Optimizing health & taste

Pet food performance and quality require careful

selection of materials, efcient processing, and
proper control of the nished product. Companies
use palatants to enhance pet food acceptance, so the
performance and quality of these palatants affect nal
acceptance of the pet food by the animal. Historically,
palatant consistency has been measured in terms of
analytical parameters such as protein, moisture, fat, and
ash. However, it is uncertain how these parameters correlate
to product palatability, performance, and quality. Therefore,
to ensure that pet foods meet expected performance,
including dietary and nutritional requirements of pets, a
comprehensive, extended approach is appropriate. Such an
approach identies critical in-process and nished product
parameters that contribute to overall performance and
palatability of pet food. These include physical, chemical,
and nutritional parameters, as well as other aspects of the
product. Identication, consistent monitoring, and control
of critical performance indicators helps enhance product
performance and ensure customer satisfaction.
To study the impact of these considerations, AFB
International evaluated in-process and nished palatant
parameters for direct correlation to the performance of a
selected feline food. Examples of these parameters are
shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1: EXAMPLE PARAMETERS
METHODOLOGY
In-process data analyses as well as extensive analytical
testing were performed on multiple lots of a commercialized
dry cat product. For performance evaluation, two bowl
paired comparison palatability tests were conducted
on these products. Subsequently, statistical analyses
were performed on all chosen in-process and analytical
parameters for each lot to determine possible correlations
to nal product palatability.
RESULTS
Results show that at different stages of the manufacturing
process, intermediate and process temperatures were very
critical (Table 2), with direct correlations to the overall
PROCESS AND PRODUCT PARAMETERS
AFFECTING PET FOOD PERFORMANCE
In Process Finished Good
Process Temperatures
Process Times
Proximates
Pressure
Amount of Materials
pH
Standard Proximates
Amino Acid Content
Sugar Content
Bulk Density
Starch
Flowability
Water Activity
Color
performance of the nal product (Figure 1). Table 2 shows
nal temperature and hydrolysis temperature have high and
signicant correlation indices of 0.981 and - 0.566 respectively
to the products performance measured by Intake Ratio (IR).
Final Conductivity also shows some correlations to product
performance with correlation index of -0.411. Figure 1 provides
a graphical representation of these three in-process parameters
as a function of their direct correlations to product performance.


TABLE 2: CORRELATION MATRIX

Total
Batch
Reactor
Time
Hydrolysis
Time
Hydrolysis
Temp
Initial
Conductivity
Final
Conductivity
pH Initial pH Final
Reaction
Temp
Final Temp IR
Total Batch
Reactor Time
1.000 0.921 0.887 0.607 0.007 -0.722 -0.218 0.711 -0.015 -0.184
Hydrolysis
Time
1.000 0.309 0.323 -0.175 -0.430 0.018 0.419 0.224 -0.115
Hydrolysis
Temp
1.000 0.399 0.019 -0.440 -0.016 0.556 -0.191 -0.566
Initial
Conductivity
1.000 0.626 -0.670 -0.888 0.406 -0.336 -0.131
Final
Conductivity
1.000 -0.373 -0.800 0.147 -0.865 -0.411
pH Initial 1.000 0.456 -0.932 0.568 -0.025
pH Final 1.000 -0.122 0.523 0.008
Reaction
Temp
1.000 -0.551 -0.051
Final Temp 1.000 0.981
IR 1.000
Parameters
Final Temperature
Hydrolysis Temperature
Final Conductivity
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
-0.8
-0.566
-0.41
-0.98
C
o
r
r
e
l
a
t
i
o
n

I
n
d
e
x
FIGURE 1
Optimizing health & taste

Furthermore, analysis conducted on the nished product

indicated that raw material quality, including fat content and
other physical and chemical parameters related to product
handling, showed excellent correlations to product perfor-
mance (Figure 2).

Figure 2 shows that the presence of certain protein-type
components, especially amino acids, in the nal product and
in the right state were important for good product performance.
Additionally, other parameters such as owability and bulk
density, which impact the way the product is handled in the
plant and packaged, show high correlations to the performance
of this product.
Through the use of advanced technology like Mass Spectro-
metric and Spectroscopic techniques including Fourier
Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTNIR), additional infor-
mation related to the chemical composition of products
could be obtained. AFB utilized the FTNIR technology to
develop qualitative identication (ID) model equations for
the product. Obtained spectra were analyzed for differ-
ences and/or similarities in chemical information, using
both residual and distance tests. Figure 3 shows the Scores

vs. Scores plot for the distance test. The natural variance
existing within the product as determined from chosen
calibration samples were used to calculate and define
acceptable limits for consistent product performance. From
the gure, Lot 6 falls within the limit, while Lot 8 falls
outside. These results were further validated by palatability
results, showing that the developed calibration equation
is robust for monitoring subsequent lots of this product.


FIGURE 2
Color Value
Parameters
Amino Acids
Glucose
Bulk Density
Fat
Flowability
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
-0.2
-0.4
-0.6
-0.8
C
o
r
r
e
l
a
t
i
o
n

I
n
d
e
x
Optimizing health & taste

LOT 6
PROCESS AND PRODUCT PARAMETERS
AFFECTING PET FOOD PERFORMANCE
CONCLUSIONS
In summary, this research indicated that proper control of a
combination of in-process, physical, and chemical component
parameters is critical to ensure that consistently performing
palatants are produced and delivered to the customer.
Traditional proximates alone may not completely dene palatant
performance.
NEXT STEPS
Given the insight yielded by this intensive study, AFB
International developed an enhanced performance monitoring
program to identify critical performance criteria. This program
entails longer term observation and data collection to identify
and establish appropriate performance criteria. These criteria are
then monitored to ensure consistent performance. Performance
monitoring follows the commercialization step of AFBs stage
gate process. It is particularly well-suited for the launch of
products with new ingredients and/ or new technologies. The
learnings from the performance monitoring program ensure
consistency of the product that is being directly monitored, as
well as other products in the same product or technology family.

Authors and Contributors: Oladipupo, Bola; Radosevich, Jennifer; Perry, Keith;
Shepherd, Vonnie; Figge, Kris; Francis, Debbie.
1.5
1
0.5
0
-0.5
-1
-1 1 0 2
+
+
+
+
PC 2
All Spectra
P
C

3
FIGURE 3: SCORES VS SCORES
north america 800.218.5607
northamerica@afbinternational.com
latin america 54.2304.480747
latinoamerica@afbinternational.com.br
europe 31.73.5325777
europe@afbinternational.nl
asia/pacic 61.398.799093
khall@afbinternational.com
australia 61.359.711105
jseletto@inghams.com.au
To discover all the ways AFB International can help you improve product palatability
and market share, visit our website at www.afbinternational.com or contact us directly.
LOT 8