KSU pet food course
Eric Maichel, operations manager and extrusion specialist, demonstrates extrusion processing in the Bioprocessing and Industrial Value-Added Program (BIVAP) during the IGP-KSU Pet Food Formulation for Commercial Production course. 
Photos courtesy of IGP-KSU.
 
MANHATTAN, KANSAS, U.S. — Experts in the pet food industry attended the IGP-KSU Pet Food Formulation for Commercial Production course, Jan. 8-12, at the IGP Institute Conference Center at Kansas State University. Attending were 25 participants from the United States, Canada and New Zealand where they gained education and experience in developing and formulating pet food products.

“Creating pet food formulas from concepts, reverse engineering existing pet foods, and troubleshooting pet food production and quality control compliance issues using formulation software were additional learning outcomes of the training,” said Greg Aldrich, research associate professor in the department of Grain Sciences and Industry.

More of the topics covered included understanding ingredients, processes, and software necessary to create products; revising existing formulas; perform business and production analysis; gaining an understanding of the raw ingredients used to produce pet foods, their general composition and processing considerations; fundamental principles of companion animal nutrition and dietary needs; learning the processes involved with producing pet foods, the regulatory constraints regarding claims and requirements, and the transportation and storage factors involved with marketing effective foods for companion animals; and studying the range formulation tools common to the trade.

KSU pet food course
Participants in the IGP-KSU Pet Food Formulation for Commercial Production course place pet treats on a conveyor belt in a baking lab at AIB International in Manhattan, Kansas, U.S.
 
“The information from this course that will help me in my job is knowing the importance of the ingredient characteristics and their contribution to the overall diet that we are trying to produce,” said Dai Dana Tomlinson, research nutritionist at Zinpro Materials in Jeffersonton, Virginia, U.S. “This was an excellent course from the standpoint of the hands-on part, but also getting to the technical details of how that product was formulated.”

Along with presentations and demonstrations led by KSU and AIB International (American Institute of Baking) faculty and staff, participants also gained hands-on experience in the Pet Food Processing Lab, and Bioprocessing and Industrial Value-Added Program (BIVAP) on the KSU campus.

“As the industry grows and improves, the Department of Grain Sciences and Industry at K-State is continually striving toward significant research developments and works hand-in-hand with the goals of the feed and food industry to promote and develop pet food processing.”