PET Food Processing - December 2018 - 54

FORMULATION

they will never achieve the bright colors of FD&C
dyes and will be more earth toned."
For certain artificial ingredients that fail to meet pet
owners' criteria for clean label, processors may struggle
to part with what these ingredients offer. "Synthetic
antioxidants like BHT, BHA, ethoxyquin; mold-control
agents like sorbate, propionate and citrate; and humectants like propylene glycol - these may be some of the
most difficult to replace with a clean label solution because they are both effective and inexpensive," Ames
says. "In pet foods, natural antioxidants like plant extracts can delay oxidation and the formation of off flavors
during shelf life. But there is still room for innovation
in this area. Although natural alternatives are effective,
they have not yet been able to match synthetic ingredients for maximum shelf life."
Reformulating a pet food to meet predetermined
clean label criteria can take from six months to two
years to complete the full product development cycle for
a commercially viable product, Altom says. Qualifying
new ingredients, establishing long-term viable material
supply chains, and quality assurance validation of final

product design are critical steps that can increase the
project timeline.
Clean label diets can add complexity to the production
process. "If a product is designed to exclude specific
ingredients, the production schedule must accommodate this facet and ensure the total production system is
free from the excluded ingredients," Altom adds.
Natural colors could potentially cause stability challenges that might require adjustments on the development and customer experience sides. "For example,
using turmeric for a yellow color would work best for
a product in an opaque bag in order to maintain light
stability," Rountree says. "Also, be prepared for the cost
increase associated with using natural color in the formulation. The recommended use rates for natural colors
are usually higher in order to give the desired vibrancy.
Being able to formulate some flexibility either into the
wet or dry ingredient portions in the pet food recipe can
make all the difference."

Challenge accepted
The demand for ingredients that meet pet owners'
discriminating preferences has provided industry
suppliers the opportunity to innovate, and many have
met the challenge.
DDW created a line of cooked fruit and vegetable
juice concentrates called NaturBrown that provides
a range of light to dark brown natural alternatives to
caramel color and FD&C brown blends. DDW also
offers one of the darkest caramel color Class I's in the
market and is working on natural color blends that
are dark enough to substitute for black iron oxide.
Rountree says DDW is continually looking for innovations that can help drive cost and use rates down as low
as possible for all color sources.
To meet the demand for label-friendly alternatives
to FD&C dyes, Sethness developed non-GMO verified and certified-organic caramel colors that work
well with other natural ingredients commonly found in
clean label pet diets.
Corbion is using natural fermentation processes to
create clean label ingredients that can replace acetates,
sorbates and propionates. This technology is helping
pet food processors replace traditional antimicrobials,
sugar and salt with natural ferments that delay microbial spoilage by helping to control water activity. These
ferments can be labeled as vinegar, cultured sugar or
natural flavor, which are much more acceptable to
label-conscious pet owners. Corbion strives to find
Ingredient suppliers are challenged to provide natural
alternatives that match the effectiveness of the synthetic
ingredients being replaced.
Corbion

PET Food Processing - December 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PET Food Processing - December 2018