The growth of the natural pet food category continues to climb and is becoming a larger portion of the pet food market. The rules regarding natural claims in pet food differ somewhat from that of human foods, but the idea is much the same. For pet, it really boils down to selecting natural preservatives, and there have been few options to discuss when it comes to natural mold inhibitors. Recent adaptation of old technology with organic acids in various “cultures” may provide a path forward to avoid mold production and thus produce longer term shelf-stable foods.
The cultures are produced by microorganisms, preferably those generally recognized as safe (GRAS), that are grown or fermented on a substrate like whey from cheese production, corn syrup from the corn sweeteners market, cane molasses from the sugar industry, wheat flour products from the milling industry or other similar substrates. The microorganisms are provided a warm aqueous environment that is fully fortified with all the needed growth factors and are encouraged to reproduce and grow rapidly while over-expressing the molecule of interest. This occurs until the substrate is nearly depleted, the environment becomes limiting (typically pH) or the active molecule is at peak levels.
