NexGen Innovations, LLC, a food safety technology company, in April released “Exceed Customer Expectations with Pet Food Peace of Mind,” a white paper that highlights the latest research about how a direct fed microbial (DFM) can help pet food manufacturers exceed safety expectations of wholesale and retail customers.

The summaries featured in the white paper show the results of nearly 20 years of research that resulted in a biological solution that helps reduce the risk of Salmonella in pet food formulations.

“Surveys of pet owners tell us over and over that the safety of their pets’ food is a top concern when it comes to their pets’ overall health,” Jeff Wilkerson, NexGen business development manager, says. “This team of Texas Tech researchers have devoted years of research to create a tool that helps manufacturers meet this need, resulting in  an all-natural, DFM probiotic formula that reduces the growth and spread of Salmonella, Escherichia coli 0157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Clostridium perfringens.

“For this introductory white paper, we focused on research that demonstrates a reduction of Salmonella in chicken fat, an energy source often used as a coating for pet food kibble. We also included results showing reduced Salmonella on dog kibble, the durability of the DFM and the palatability to dogs of food that includes the DFM.”

Key findings noted in the white paper include:

• The research team screened more than 200 strains of lactic-acid bacteria for potential beneficial probiotic characteristics.
• When inoculated with the DFM, samples of dog kibble coated with chicken fat inoculated with a 3-strain Salmonella cocktail showed a 2-log reduction in Salmonella within 24 hours and no detectible Salmonella at 72 hours.
• Dry dog kibble inoculated with the DFM showed no loss in viability after 60 days in typical warehouse conditions.
• Dog food inoculated with the DFM is equally palatable to dogs as is non-treated dog food.

“Probicon L28 is the DFM formula that resulted from this research,” Wilkerson says. “It is truly an innovative tool that can help pet food manufacturers deliver food that exceeds expectations at each level of manufacturing processes and retail purchases.”

A copy of the white paper can be obtained now by emailing Wilkerson at jwilkerson@nexgenprobiotics.com or by downloading it from nexgenprobiotics.com after May 6. More information is also available at nexgen.probiotics.com.