Pet Food Processing Equipment
Find innovative production technology for making pet food and connect directly with world-leading specialists.
Which pet food technology do you need?
Machine for packing canned pet food
Most packaging applications require different types of packaging machines, some need wra…
Continuous sterilizer for pet food
Sterilization is a critical operation in the manufacturing of wet pet foods. An important…
Autoclave for canned food
Sealing and cooking products in cans, pouches or other containers is a very popular method of prese…
Energy saving cabinet dryer for food
Traditional drying systems use a lot of energy and take a long time to dry the product,…
Pelleting press for feed and petfood
The production of agricultural feed and pet food products requires machines and plants …
Can leak tester
Every canned pet food producer knows that their product should avoid the growth of microorganisms that could sp…
High speed can seamer
Tin plate thickness for cans has gradually reduced over the years, which makes it a hassle to use new ca…
Semi-manual can sealer
When starting out in the canned product business, you do not necessary want to invest in industrial sca…
Linear machine for wraparound label
Wraparound labels allow you to offer detailed information using a small space or fit ext…
Macro ingredient dosing system
Traditional dosing systems do not have a very long operational life and are hard and expensive…
Exchangeable silo dosing system
Rarely used bulk ingredients, like grains, agricultural feed or silage, can get spoilt if the…
Continuous dryer machine
Traditional drying methods in the pet food, aquafeed, and extruded food industry can be the most ener…
Recirculating batch dryer
Drying can be the most energy and time-consuming process in the food industry. This can have an eff…
Industrial heat pump dryer
The drying of extruded products is highly energy-demanding in traditional belt dryers that use gas…
HFFS Machine for Large or Heavy Pouches
Traditional pouch-forming machines can struggle to maintain the position of the pack…
Manual bagger with net weigher
If you are looking for a weigher that is manually controlled for bagging, here it is. It has q…
Bag-in-Bag machine
If you are looking for a compact packing machine that packs multiple smaller packs in one master bag; this …
Bagger with servo driven jaw actuation
If you want to accommodate multiple bag designs and dimensions with fast speed and ac…
Complete pellet line
Large industries are shifting towards more environment-friendly technology, such as recycling wastes and …
Industrial pellet mill
At the industrial level, the application areas of pellets range widely in fields such as feeds, biomass…
Medium scale round can seamer
Automatic seaming of cans of craft bear can be quite the hassle with the movement from the cent…
Case packer machine for pouches
Automated case packer machines are a good solution to achieve reliability and to increase the…
Industrial drying cabinet
The production of high-quality biltong and similar dried meat products can pose problems with maint…
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Cabinet dryer for cannabis
If you need careful drying for products like pharmaceutical-grade cannabis buds then traditional s…
Extruder with annular gap expander
Products can be extruded with various shapes and characteristics by controlling the nozzl…
Laboratory extruder
Products can be extruded with a variety of shapes and characteristics by controlling the nozzle geometry a…
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Machine for packing canned pet food
Most packaging applications require different types of packaging machines, some need wra…
Continuous sterilizer for pet food
Sterilization is a critical operation in the manufacturing of wet pet foods. An important…
Autoclave for canned food
Sealing and cooking products in cans, pouches or other containers is a very popular method of prese…
Energy saving cabinet dryer for food
Traditional drying systems use a lot of energy and take a long time to dry the product,…
Pelleting press for feed and petfood
The production of agricultural feed and pet food products requires machines and plants …
Can leak tester
Every canned pet food producer knows that their product should avoid the growth of microorganisms that could sp…
High speed can seamer
Tin plate thickness for cans has gradually reduced over the years, which makes it a hassle to use new ca…
Semi-manual can sealer
When starting out in the canned product business, you do not necessary want to invest in industrial sca…
Linear machine for wraparound label
Wraparound labels allow you to offer detailed information using a small space or fit ext…
Macro ingredient dosing system
Traditional dosing systems do not have a very long operational life and are hard and expensive…
Exchangeable silo dosing system
Rarely used bulk ingredients, like grains, agricultural feed or silage, can get spoilt if the…
Continuous dryer machine
Traditional drying methods in the pet food, aquafeed, and extruded food industry can be the most ener…
Recirculating batch dryer
Drying can be the most energy and time-consuming process in the food industry. This can have an eff…
Industrial heat pump dryer
The drying of extruded products is highly energy-demanding in traditional belt dryers that use gas…
HFFS Machine for Large or Heavy Pouches
Traditional pouch-forming machines can struggle to maintain the position of the pack…
Manual bagger with net weigher
If you are looking for a weigher that is manually controlled for bagging, here it is. It has q…
Bag-in-Bag machine
If you are looking for a compact packing machine that packs multiple smaller packs in one master bag; this …
Bagger with servo driven jaw actuation
If you want to accommodate multiple bag designs and dimensions with fast speed and ac…
Complete pellet line
Large industries are shifting towards more environment-friendly technology, such as recycling wastes and …
Industrial pellet mill
At the industrial level, the application areas of pellets range widely in fields such as feeds, biomass…
Medium scale round can seamer
Automatic seaming of cans of craft bear can be quite the hassle with the movement from the cent…
Case packer machine for pouches
Automated case packer machines are a good solution to achieve reliability and to increase the…
Industrial drying cabinet
The production of high-quality biltong and similar dried meat products can pose problems with maint…
Cabinet dryer for cannabis
If you need careful drying for products like pharmaceutical-grade cannabis buds then traditional s…
Extruder with annular gap expander
Products can be extruded with various shapes and characteristics by controlling the nozzl…
Laboratory extruder
Products can be extruded with a variety of shapes and characteristics by controlling the nozzle geometry a…
Stories about pet food
Tackle the challenge of pet food formulation
The trend of pet food premiumization has led to rising competition among pet food manufacturers to develop new formula to meet the demand for high-end pet food. Premium and niche products that help to improve dental hygiene and health issues are growing fast thanks to ecommerce development. To take factors such as protein, vegetables, pet aging and obesity into consideration, pet food producers are challenged by various changing pet food formulations. In the meanwhile, nutritional guidelines and veterinary controls require specific nutritional values and bacteriological characteristics of the feed materials for pet food. …
Read more
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Contact usWhat are you making?
