A Q&A About Pet Food Innovations
The pet food industry continues to evolve, as science drives nutritional improvements. Pet food processors and manufacturers are increasingly called upon to deliver a wider range of products, with a strong emphasis on pet food safety standards and quality assurance.
We recently gathered for a leadership and product specialist interview at APEC. This Q&A discusses current topics of interest, including pet food innovations that are changing the industry.
Q: What are recent advancements in pet food processing technology?
Keith Wilcox, president of APEC, says, “A lot of the advancements in pet food processing really aren’t recent, it’s just taken a very long time for the bulk of pet food processing companies to embrace and adopt advancements, which are largely based around automation.
APEC’s primary business is centered around providing automated solutions to the pet food industry. We have been helping our pet food customers find and utilize automated equipment solutions since 1992.”
Q: How does APEC’s equipment contribute to pet food safety and quality assurance?
“APEC’s weighing and batching system, sometimes referred to as batch controls, offers a lot of features to assist customers with quality assurance such as trackability and traceability through lot tracking and accurate reporting to show usages. It can store countless accurate formulations and help with things like inventory management,” says Caleb Townsend, vice president of sales.
Q: How is APEC addressing the processing needs for new trends in pet food?
Wade Almy, vice president of engineering, says, “As we adapt our equipment to meet the needs of customers, our main focus is hygienic designs. We make design changes, eliminating voids and crevices. These are places where materials can hang up and, over time, cause bacteria to grow. We are working diligently to identify and eliminate any and all possible places for bacteria to hide and live.”
Q: How do APEC’s batching and blending equipment help pet food manufacturers stay in compliance with Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Regulations?
“FSMA compliance plans are customer-specific and customer-driven,” says Wilcox. “The customer is responsible for identifying their needs through SOP’s, risk assessments and sanitation requirements and then communicating those needs to APEC. We build equipment to the exact specifications set by each pet food manufacturer.”
He added, “APEC also offers our decades of knowledge and experience in assisting customers with this process. We can help generate SOP’s and risk assessments to establish specs. Once we have their specifications, we can provide them with equipment that meets those requirements.”
Keep the Pace with Pet Food Innovations
As pet food innovations change the industry and pet food safety standards continually increase, you need a partner like APEC. We offer knowledgeable technicians, parts inventory and a preventative maintenance program to keep your equipment running and your production high.
Contact APEC and find out more about our automated pet food processing equipment.
