Why Choose Food Research Lab's FRL as Your Food Product Development (FPD) Consultant and Partner?

There are several options in almost every product area in today’s market, and the difficulty is in coming up with unique items that stand out and connect with customers. Food Research Lab's Food Research Lab (FRL) takes a holistic approach to creating food and beverage products. We define, demographically target, and build effective goods through a sequential process for category selection and comprehension. The client can visit the lab to learn the process. We offer unlimited rounds of revisions to ensure customer satisfaction. The final product prototype, along with the documentation process, including the video (through email), will be shipped to the client, and in case the client is not satisfied with the video, a food technology consultant will visit the place for the product demo at the client’s costs.

What are the different forms that you deliver the Food Product Formulations?

The food industry is witnessing a new form of consumption. Keeping that in mind, we can formulate the products in the form of ready-to-eat, ready-to-drink, ready-to-mix, ready-to-serve, and ready-to-cook food products. We use ingredients that offer an added value to the development and improve its indulgence and sustainability in terms of its functional ingredients, plant-based food dyes, and natural preservatives with a clean label.

What are the sectors Food Research Lab cover?

We cover a wide range of sectors such as soups, sauces and dips, chips, tortillas, dry beverage powder, plant-based products, masalas, puddings, instant mixes and many more.

How is sensory testing been carried out?

Our sensory examination leads to the precise formulation and recipe recommendations. We develop data-driven design models based on sensory research and customer insights. The fact-based design methodology used by Food Research Lab reduces risk and gives our clients market confidence while cutting development time in half. With our dedicated sensory lab facility, our team takes satisfaction in creating and optimizing successful products in the marketplace, generating a favourable return on investment, and developing brand advocates.

Dry pet food is one of the most popular types in the pet food industry, thanks to its convenience, ease of storage, and long shelf life. This category, often formulated as kibble, is processed in ways that ensure stability, palatability, and nutritional adequacy for pets. Let’s explore the methods, processing techniques, and quality control measures that go into producing high-quality dry pet food.

Dry Pet Food: The Leading Segment in Pet Nutrition

Interesting News . Nov 21, 2024

Dry pet food is one of the most popular types in the pet food industry, thanks to its convenience, ease of storage, and long shelf life. This category, often formulated as kibble, is processed in ways that ensure stability, palatability, and nutritional adequacy for pets. Let’s explore the methods, processing techniques, and quality control measures that go into producing high-quality dry pet food.

Processing Techniques for Dry Pet Food

Dry pet foods are commonly produced through several methods, including extrusion, baking, flaking, pelleting, and crumbling. Each of these methods reduces moisture content, which helps preserve the food and prevent spoilage.

Extrusion

1. Extrusion

Overview: Extrusion is the most widely used method for making dry pet food and employs similar technology to that used in breakfast cereal production. The ingredients are mixed into a homogeneous blend and then processed through an extruder.
How It Works: Inside the extruder, a combination of steam, pressure, and high temperatures (100-200°C) cooks the ingredients. The cooked mixture is then pushed through a faceplate, where it is cut into the final kibble shape by a rotating knife.
Benefits: The extrusion process subjects the mixture to intense pressure (34-37 atm) and heat, effectively sterilizing the product to meet safety standards. The initial moisture content of the extruded material is around 25%, but after drying, the final moisture content is reduced to 8-10%, preventing mold formation.

2. Baking, Flaking, and Pelleting

Preservation and Antioxidants in Dry Food

Due to their low water content, dry pet foods are naturally less prone to spoilage. However, to further extend shelf life and maintain nutritional quality, antioxidants are added to protect the food from oxidative degradation. Antioxidants may be derived from natural sources, like vitamin E, or synthetically manufactured, such as butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT).

Advantages of Dry Food for Pets and Owners

The dry food format offers several benefits for both pet owners and their animals:

Convenience: Dry pet food is easy to store, measure, and feed, making it a convenient option for busy pet owners.
Dental Health: The hard texture of kibble can help reduce plaque buildup and promote oral health in pets.
Economic and Nutritional Value: Dry food is typically more cost-effective and provides balanced nutrition, ensuring pets receive essential nutrients.

Quality Control and Safety in Dry Food Production

The extrusion process not only shapes the kibble but also plays a crucial role in ensuring food safety by effectively sterilizing the product. By subjecting ingredients to high pressure and temperature, extrusion eliminates pathogens and stabilizes the food for extended storage.

Explore Dry Pet Food Formulation Services and Pet Food Processing Expertise with Food Research Lab to discover how we can assist in developing safe, high-quality, and nutritionally balanced dry pet food products tailored to your brand’s needs.