In the process of producing modern pet foods, we often use additives that take advantage of our knowledge and experience in food chemistry. This includes such things as natural and artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives. Another class of food chemicals are polyols (sugar alcohols). These special carbohydrates have a variety of functions that range from being moderately sweet, providing bulk, modifying texture and binding moisture to help manage water activity, to controlling the extent of Maillard (browning) reaction in foods, for starters. They are also non-cariogenic and have a lower caloric value than sucrose.
Some are not new to pet food, such as glycerol (Petfood Industry magazine, January 2012) and propylene glycol (Petfood Industry magazine, June 2014), which are the predominant humectants used in semi-moist products. In addition to these, a dozen or more unique polyols exist but are seldom discussed for pet food applications. Are we overlooking some important technical solutions?
