Yeast as a co-product from brewing and distilling has been utilized in pet food for decades. They include brewers dried yeast, yeast culture, yeast extracts and yeast cell walls. They are recognized as sources for B vitamins, flavor enhancement, immune support and gut health due to the cell walls, which are rich in beta glucans and mannan sugars. Aside from these features, yeast can also be a rich source of protein.
Given the world’s population continues to rise, production of food for humans and animals will become more constrained by environmental resources, and the need for high-quality protein sources in pet food will necessitate that we begin to explore alternatives. Specifically, these alternatives should have a small environmental footprint, be sustainable, provide sufficient nutrition to the dog/cat to meet their needs, be well accepted by the animal (aroma and flavor) and their human owner (aroma and cost), and be competitive with the economics of current ingredients. Yeast may be able to address these needs.
