Diana Pet Food formed a strategic partnership with Dilumix, a producer of the pet food ingredients, located in Leme, Brazil.
This alliance will leverage complementary resources and expertise to jointly manufacture and market natural sugarcane fibers.
Sugarcane fibers market
Dietary fibers may have benefits in the management of overweight pets, obesity and diabetes which increasingly affect pet populations. Fiber sources from cereal grains, whole grains and fruits are receiving special attention from the pet food industry.
Aside from their nutritional properties, these sustainable fiber sources have positive appeal for pet owners, according to Diana, due to their health benefits in weight and obesity management, intestinal health, hairball control, dental hygiene and glycemic control.
Joining forces to grow with market demand
The product resulting from this combined activity, the fiber 3DTM, will be marketed by the brand Vivae, a Diana Pet Food business, providing innovative and natural nutrition solutions, visibly improving pet health and well-being.
The partnership between Diana Pet Food and Dilumix will improve the technical performance of the product meeting market demand, develop market expertise and increase the worldwide sales network.
The alliance will help globally consistent sourcing and will be supported by a new Dilumix plant, expected by year-end 2018.
Why fiber in dog food increases extrusion energy costs
In an experiment, pet food extrusion energy use increased when insoluble fiber was added to dog food recipes, and this should be considered in the overall product price along with raw materials costs, said Aulus Carciofi, PhD, veterinary science researcher at Sao Paulo State University in Brazil.
“Fiber is a hard material with little plasticity and with water binding properties,” Carciofi told Petfood Industry. “Due to this, it reduced the flowing properties of the material, increasing mass resistance and electric energy consumption.”
In Carciofi’s experiment dog food formulated with wheat bran, sugarcane fiber and guava fiber all increased dough’s resistance to flow, which increased electricity use by a single-screw extruder machine. All three also created denser harder kibbles than control recipes without the insoluble fibers. The results of the experiment were published in Animal Feed Science and Technology.
