Responsible manufacturers ensure they are following good pet food manufacturing practices to ensure the safety and quality of their pet food products. They will have defined processes and standards in place to ensure this.
These are likely to include:
Only using permitted ingredients from registered suppliers.
Supplier approval process in place.
Routine inspections of ingredients to ensure they meet specifications.
Precise formulations and measuring of ingredients to ensure recipes are accurate.
Carefully controlled temperatures and times to ensure microbiological safety.
Quality checks on nutritional profile, colour, texture, digestibility, and palatability.
Verification of nutritional adequacy by analysis of finished products using the FEDIAF Nutritional Guidelines.
Routine microbiological testing routine for both finished products and manufacturing facilities.
Appropriate techniques, e.g., metal detectors and x-ray machines, to locate foreign bodies throughout manufacturing.
Regular checking of packaging integrity.
Batch records of finished products and their destinations to ensure traceability.
Audited by external regulatory bodies and participation in voluntary accreditation schemes.