Pet food usually comes in the form of pellets and kibbles that are extruded or baked from dry compound feed. Dry pet foods contain grains and cereals, meat meal and fat, vegetables and proteins and functional ingredients. Wet pet food has similar dry ingredients to dry pet food, but is usually produced in the form of single-serve tin cans or pouches filled with high moisture level. Meat pieces and gravy or jelly are commonly seen in wet pet food mixed with vitamins and minerals.
Pet food making process
Following the increasing demand for nutrition and regulatory compliance, pet food formulation needs to take factors such as fat tissue content, protein quality, the moisture level of raw materials into consideration. Pet foods oftentimes are made from dry ingredients such as feed grain and soybean meal, byproducts of meat and seafood, and liquid ingredients such as water and meat broth. Also, coatings and coloring and flavoring agents are needed in pet food formulas to appeal to different pet groups.
The broad range of available ingredients for pet food production requires precise weighing and dosing in the handling of raw materials. Another crucial step in processing pet food ingredients is grinding and mixing, ensuring the required particle size and consistency of the mixture. Before going into extrusion, the grinded and mixed ingredients need to be (pre-) conditioned. The addition of moisture and fat with pre-heating conditions makes sure that the mixture to be extruded reach the desired nutritional quality, bulk density and consistency. Finally, extruded and pelleted pet foods proceed to the coating and cooling section of the entire production before packaging.
For canned pet food, the production process centers around the handling of meat and flesh products from defrosting and rendering to grinding, cooking and mixing with other ingredients such as vitamins, minerals and preservatives. After packaging and sealing in cans (and labeled), wet pet food needs to go through a crucial step, sterilization.
Extruded or baked pet food?
For producing dry pet foods, there are two main cooking methods: extrusion (the most common) and baking. Nowadays about 95% of pet foods is made by extrusion.
In the extrusion process, a mixture of wet and dry ingredients called dough enters the expander which cooks the doughy mixture at high pressure and high temperature. Then, the dough is forced through the dies that create ribbons of the desired shapes that are cut with a rotary cutter afterwards. Instead, when baked, the dough is cut by rotary moulders into the desired shapes and sizes. Then, the final moulded products are placed into the oven and baked.
Weighing and dosing of pet food
Dosing and weighing process – from the intake of raw material to the distribution of finished product – is the key factor to ensure the balanced mixture of ingredients based on what animal needs.
To provide zero contamination and avoid human error, for example KSE supplies fully automatic dosing and weighing systems, thus eliminating hand dosing. Plus, for a quick and a zero-contamination dosing , KSE supplies a new type of technology called “dosingtainers”, which reduces the number of dosing steps. If bulk ingredients stay for too long in a silo, they can get spoilt. Therefore, using these dosing containers instead of traditional silos saves time because ingredients can also be dosed inside them.
Packaging and sterilization of pet food
The basic difference between wet and dry pet food is the water content, which affects the shelf life of the product – 3-5 years for wet pet food and 10-12 months for dry pet food. The most common forms of dry pet food include kibbles, biscuits and snacks, which after processing are transferred to bags, boxes or pouches to pack the right amount of weight.
Instead, ingredients in wet pet food are measured and mixed together and put into cans, trays or pouches. The selected container is sealed and cooked at certain temperatures. To guarantee the microbiological safety of the food, sterilization is a critical part of wet pet food manufacturing process. Sterilization takes place in a retort where steam is pumped under high pressure.