Commercial Pet Food – Our Commitment
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT - TECHNICAL POSITION PAPER
Leading with Technical Expertise - White Paper
Leah Lambrakis & Jarrod Kersey, Department of Technical Services
Commercial Pet Food Insights
The intention to create nutritious, safe and high-quality food for our pets can begin in a small- or large-scale manufacturing plant, in a commercial kitchen, or in a home. While extruded kibble and wet food are still the dominant types of foods purchased, we are seeing meaningful growth of alternative pet food options such as freeze-dried, dehydrated, raw, frozen, refrigerated and home prepared. Consumers are becoming more educated and informed; they ask the right questions, stay abreast of new developments, and push for insights and transparency from pet food companies. We understand this thirst for knowledge on how to best feed our pets, as our pets are family!
Our Commitment
With this growth, pet parents clearly have many options to choose from when making purchasing decisions about what to feed their pets. As a leading manufacturer of pet foods for North America and around the world, we do not take this for granted. There is a great deal of responsibility on us as pet food manufacturers to ensure we are focused and committed to our practice – each day, each run, each batch. This is especially critical considering most pet foods are fed as the sole or primary source of nutrition. For us, this means each of the attributes featured below, go into creating that bowl of pet food.
We have invested years of research, onboarded and trained skilled pet food experts, equipped our plants with the best technologies, and ensured we are utilizing top quality and food safety processes and systems. To these points, there are several benefits associated with feeding commercially prepared pet food. Let us expand further on our practices:
Trusted nutrition – our products are thoughtfully and expertly formulated to meet The Association of American Feed Control Officials’ (AAFCO) guidelines for not only complete but balanced nutrition; optimizing nutrients and ingredients to meet your pet’s life-stage needs.
Quality – stringent controls and assurances are in place at every step of the manufacturing process; across incoming ingredients, preparation, processing, specifically filed FDA thermal processes and finished product quality release measurements.
Performance – to validate our formulation approach we conduct 3rd party nutrient analyses, shelf life stability testing, digestibility and palatability trials for optimal product performance across our portfolio.
Operational excellence – we have invested in state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies and equipment, and developed innovative processes with our skilled production and technical expertise
Convenience – our foods are readily available and shelf stable, require minimal preparation, and are easy to feed and store
Variety – we have created multiple formats, textures, flavors and formulation solutions for diet diversity and pet preferences.
Sustainability – we have opportunities to make more earth-conscious and responsible decisions; thus, we have begun our journey in social, environmental, economic and nutritional sustainability initiatives in our efforts to be part of the solution.
There isn’t a specific food type or feeding regime that is most ideal for all pets. Each animal has its own nutritional needs and food requirements depending on age, life-stage, breed, health and activity. Our pets depend on us as their caregivers to make the right decisions for their health, wellness and nutrition. Ideally, we would all endeavor to prepare a balanced meal for our pets in our own kitchens. However, managing our pet’s nutritional needs is not the same as managing our own; requiring time, resources, planning, and knowledge to ensure their bowl is consistent, balanced and nutritionally complete. For this reason, many put the trust in pet food experts to make certain this is appropriately done in commercial manufacturing, with quality and food safety being top of mind.
Thank you, for putting your trust in us at Simmons Pet Food.
Our Commitment – Leading with Technical Expertise – Leah and Jarrod are here to provide guidance and insights – do not hesitate to connect with us at Simmons Pet Food, pfcomments@simfoods.com. We would love to hear from you and be part of your pet’s nutrition solution!