According to a Research and Markets report on pet food sales, Europe is the second largest market for pet food, after the US, worth an estimated €35.5bn a year. As well as concerns over hygiene, product packaging and organic ingredients, food manufacturers are under pressure from pet owners to produce a variety of economically viable products suitable for their animals.

“There is an on-going shift in consumer demand toward higher-quality, nutritionally sound foods,” said Bette Schubert, co-founder and senior vice president of sales at pet food manufacturer Bravo. As a result, more pet food products are manufactured grain-free using clean, wholesome ingredients.

In addition to concerns about pet food ingredients, manufacturers are faced with other challenges. These include the actual production of the two main types of pet food, dry and wet, because the two processes differ and so does the equipment for handling and manufacturing them.

Wet pet foods are typically made up of around 25 to 35% moisture in comparison to dry foods, which are only around 10%. However, the moisture in both makes the product susceptible to mould and bacteria, with wet pet foods also more likely to experience deterioration of the products texture if any moisture is lost. 

Manufacturers use mould and bacterial inhibitors to combat these issues and also package the final product in moisture-proof sealed bags. In addition, dry pet foods face a number of other challenges.

The first stage of pet food manufacturing is the assembly of all of the raw materials, which are then stored until it is time to grind the them into smaller pieces – so that it is easier to process and ready for the extruder.

Extruders consist of cylindrical multi-segmented barrel, which mixes and cooks the materials before forcing it through a die so that it can be cut to the required length. When moving through the extruder, the speed and friction levels can be altered on each batch, so the product is cooked to the right temperature for the correct length of time.

From here, the product is then transferred to a dryer, where any additional moisture can be extracted. Ensuring the product is the right consistency is essential to avoid breaking and ensure the product is safe for consumption.

For example, when manufacturing dog biscuits, if the batch is dried too quickly or at too high a temperature, the biscuits will be more fragile and likely to break during the final handling of the product when it is packaged. 

Similarly, if the product is packaged before it is cooled, following the drying process, condensation will develop which encourages the growth of mould and bacteria.

When producing dry and fragile pet food items like dog biscuits, manufacturers should ensure that they use equipment that will not degrade or break down the final product during transportation. Pendulum type bucket elevator, such as those offered by Gough, deliver gentle and controlled movement across the plant.

This shift in behaviour and care for pets, means more consumers are only prepared to feed their animals foods of a good standard. Manufacturers should therefore make the handling of food products a high priority, to avoid jeopardising the condition of the product on the shelf.