PET Food Processing - June 2020 - 23

weighing the ingredients and testing batches," Davis and
Calderwood said.
For example, D&D Ingredient Distributors tracks all raw
materials, ingredients and products by lot number.
"Each of the ingredients that go into blending products
is tracked and reconciled each day to make sure first-in,
first-out lots are used," Wright said. "Our lot tracking system generates data that we can use to inform both our suppliers as well as our clients and customers."
Pet Food Solutions also tracks its Gold Shield™ refined
chicken fat to make sure performance, food safety and
quality are on par with expectations throughout processing.
"We also use a third-party lab for more complex tests,"
Grantham said. "We trend all lab data to ensure we can
identify any changes in how our process may be running."
The company tests all samples it receives and trends all
its lab data over time to monitor potential variances and
continued compliance.
On the flip side of the business, the company provides
details on experiment design and raw specification data
for the Gold Shield™ refined chicken fat it supplies to pet
food manufacturers.

Challenges and solutions

Despite these measures, ingredient validation comes
with some challenges. For example, the wide array of
testing methods used to verify ingredients can lead to
unanticipated discrepancies.
"While all labs endeavor to do their very best, some testing methods can be subjective," Grantham said. "At times,
there are also different methods used to test the same thing.
These issues can lead to different results and confusion."
Conducting regular testing and keeping records for
comparison, as well as conducting in-house testing, if possible, to compare any third-party results, can alleviate this.
The other main challenge is measured by a factor of
trust and reliability between suppliers and manufacturers.
Wright explains that manufacturers are, to some point, relying on a supplier to present accurate information about
its ingredients.
Maintaining strong, transparent, supplier relationships backed by consistent data and information sharing
is key for a processor.

"As scrutiny increases on
pet food ingredients, the
industry can win by showing
awareness and response."
Craig Grantham, Pet Food Solutions
training sessions can also be helpful for processors and suppliers looking to fine-tune their ingredient validation procedures, as suggested by Grantham.
"As scrutiny increases on pet food ingredients, the industry can win by showing awareness and response,"
Grantham said. "Finding real solutions that make our ingredients safer, healthier, tastier, cleaner and more efficient
will create better brand value and benefits for both consumers and pets. Using technology - rather than chemicals - to achieve these benefits will be one way for companies to win, and we stand ready to support our partners in
this pursuit."
One thing is for certain: although there are several
avenues and best practices at the global and federal level
and from company-to-company, manufacturers and suppliers must take it upon themselves to validate the safety of
each pet food ingredient.
"Pet food processors should continue to evaluate and
audit their sources of ingredients periodically," Wright
concluded. "Never assume 'business as usual' because
unexpected variations and disruptions in supply chains
do occur and can affect downstream ingredient and
product characteristics."
PFP

Raw ingredient
shipments are often
tracked in a continuous
database to measure
compliance and
performance
specifications are
met from batch to
batch and throughout
processing.
D&D Ingredient Distributors

Playing it safe

Looking forward in the world of ingredient validation,
Molenaar indicated ingredient testing will continue to be a
focal point.
"If you look at human food or pharmaceuticals, that's a
big step of course, but it's common practice to test every
thing that comes in," Molenaar said, suggesting testing
methods and requirements will only continue to grow.
Attending industry events, educational conferences and

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PET Food Processing - June 2020

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