Have you ever wondered how dry pet food is made? Pet owners see the finished kibble as they open the packaging for their dogs and cats. However, there is a rigorous process to ensure that the kibbles are highly nutritious and palatable for their pets.
Each dry pet food recipe is different, and each manufacturer will have different practices.
Regulations
According to FEDIAF, the trade body representing the European Pet Food Industry, it is vital that pets receive a safe and nutritionally balanced diet. Pet food is regulated in the same way as human foods and must only use legally permitted ingredients and be sourced from registered suppliers.
Common ingredients in pet food include protein sources such as poultry, beef and fish, as well as vegetables, vitamins and minerals to ensure a nutritionally balanced diet for pets.
How does GA make dry pet food?
We use several processes at GA Pet Food Partners to create the world’s finest pet food.
Freshtrusion™
At GA Pet Food Partners, we have invested significantly in technology to provide pets with a nutrient-rich diet using freshly prepared ingredients. We refer to this as Freshtrusion™ technology.
Collected from the source
The journey of creating our dry pet food starts with our trusted farms and fisheries, where we collect only the finest fresh meats and fish. These ingredients are transported in refrigerated conditions to maintain the freshest quality. They are then brought back to our production centre of excellence in Lancashire, England, to undergo extensive quality testing.
Dry Pet Food Process
The cooking process starts in our state-of-the-art Ingredients Kitchen, where the fresh meats and oils are prepared before the dry ingredients are carefully weighed. Once this is complete, the ingredients are transported in camels (automated guided vehicles) to our production lines. Here we use the latest technology to mix the ingredients ready for extrusion.
Extrusion
After the dry ingredients are ready, we ensure that our Freshly Prepared oils, created in our meat kitchen, are ready for production whilst checking that the freshly prepared meats are ready to be reunited with the oils.
Bringing all ingredients together in the pre-conditioner, steam and water are added, resulting in the starch breakdown before passing through to the extruder barrel.
GA Pet Food Partners is home to a Thermal Twin Extruder, which allows us to create the most advanced dry pet food recipes with high fresh meat content to meet the demands of our partners and end customers. Further, the kibble’s density and size are checked to ensure that only the highest quality pet food is created.
Drying and Coating
Our ultra-advanced technology provides a consistent and uniform drying process to allow gentle handling and excellent control of the kibble.
Precision vacuum coating technology ensures optimum palatability by infusing each kibble’s inner honeycomb structure, achieved by weighing the kibbles and the appropriate oils and digests to be added. If this is incorrect, production is stopped until the accuracy is restored.
The final stage of the process sees further gentle cooling to ensure our partners receive the world’s finest pet food. The kibble is then sent on to be packed into bags.
Making the world’s finest dry pet food requires years of investment, dedication and expertise. We know how important pet food is to our partners, their customers and most importantly, the pets themselves. That’s why we never settle for anything less than the world’s finest pet food.
Matthew Aiken
GA Pet Food Partners Marketing Co-Ordinator
Matthew (Matt) Aiken is GA Pet Food Partners resident Marketing Co-ordinator. Matt is the lead content writer for both Club GA and Knowledge Centre platforms. Matt graduated from Edge Hill University with a degree in Business & Management. Matt loves exercising, running, biking and football. He’s also a proud pet parent to a Persian cat called Bonnie-Blue and a French Bulldog called Harley-Blue.
You may also like...
Article written by Matthew Aiken
The pros and cons of AI in pet retail
You may have heard the letters "AI" or "AI Technology" frequently used in the media. From opening your phone with Face ID to interacting with [...]