PET Food Processing - June 2018 - 28

PLANT PROFILE

about the ingredient panel of their dog biscuits, and we
want to offer that in an extruded meat treat. We're seeing
ingredient panels get cleaner and cleaner, and we want
to follow that trend. One of our test stick products on
the extruder has just eight ingredients, which is great for
an extruded treat."

Cold extrusion

"We want to take extruded
products and clean up the
label, just like we've always
done with treats."
Lexie Berglund

Pedigree Ovens and The Pound Bakery produces grainfree, organic, GMO-free, wheat-, corn- and soy-free
products. In 2015 the company partnered with Ken and
Preston Munsch to purchase PetDine and AquaDine,
which is today the company behind their cold extrusion
products. With Ken and Preston's experience in feed and
functional nutrition, the company has been able to grow
exponentially in the functional treat market.
"If you're going to feel good about giving your pet
some kind of treat, it might as well have some benefit to
them as well, even if it's a general health benefit," Stricker
says. "You see a lot of hip and joint, skin and coat, or
calming products out there now that are defined for
one function or another. The trend is to make the treat
something good for the dog or for a problem it has."
Pet treats and pet foods that are commonly referred
to as functional foods, supplements and superfoods are
produced in the company's new cold extrusion room
that contains two Bonnet 4-in. line extruders that can
each produce 800 lbs. per hour. Preston Munsch, the
driving force behind the growth of this functional line,
has allowed the company to offer formulation as a service as well. The company produces a lot of functional
products with added supplements. Usually it's through a
blend of superfoods and functional ingredients. "It's cold
extruded, so it doesn't affect any of the products because
of the heating tolerance," Stricker says. "All the ingredients are pre-cooked and put into a paddle blender."
The cold extruded products go from start to finished,
packaged product all in one room. "There is no kill step
in that process, so we send that product out for testing
before we ship it to customers," says Dave Freymiller,
SQF practitioner and head of quality for the company.
"We have a separate space in the warehouse designated
for product from the cold extrusion room while we wait
for the third-party tests to come back." Functional ingredients such as probiotics, prebiotics and glucosamine
and superfood ingredients such as blueberries, salmon,
flax seed, kale and nettle leaves are commonly included
in the company's cold extruded formulas and marketed
Top: Pedigree Ovens and The Pound Bakery co-manufactures pet
treats and pet food and also produces house brands.
Bottom: Kurt Stricker, president of Pedigree Ovens and The
Pound Bakery, is in the business of helping other companies grow.

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PET Food Processing - June 2018

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