CONTENTS Volume 1 Issue 1 March 2018 11 22 71 The "Real" Customer Overthink Everything More Than Stainless Steel As more pet food and pet treat products mirror pet owners' belief systems, where do pet preferences fit in? This strategy has helped Fresno, California-based Plato Pet Treats achieve double-digit growth annually since 2006, and consumers are begging for more. True sanitary design for processing equipment encompasses much more than the material used to construct it. TRENDS 11 The "Real" Consumer OPERATIONS / EQUIPMENT 22 Plant Feature Profile 61 Extruders 71 Sanitary Design 83 Packaging & MORE 08 Off The Leash 91 Events 92 Sit Stay Read 94 Advertisers' Index FOOD SAFETY 37 FSMA Inspections FORMULATION 41 Flavor Frenzy 55 Protecting Bioavailability INNOVATIONS 88 Products and Services If we couldn't innovate in this area, we were better off not producing this line. Aaron Merrell, Plato Pet Treats Cover: Plato Pet Treats' Aaron Merrell faces the challenge of producing a mostly meat-based dog treat. Photo by Peter Barreras www.petfoodprocessing.net | March 2018 | PET FOOD PROCESSING 7https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/petfoodprocessing/ https://www.facebook.com/PetFoodProcessing/ https://twitter.com/petfoodprocess http://www.petfoodprocessing.net