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FEATURE MACHINE BUILDING, FRAMEWORKS & SAFETY


sponsored by paws for thought


The growing demand for pet food that is safe, nutritious and ‘good enough for human consumption’ means tighter regulations and better-quality production machinery are essential, as Fortress Technology explains


D


uring the Covid-19 lockdown of 2020 there was, according to the European Pet Food Federation, a 2.8% growth in animal


ownership – resulting in 88 million households in Europe owning a pet. This meant pet food sales increased to 8.5 million tonnes, with 21.2 billion pet food related products and services supplied. However, times have changed, and pet owners


are becoming more discerning about the types of foods they feed their pets. The sale of natural versions of pet slurries, kibble and raw diets has boomed in the last two years and, due to increasing environmental and animal welfare concerns, owners are favouring premium food. Jodie Curry, commercial manager at Fortress


Europe, explained: “Industry trends prove that pet owners are demanding more from manufacturers when it comes to pet food meeting similar standards to human food, ensuring that it is safe, nutritious and follows rigorous processes with quality machinery.”


hEaLthY pEt fooDs


Today’s owners want their animal’s diets to mirror their own, which is dictating the way pet food is processed. So, not only does this food need to be good enough for human consumption, but the market itself is being affected by human trends such as cleaner labelling, veganism, alternative protein and healthier options. In fact, during 2020, Europe held the largest share of the global vegan pet food market, and it is expected to grow to over 15 million US dollars by 2028. Pets are also living longer, which is influencing


the need for foods that are age or illness specific. It is now possible to buy premium food tailored to a pet’s breed, age, weight and even taste preferences, or purchase subscription boxes that contain premium pet kit meals – a global market estimated to reach USD 5.20 billion by 2028. To meet these


growing demands,


foods ready-made for a variety of breeds need to be customisable and pre-packaged in the right proportions. As a result, it has become more necessary for processing lines to meet filling regulations and eliminate contaminants efficiently. Here, x-ray systems are used to check pre-made pouches for fill levels, product voids, and also ensure applications are properly sealed. Curry explained: “Effective inline inspection


is of the utmost importance in ready-to-go packaging. A system like our new Raptor X-Ray is ideal for inspecting pet foods in metal foil sachets and can look for a range of hazardous contaminants, including bone and glass. The ability to accommodate a range of different flexible packaging formats that prolong shelf life is one of the critical advantages of x-ray.”


DEsIgNINg suItaBLE MaChINErY


Superfoods – including blueberries, cranberries, sweet potatoes, peas, spinach and even chia seeds – are also appearing in pet diets. However, this humanised appetite for pet food requires a demand for tighter regulations and better-quality machinery. New technology is beginning to accommodate these trends, with processing lines using machinery that can generate live OOE data for reporting, making detecting contaminants early in all-natural and organic products much more productive. For years, detecting contaminants in pet food


and pet treats has had widespread effects, whilst also impacting cost of production lines. This is because detection and x-ray systems are often implemented at the tail-end of lines to inspect finished and packaged product where it is more expensive to pinpoint foreign body contaminants. “If you catch a metal contaminant in its largest


form at the start of the processing line, for example in a pipeline or gravity system, you are eliminating it at the cheapest part of the process,” Curry explains. “Pushing the inspection solely to the end of the line, any contamination will be caught at the most expensive part of the production process. At this point the entire batch of product will be packed and ready for despatch and could potentially be


contaminated with unidentifiable and hazardous contaminant fragments, prompting a costly and potentially brand-damaging recall.” To combat ineffective production lines, the


industry can use machines with upstream detection to reject quantities of metal and other contaminants before it reaches the meticulous end-of-line systems and is ready to be packaged. Hygienic pump pipelines for wet pet slurries


and pâté-style foods are utilised to prevent contaminations reaching the packaging stage. They are available in metal detection and x-ray formats. Similarly, Fortress gravity metal detectors are a common sight on dry kibble lines, often located between product chutes and hoppers, and integrated with automated packing systems and checkweighers. In addition, highly sensitive bulk metal


detectors and checkweighers can be added at the end of production lines to verify the weight and perform a final quality check on the largest of pet food bags and boxed wet food trays.


Fortress Technology www.fortresstechnology.co.uk


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2 DESIGN SOLUTIONS SEPTEMBER 2022 6


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