PET FOOD CROSSOVER
REGULATORY CONSIDERATIONS
FOR BAKERIES ENTERING THE
Pet treat MARKET
T
he premium baked pet treat category has attracted increasing interest in recent years, with bakery manufacturers exploring opportunities within the pet food sector as pet owners seek products that reflect trends seen in human food.
For bakeries, this can present an exciting opportunity to diversify
using existing expertise in baking processes and product innovation. The technical overlap is significant – familiar ingredients and established processes – and this can make pet treats appear to be a natural extension of existing operations. However, Donna Holland, Head of Technical & Regulatory Affairs at UK Pet Food, warned that, while there are clear similarities between bakery manufacture and pet treat production, businesses entering the sector do need to understand that pet food is regulated under a separate legal framework and requires specific knowledge of pet nutrition, ingredient safety and feed legislation. “In the UK, for example, pet food falls under feed legislation rather than food law. Any business manufacturing or handling pet food products must be appropriately registered or approved as a feed business operator in accordance with feed hygiene requirements,” she says. Depending on the ingredients used, businesses may also need to
comply with animal by-product (ABP) legislation, which is regulated by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). These rules govern the sourcing, storage, handling and traceability of ingredients of animal origin and may require additional approvals for facilities handling ABP materials. Donna highlighted ingredient suitability as being another important
consideration. “Ingredients commonly used in bakery manufacture are not automatically suitable for pet food use, and so manufacturers must ensure that feed materials and additives are permitted and appropriately sourced,” she says. “Equally, some ingredients acceptable in human foods may be unsuitable or unsafe for pets. A strong understanding of species- specific nutritional requirements and toxicological risks is therefore essential during product development. Businesses entering the sector
There are some important regulatory considerations that need to be understood by any bakery manufacturers exploring pet treat crossover opportunities. Suzanne Callander reports.
30 • KENNEDY’S CONFECTION • JUNE/JULY 2026
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