Production: Page 171

Buhler releases results of 2010 customer satisfaction survey

Buhler Inc. has announced the results of its annual customer satisfaction survey, with the categories of understanding customers, consulting competence, providing valid solutions and project management receiving the highest rankings. Overall, for 2010 Buhler received a customer service index rating of 8.11 on a 10-point scale, where "10" represents "extremely satisfied." The national average is 7.80, the company says.

Fides Petfood doubles product storage capacity in expansion

Fides Petfood, a Blegian petfood producer, has nearly doubled its raw material and meal storage capacity in its latest expansion, which includes 11 silos with a combined volume of 1,360 cubic meters. This installation is the largest expansion for the company since 2006, when it put in a new production and storage facility with a capacity of 1,765 cubic meters.

Pet Food Processing

Research behind the innovations: Polymer science and extrusion

Polymer science, the study of the glass and melt transitions of polymers, has been developed and used by the synthetic polymer industry for many years. In recent years the principles of polymer science have been applied to the petfood extrusion process to better understand and predict processing effects.

The particle size and pre-grinding of raw materials is especially critical if the final product is a delicate shape. The samples on the left were ground through a 0.8 mm hammermill screen, the ones on the right through a 1.5 mm hammermill screen.

Pet Food Processing

Production update: What's new in dry food processing

The US Food and Drug Administration has told our industry that it is the manufacturers' responsibility to produce Salmonella-free food. “Food safety was at the forefront of product design,” Galen Rokey, process technology manager of Wenger said about the company's latest upgraded extrusion equipment. “There are a number of trends, which are currently impacting the petfood industry, that affected the design process behind each of these new innovations.

Advances in extrusion, drying and cooling technology promise to streamline the production of your dry food and treat recipes while saving you money, energy and time.

Pet Food Recalls

Killing Salmonella in petfood

Petfood processors have become increasingly aware of the need to control Salmonella during production due to the risk of associated pet and human illness. Processors know how problematic this pathogen can be but may not fully understand the scientific dynamics surrounding effective elimination and potential for recontamination during processing based on heat resistance and persistence in low-moisture products such as petfood.

Ideally, validation of targeted process control points can be simulated in a laboratory setting so appropriate Salmonella strains could be used for the evaluation.

Pet Food Product Database

Imperial Systems Inc. BRF Reverse-Air dust collector

Impex Barneveld BV

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