PET Food Processing - October 2021 - 62

ACADEMIC PARTNERS
NORTH CAROLINA
STATE UNIVERSITY
The Feed Mill Education Unit provides
animal nutrition education.
W
Working across multiple
species, the university
provides training and
research relevant to
animal food industries.
North Carolina State University
While much of the animal food research at North
Carolina State University focuses on livestock and poultry,
the feed mill participates in ingredient approval trials
for livestock and poultry that can be used as a stepping-stone
for pet food ingredient approval processes.
The university's animal food programs have expanded
in recent years and now include both a food safety and
an extrusion and value-added specialist so the programs
can grow to serve the pet food market in the future. The
feed mill was designed for precision manufacturing and
has the capability to collect data throughout the manufacturing
process.
The university also has the capacity to test new food
appropriateness on campus with companion animals
and uses various contract facilities for longer-term feed
growth trials.
In the university's quality assurance laboratory, researchers
have the capability to test ingredients and
products for moisture, protein content, mycotoxin contamination,
pellet durability and particle size.
Its extrusion lab recently obtained a Differential
Scanning Calorimeter and Rapid Visco Analyzer to analyze
the starch content of raw ingredients and the finished
products. The facility has various sampling points
throughout its processes to measure product stability,
mixer uniformity after mixing, pelleting and cooling.
North Carolina State has nutrition graduate students
who research the pet microbiome, breed differences in
feeding behavior, and ingredient appropriateness.
The university offers a Preventive Controls for Animal
Food training course for the industry on demand. Its
Animal Food Safety Program has worked with several
pet food and treat processors to help establish animal
food safety systems and regulatory compliance.
The feed milling program offers some animal food
manufacturing courses that give students the opportunity
to earn an undergraduate minor or graduate
certificate in feed milling. Students can take courses in
comparative nutrition, animal nutrition or companion
animal management to supplement a degree or program
in feed milling. The extrusion course teaches pet food
processing and gives students an understanding of the
process. A certificate in nutrition in the animal science
program complements several degrees, and the university
offers companion animal undergraduate and graduate
courses as well.
North Carolina State Feed Milling Extension works
with processors to provide training and programming
relevant to the animal food industries, and the extrusion
program meets the needs of the aquaculture industry.
" North Carolina State's animal food research and
education is unique because of our ability to work with
multiple species and stakeholders from diverse segments
of the industry, " said Marissa Cohen, area specialized
agent for animal food safety. " We're especially proud of
our ability to adapt to and address the needs of both our
students and the industry as things evolve in terms of
feeding practices, facility operations, and delivery of instruction
and training. "
PFP
62 PET FOOD PROCESSING | October 2021 | www.petfoodprocessing.net
http://www.petfoodprocessing.net
PET Food Processing - October 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PET Food Processing - October 2021
