PET Food Processing - December 2019 - 24

FOOD SAFETY

kibble. Testing for
mycotoxins, secondary metabolites produced
by fungus on
inbound grains,
is also a standard practice.

Applying
technology

When inspection
systems detect nonconforming product,
preventive control
procedures should
be in place to identify the cause.
Mettler Toledo

While methodology to capture
the attributes can
vary, rapid methods
such as near infrared (NIR) technology offers results
in real time. NIR technology continues to advance testing and analysis within the pet food industry, allowing quicker results with a higher level of accuracy for
moisture, protein, fat and other proximates in ingredients and finished pet food, as well as rancidity in fats
and water activity. Unity Scientific manufactures NIR
instruments used by pet food companies to ensure quality and consistency. The company recently released
a conformity evaluation with UCal 4 that allows pet
food manufacturers to simultaneously get a nutritional
profile and a product conformity analysis to ensure
proper identification of the ingredient and to potentially
detect adulterations.
"At-line NIR analyzers are more accurate, precise and
easier to use than ever," Schumann says. "We can train a
plant employee to analyze a pet food sample and perform
basic instrument diagnostics in 15 minutes. This provides the plant with reliable, operator-independent data
at-line on the production floor with only a 30-second
analysis time."
Stefan Tordenmalm, market manager of processed

foods at PerkinElmer Inc., Hagersten, Sweden, says
one of the major challenges pet food processors face is
finding methods that are both accurate enough to be
useful and easy enough for non-technical staff to carry
out as one of their regular tasks. The company works
with several leading pet food companies to ensure a
consistent quality end-product. "For the nutritional
testing, the most modern NIR instruments tackle that
challenge as they are designed to be used more or
less by anyone while providing fully accurate results,"
Tordenmalm explains.
While new technologies help reduce the level of expertise needed in the plant, it remains up to the individual organization to determine what is the bare minimum when establishing quality controls. These controls
can include, but are not limited to, nutritional ingredient
verification testing, proximates testing, Salmonella testing for dry products, Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes testing for wet products, environmental monitoring for both pathogens as needed, palatability testing
and hormone testing for suspect products. Plants that
employ environmental swabbing may also have a quickcheck system where they do petri film for EB bacteria
or possibly Salmonella sponges, but those typically go to
an outside lab, according to Billie Johnson, Ph.D., BLJ
Consulting, Emporia, Kansas.
"Further verification for COA [Certificate of
Analysis] guarantees occur as a result of FSMA [Food
Safety Modernization Act] protocols for validation and
Left: When processing thousands of pounds per hour, frequent
testing and timely availability of that data can support food safety
decisions at the production level.
Sosland Publishing

Right: The space to process tests, the environment and the communication of the results can all contribute to the effectiveness of
a testing program.
Sosland Publishing

24

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PET Food Processing - December 2019

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