APEC Blog

Welcome to the APEC Blog! Your resource for finding insights and equipment solutions for process automation, ingredient handling, weighing and batching, and more. Whether you’re an animal or pet food manufacturer, working in the food production industry, or another manufacturing industry, we cover a wide range of topics to help improve efficiencies, maintain quality, and solve your production challenges.

With a variety of different blog types, we have the resources to support manufacturers looking to streamline operations, reduce downtime, and stay ahead of industry trends. Check out our latest articles below.

Solving Application Problems in Wet Pet Food Palatants

Palatants give pet food the taste and aroma that cats and dogs naturally crave in their food. However, applying palatants presents a number of challenges to pet food processors. Pet food palatants can be dry or wet, and each has unique advantages and disadvantages. In…
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Optimizing Pet Food Production with Palatants

The ultimate goal in pet food production is to give companion animals the nutrition they need to stay healthy and live long, happy lives. However, even the healthiest, highest-quality pet food won’t be effective if pets don’t want to eat it. This is where palatants…
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Common Recall Risks in Pet Food Processing: Part II

In our previous post, we discussed a number of recall risks in pet food processing, including bacteria, chemicals and heavy metals. In this post, we'll discuss additional recall risks affecting the pet food processing industry. This includes two of the most common and most dangerous…
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Common Recall Risks in Pet Food Processing: Part I

Even when recall procedures are well-practiced and well-known throughout the company, a recall is still a turbulent time. Sometimes recalls take place due to improper sanitation procedures or a lack of testing, and other times it may simple result from an unfortunate accident. Food for…
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Process Improvements for Pet Food Production

Increasing efficiency in your pet food production systems is a must. Increasing efficiency can mean many things. It might mean decreasing waste, lowering costs, improving speed, or increasing production. There are many ways to go about this. These improvements can also be difficult to compare…
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4 Key Sanitation and Safety Regulations in Pet Food Processing

Clean, safe food and a clean, safe work environment are important in processing food for human consumption as well as animal consumption. Many of the rules and guidelines for maintaining sanitation and preventing workplace hazards are the same between both of these environments. Taking precautions…
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Spray Equipment and Coatings: Problems and Solutions

Spray equipment and coatings present a number of challenges to food and pet food manufacturers. Spray coating systems, as well as the coating liquids, can be difficult to work with. Workplace hazards, equipment maintenance problems, expenses, down time and other problems may arise. In this…
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How to Choose Liquid System Pumps

Pumps are one of the most valuable and integral parts of a liquid system. Whether you are working with liquid systems in food processing, pharmaceutical products, chemicals, or something else, it’s important to get the right pump. Choosing the right pump for your liquid system…
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Engineering Liquid Systems by Liquid Ingredient Characteristics

The right liquid system can make food processing and production easy and efficient, while the wrong one can cause downtime, expensive maintenance and frustration. The optimal design of a liquid system is highly dependent on the characteristics of the liquid. Liquid systems that are designed…
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6 Hidden Expenses Eliminated Through Automation

The ROI calculation for automated systems too often comes down to direct labor costs versus the cost of automation equipment. However, there are many aspects to consider. The value and cost-savings realized through automation goes beyond direct labor. If you are thinking about adding or…
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