Trends that are here to stay

Branded ingredients

While not always necessary for a quality formula, there are some major advantages. Many branded ingredients are backed by efficacy trials, with testing processes and safety already verified before product use. Some even have superior delivery systems, such as Phytosome® technology, for enhanced bioavailability.

Another ‘trend’ with staying power is advancements in formulation processes. These direct results of advancements in machine technology tend to stick around for a bit longer. 

Hot extrusion

The processing portion of the industry is ever more aware of safety and cross contamination concerns. When it comes to manufacturing, the most common extrusion type remains hot extrusion, a process with a reputation for degrading ingredients. It is important to note that the extrusion industry has stepped up to meet the demands created by industry growth. Machine manufacturers have designed extruders with high durability and flexibility, and even with pathogenic bacteria detectors. 

Cold extrusion

That being said, cold extrusion has now become trending. In cold extrusion machines, the process happens at an ambient temperature. The drying process of the product also utilizes external ambient temperature. This technique is more likely to maintain and protect the integrity of both the active and inactive ingredients in a chew. 

Extrusion process

The process works as follows: ingredients must have the same physical characteristics (particularly particle size). Once uniform, they can be compared to fine ground flour. They are then blended and come to resting time. The resting time is one of the most important parts of the extrusion process, since it allows all the ingredients to have the physical interactions with other ingredients – a lot like getting to know each other.

After the resting time, the ingredients will go through the extruder. The idea behind the extrusion process is that the mixture gets pushed with its own weight and pressure through a mechanical barrel going through screws which help knead the mixture, making it more evenly distributed and mixed, thus becoming an extrudate or dough. Each extruder has a very specific configuration to a product, a configuration that consists of a specific arrangement of plates, which line up accordingly to help move towards the next step (cutting). Within the set of spacers lives the die, which gives the desired form and gets the dough ready to cut. 

Though extrusion as a process is simple, fully understanding it takes some time. What is simple to understand is that advancements in the process, such as cold extrusion machines, are less about trendy concepts and more about industry-defining technologies. 

These technologies will continue to impact the way we produce pet supplements and food for decades to come.