How to Reduce Vitamin Loss During Pet Food Processing

Loss of vitamins during pet food processing

For proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and minerals, processing has relatively little effect on their bioavailability, while most vitamins are unstable and easily oxidized, decomposed, destroyed, or lost, so processing will affect their products. It has a greater impact; and in the process of food storage, the loss of vitamins is related to the sealing of the packaging container, the shelf life, and the ambient temperature.

In the process of extrusion and puffing, the inactivation of vitamins will occur, the loss of fat-soluble vitamin E can reach 70%, and the loss of vitamin K can reach 60%; the vitamin loss of extruded pet food is also relatively large during storage, and the loss of fat-soluble vitamins is greater than that of B group Vitamins, vitamin A and vitamin D3 are lost at about 8% and 4% per month; and B vitamins are lost about 2% to 4% per month.

During the extrusion process, 10%~15% of vitamins and pigments are lost on average. The vitamin retention depends on the raw material formulation, preparation and expansion temperature, moisture, retention time, etc. Usually, excessive addition is used to compensate, and stable form of vitamin C can also be used, to minimize vitamin loss during processing and storage.

How to reduce the loss of vitamins during processing?

1. Change the chemical structure of certain vitamins to make them more stable compounds; such as thiamine mononitrate instead of its free base form, esters of retinol (acetate or palmitate), tocopherol Substitute alcohol and ascorbic acid phosphate in place of ascorbic acid.

2. Vitamins are made into microcapsules as one method. In this way, the vitamin has better stability and can enhance the dispersibility of the vitamin in the mixed diet. Vitamins can be emulsified with gelatin, starch, and glycerin (antioxidants are often used) or sprayed into microcapsules, followed by a coating of starch. The protection of the vitamin during processing can be further enhanced by more manipulation of the microcapsules, eg by heating to harden microcapsules (often referred to as cross-linked microcapsules). Cross-linking may be accomplished by Maillard reactions or other chemical means. Most of the vitamin A used by American pet food manufacturers is cross-linked microcapsules. For many B vitamins, spray drying is used to enhance their stability and form free-flowing powders.

3. The inactivation of almost all vitamins occurs during the extrusion process of pet food, and the loss of vitamins in canned food is directly attributable to temperature and processing and the duration of free metal ions. Loss on drying and coating (adding fat or dipping the surface of the dried puffed product) are also time and temperature dependent.

During storage, moisture content, temperature, pH and active metal ions affect the loss rate of vitamins. Containing less active forms of minerals such as chelates, oxides or carbonates can reduce the loss of many vitamins compared to minerals in sulfate or free form. Iron, copper and zinc are particularly prominent in catalyzing the Fenton reaction and the generation of free radicals. These compounds can scavenge free radicals to reduce vitamin loss. Protecting dietary fat from oxidation is an important factor in reducing the production of free radicals in the diet. The addition of chelating agents such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), phosphoric acid, or synthetic antioxidants such as di-tert-butyl-p-cresol to the fat can reduce the generation of free radicals.