How is meat-based pet food made?

Meat-based pet food is a processed food for animals, commonly used for feeding dogs and cats. It is made from animal products and by-products, along with other ingredients such as cereals, fats, and additives. Here is the general process of how meat-based pet food is made:

Ingredients:

Proteins: Animal products (meats), animal by-products, meat or fish meals, plant-based protein products, vegetable by-products.

Fats and oils: Animal fats and vegetable oils.

Carbohydrates: Cereals, cereal by-products, tubers.

Fiber: Vegetable fibers, vegetable by-products.

Vitamins and minerals: Vitamins A, D, E, K, and B-complex (B1, B2, B3, B6, B12). Calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, zinc, iron, copper, manganese, selenium, etc.

Additives, preservatives, and flavorings: Preservatives, flavorings, colorings, and antioxidants.

To increase palatability, there is a product on the market called "digest," which is a hydrolyzed product, a liquid or powdered mixture obtained from animal by-products (such as offal and bones from birds, fish, or mammals) through a process of hydrolysis, a type of chemical decomposition. The digest is used to coat the kibbles; if you recall the strong smell of some pet foods when opened, it likely contained digest.

How is meat-based pet food prepared?

A team of veterinary nutritionists must create a recipe that meets the client's requests. Ingredient selection depends on the market range, from high-end products that use some human-grade ingredients to lower-end products that opt for cheaper, less healthy ingredients, often labeled as by-products.

Once the raw materials are selected, the ingredients are crushed and ground. This facilitates processing and mixing animal products with cereals, fibers, minerals, and additives.

Cooking

The ingredients, especially the crushed meat by-products, undergo high-temperature cooking. This process serves several purposes:

Sterilization: It eliminates bacteria and other pathogens, ensuring the food is safe for animals.

Dehydration: It reduces the moisture content, which improves shelf life and preserves the product.

Extrusion

In this process, the mixed ingredients are cooked under high pressure and temperature to form small kibbles or pellets. During extrusion, the ingredients pass through a mold, shaping them, and the heat makes the ingredients more digestible for pets. This process also gelatinizes the starches, improving the food's digestibility, texture, and palatability.

Drying and Cooling

After extrusion, the kibbles are dried to remove any residual moisture, a key step to prevent mold or bacteria growth during storage. Once dried, the pellets are cooled, which allows for easy handling and packaging.

Addition of Fats and Flavorings

After drying, the pet food is coated with fats, oils, and digest to enhance flavor and caloric content. These oils also help coat the kibble with flavorings, making it more appealing to pets. At this stage, vitamins and minerals are also added to compensate for losses during cooking, or deficiencies in the recipe for lower-quality pet foods.

Packaging

Finally, the meat-based pet food is packaged in bags or containers of different sizes. They are sealed to preserve freshness and prevent spoilage over time.

Quality Controls

Throughout the manufacturing process, pet food producers must perform quality checks to ensure that the final product meets animal food safety standards. These checks may include microbiological analyses, digestibility tests, and nutritional composition reviews.

Additional Considerations

Additives: Meat-based pet foods often contain preservatives to extend shelf life, as well as antioxidants to prevent fat oxidation. In some cases, excessive use of additives or low-quality additives can cause health issues in pets.

Regulations: In most countries, pet food production is regulated to ensure that the ingredients used are safe for animals, and that no materials that could endanger their health are used.

Health Risks for Dogs and Cats

Contamination with toxic substances

Aflatoxins: Toxins produced by molds that may be present in cereals and by-products used in low-quality pet foods. These toxins can cause serious health issues in animals, including liver damage and, in some cases, death.

Melamine: In 2007, a serious incident affected pet food in various countries. Melamine, a chemical fraudulently added to boost protein levels, caused kidney failure in thousands of pets.

Heavy Metals: Contaminations with heavy metals like lead, mercury, or arsenic have also been detected in some batches of pet food, which led to product recalls.

Bacterial contamination

Salmonella: A frequent issue, salmonella can affect both pets and humans handling contaminated food. In animals, symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, and fever.

Listeria: Another bacteria found in poorly processed pet food, causing severe infections in pets and posing a risk to humans handling the product.

Nutritional problems

Nutrient imbalance: One of the most common issues is nutrient imbalance in some pet foods. This can be due to the inclusion of low-quality ingredients or errors in formulation. For example, there have been reports of foods deficient in taurine, an essential amino acid, leading to an increase in cases of dilated cardiomyopathy in dogs.

Excess or deficiency of vitamins and minerals: Some pet foods contain insufficient or excessive amounts of essential vitamins and minerals. In one case in New Zealand, a batch of cat food contained inadequate levels of thiamine (vitamin B1), which resulted in severe deficiencies that affected the neurological health of the animals.

Presence of undeclared ingredients

Use of undeclared proteins: In some cases, manufacturers have used undeclared animal proteins, which has caused controversy. For instance, some pet foods labeled as "chicken" have been found to contain traces of other meats, such as pork or beef, affecting consumers who expect transparency, especially those whose pets have food allergies.

Horse meat: A food scandal in Europe, initially linked to human consumption, revealed that some products labeled as beef contained horse meat. Although the issue primarily affected human food, it was also discovered that some pet foods contained undeclared horse meat, raising concerns among consumers.

Low-quality resources and animal by-products

Excessive use of animal by-products: While animal by-products can be a valid source of nutrients, some manufacturers use low-quality by-products (such as feathers, hooves, or beaks) that have little nutritional value. This affects the overall quality of the pet food, making it less nutritious for animals.

Low-quality meat meals: The meat meals used in some pet foods may come from low-value sources, reducing the overall quality of the food. In some cases, these meals include remains of animals that died or were euthanized due to illness, raising concerns about the safety and cleanliness of the final product.

Mislabeling or deceptive advertising

Some manufacturers have been criticized for misleading labeling practices, such as claiming a product is "premium" or "natural" when it actually contains low-quality ingredients or large amounts of additives. These practices have led to consumer complaints and lawsuits.

Voluntary or forced recalls

When safety or quality issues are detected in a batch of pet food, manufacturers often conduct voluntary recalls or are forced to do so by regulatory authorities. These recalls can be costly for the industry and lead to consumer distrust. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for example, has carried out numerous recalls due to contamination or formulation issues.