INGREDIENTS Pet Food
INGREDIENTS Pet Food Safety and Freshness Concerns: Origins and Consequences by Cristina Murcia García, Ph.D., Elena Fraccaroli, DVM, Bartosz Lebida Msc Eng Photos: sarahb-fotos.de 1. Pet food industry quality expectations and risks in matter of safety Today, pet owners have at their disposal a wide range of high-quality pet food products to provide their pets with nutrient-rich foods appropriate to their lifestyle, pet's activity, and their purchasing preferences. ⅰ Increasingly advanced knowledge of pet nutrition and pet food technology means that more and more ingredients are being incorporated into pet food formulations, and therefore increasingly pet food ingredients ⅱ are being protected at each stage of the production process. Food safety in the pet food industry refers to ensuring that, the feed does not cause harm to the pets and possibly to the consumer, such as kids being able to grab it in the bowls when prepared and/or consumed as intended. Food safety is a multi-faceted and multi-stage activity, starting with the origin of the animal by-products at the slaughtering and rendering processes, through the transport of ingredients used in petfood production, including the production process itself including product formulation, and ending with the delivery of the product to the customer and post-delivery activities. Actions are needed to protect against the risks of contamination and fraud at every stage of the food production process, as each of these elements may have an impact on food safety. The mission and responsibility of pet food companies and their owners is to provide safe and balanced food. This mission, along with their vision, are often included in the company's strategy and marketing activities to convince the Client that, the safety of their family members is a priority in their operation. Food safety in the pet food industry is now a shared responsibility of all actors involved in the production of the product, including the pet owner. Existing legislation on animal byproducts, ⅲ additives authorized in animal feed, presence of undesirable substances in feed, labelling rules combined with appropriate preventive actions consisting in the application of good hygiene and production practices (GHP, GMP), risk analysis of critical control points (HACCP) and other standards contribute to the achievement of safe food standards. Such a broad perspective allows for proper management and monitoring of the entire production process, as well as continuous control of the ingredients used in the feed recipe, including essential nutrients, such as minerals, vitamins, flavors, and stabilizers. Each of the ingredients has a strictly defined specification, not only in terms of nutritional value, but also for the parameters responsible for freshness and organoleptic characteristics. When analyzing what pet food safety is and how to achieve it, the primary focus should be on the slaughterhouse raw material (RM) as one of the primary food ingredients. It is the quality of the RM that further translates into the properties of the food in terms of safety, palatability, nutritional value, and shelf life. Proper handling of a given type of RM in the initial phase at the slaughterhouse or processing plant stage, translates further into processes related to oxidation (formation of toxic compounds), freshness (the level of free fatty acids), appearance of meat structure (biogenic amines, odor of toxic gases), microbiology (formation of bacteria, moulds, yeasts), and aspects related to oxidation because of further RM processing. It is precisely the determination of the place of formation of factors that determine a given RM activity, such as enzymatic reactions (temperature, pH, time, presence of metal ions, water activity, light), as well as the method of their monitoring and prevention, that determines an effective approach in the field of food safety. Bacteria growth generates more enzymatic activity and increases the amount of free fatty acids and the initiates formation of biogenic amines. The safety of pet food, irrespective of the production technology used (dry, wet, or fresh products) ⅳ , is a priority that must be observed in relation to the regulations in force in this area. Today, the available portfolio of antioxidants and preservatives, such as anti-bacterial, antisalmonella, anti-moulding agents, allows the use of high-quality, safe solutions which are appropriate to the product (dry, wet, fresh food ingredients) and the customer's preferences. In most countries pet food is regulated at every stage, from the ingredients used, through the production process, to marketing and sales. However, pet food safety presents significant challenges compared to traditional food safety issues, as hazards have the potential to directly affect the pet and indirectly affect the humans around it. Pet food can serve as a carrier for infectious disease agents, as well as naturally occurring and inadvertently added undesirable 8 Technology & Marketing
INGREDIENTS substances. The update of the legislation on food production requirements introduces additional protection in this aspect, especially in these times when attempts are being made to introduce alternative sources of protein (insects). 2. Main freshness loss consequences: Biogenic Amines and Free fatty Acids As we have explained above, the loss of freshness and bacterial growth leads to the formation of free fatty acids and biogenic amines. These are the main consequences that affect food safety and have an impact into the freshness of raw materials and finished products. Here below you can see a description of both parameters: formation, chemical background and characteristics and current regulatory information available. Biogenic Amines The main consequence of freshness decay in protein rich raw materials, such as meat and meat products, is the formation of biogenic amines. They are formed as by-products of microbial spoilage due to decarboxylation of free amino acids catalysed by the corresponding Figure 1: Decarboxylation of the amino acid histidine to form the biogenic amine histamine decarboxylase enzyme. ⅴ Each amino acid will lead to the formation of a different biogenic amine upon microbiological spoilage. The main biogenic amines on which the pet food industry is focusing are histamine, cadaverine, tyramine and putrescine, and they come from the degradation of the amino acid histidine, lysine, and arginine, respectively, see Table 1. The most well-known health impact of biogenic amines is histamine poisoning, which occurs a few minutes to several hours following the ingestion of foods, like fish, with a high content of histamine. Unfortunately, in the European Union there are still no maximum limits established for the concentration of biogenic amines in pet food. For the moment there is only legislation for histamine related to fish ingredients but only for humans. ⅵ ⅶ Table 1:Amino acid precursor and its corresponding biogenic amine. Parent Amino Acid Precursor Histamine Lysine Arginine Tyrosine Biogenic Amine Histamine Cadaverine Putrescine/Agmatine Tyramine Issue 4 2022 9
