:
- What pressure, water temperatures, and hold times does your HPP process apply?
Expect pressure of up to 600 MPa, cold water, and hold times of around 2 minutes. If warm or hot water is used, the food may not be truly raw. To ensure your dog gets sufficient nutrients, ask:
- Have you tested the nutrients in your food after the HPP process?
- Have you made changes to compensate for
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