PET Food Processing - December 2018 - 51

FORMULATION

CLEAN
BY ANY NAME
No formal definition exists for clean label pet food, but consumers still demand it.
By Jennifer Semple | jsemple@sosland.com

A

Although Petco's recent list of banned artificial colors,
flavors and preservatives provides some definition to
what is considered clean label pet food, consumers look
for other ingredients outside of this list to be included as
well as excluded from the pet foods they buy. Processors
and ingredient suppliers must collaborate to find ingredients that meet both efficacy requirements and the consumers' standards when formulating clean label kibble.
The perception of what qualifies as clean label is
driven by the consumer. "For some, clean label is an allnatural product with no artificial preservatives, for others
it may be considered as a limited ingredient diet or an
'ingredient I can pronounce,' and still other pet owners prefer to see specific ingredients excluded from the
product," says Eric Altom, Ph.D., technical nutritionist,
Balchem Animal Nutrition and Health, New Hampton,
New York. "Many complete and balanced pet foods currently in the market reflect the different perceptions of
what pet owners believe is a clean label product, which
continues to be ever-changing and evolving."
Formulation concepts that could be considered by pet
owners as clean label in the pet food industry include allnatural preservatives, non-grain carbohydrate sources,
non-GMO ingredients, natural colors and flavors, limited
ingredient diets, no by-product protein sources, organic,
vegetarian, vegan and locally sourced or made in the

US. Label-reading, health-conscious pet food consumers
are pushing the industry for more of these options. "We
have received requests for alternatives to Food, Drugs &
Cosmetics (FD&C) colors for more than a decade, but
in recent years, there's an additional push," says Katie
Rountree, CFS, applications scientist, DDW, The Color
House, Louisville, Kentucky. "Many brands want to be
perceived as even more label friendly, with the latest requests searching for alternatives to colors once considered
natural, such as iron oxide and copper chlorophyllin."

Sethness says many
pet food companies
have been switching
to non-GMO verified
caramel color as pet
food consumers study
labels more closely.
Sethness Products Company

Where to start?
Clean label concepts can be confusing and difficult for
pet food product developers to define. To organize a reformulation project, it's important to start with a clearly
documented product design. "The team needs to document the desired species (dog or cat), life-stage, life-style
(level of activity), acceptable ingredients, specific ingredients to exclude, expected vitamin and mineral sources,
type of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates to include and
the preferred preservative platforms," Altom suggests.
"The more criteria the team can document on the front
end of the project, the greater the chance of meeting the
end goals of the project for both the nutritional needs of
the target pets and preferences of the pet owners."
As the product development team selects ingredients

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