Pet Food Technology Symposium: Focus on Ingredients

October 17, 2008

Come to The Food Processing Center for an exciting day of exchanging ideas, making connections, and discovering original approaches to companion animal food formulation! Join other R&D and Product Development professionals and pet food manufacturers for the informative, dynamic program that will inspire and challenge you:

Dr. Jens Walter Assistant Professor, Department of Food Science and Technology
Functional Ingredients for Improved Intestinal Health of Companion Animals
The gastrointestinal tract of all animals is colonized by a vast number of microbes (mostly bacteria) referred to as the gastrointestinal microbiota. These outnumber the cells of the host's entire body by at least 10 times. It is not surprising that the huge numbers of microbes residing within the gastrointestinal tract and their combined metabolism have a profound effect on the health of the host. Gut bacteria confer many beneficial attributes to the host, such as the protection against incoming microbial pathogens, enhancement of immune functions, resistance towards infections, and the provision of nutrients. However, the gut microbiota is also likely to be associated with disease such as the colon cancer and chronic inflammations. Controlling ecological imbalances in the gastrointestinal tract by dietary interventions offers exiting opportunities to ameliorate and prevent disease. Functional ingredients to improve gut health, such as probiotics and prebiotics, and resistant starch show are starting to become included into food for companion animals. This talk will provide an overview of the microbial ecology of the gastrointestinal tract, available dietary interventions to modulate gut microbiota functionality, the challenges associated with these strategies, and an outlook on promising future developments.

Dr. Michael Zeece Professor, Department of Food Science and Technology
Food Protein Functionality and Application in Pet Foods
Constituent proteins of commodities such as wheat, soy, milk, and meat have properties that enable them to perform essential roles in pet foods. This talk will review the proteins that contribute most to the functional attributes of binding, gelation and emulsification in processed pet foods.  In addition, molecular-based descriptions of how proteins enable specific functionalities will be provided. This presentation aims to give the participant a better understanding of how proteins provide functional quality and a more rational basis for ingredient selection.

Dr. Jill Morstad Owner and President of Prairie Skies, Inc., Communications Consultant
The Rhetoric of Pet Food(s)
Our dogs' lives are so shaped by the decisions we make for them that there are very few dog owners who don't struggle under the weight of that responsibility. The awareness of this strikes some as they sit at the dinner table, the begging dog beside them. In the human mind, food is loaded with meaning and the giving (or withholding) of food are profoundly emotional acts. If we give, we are loving and generous and nurturing; if we don't, we are being cold and mean, and the dog will think we don't love her. Pet owners wage battles like these all the time. The dog doesn't need fancy food, or varied food, or human food, or health food and he certainly doesn't care if his food comes in pretty little shapes and colors. Or does he? How pet owners perceive their responsibility for feeding their animals has changed and reflects the new emotional niches that today's urban dwellers are asking their pets to occupy. For most pet owners, the era of the yard dog and the barn cat is by-gone and the internet is here to stay. It's easier than ever to check in, and check up on, what's in the pet food: tell the truth about what we're feeding, or face the legal, social and emotional consequences. This presentation will examine the way we speak of pet food, the intimacy of the act of feeding pets, and our complicated feelings about which food to feed them.

Brian Plattner Wenger Manufacturing
Raw Materials and their Impact on the Extrusion of Pet Foods
High temperature, short time extrusion cooking has been utilized to process pet foods for many years. Extruded products have been engineered to provide optimum nutritional balance and functional properties while maintaining processing costs which are lower than many other thermal processes known today. The unique features of extrusion cooking (high shear and elevated pressures and temperatures) present an interesting challenge in the assessment of nutrient retention. Ingredient selection has a tremendous impact on final product texture, uniformity, extrudability, nutritional quality, economic viability, and the ability of the product to accept high levels of liquid coatings when desired. Raw material utilization and cost-effective formulation are key operational factors. Raw material quality standards will continue increasing because of the demand by consumers for higher quality final products. The ability to alter processing conditions and raw material formulations to keep formulation costs at a minimum, while maintaining high quality standards and minimum operating costs, is a challenge for every processor.

Dr. Lynn Diffenbaugh Industry Expert