Lately there are many people who come to GLU GLU PET and ask us for natural food for their dog or cat, and my question is, what do we call NATURAL? We all understand that natural food is food without any processing and free of preservatives and dyes, well, in this post we will see above, what is and how the food of your dog or cat is made and we will be alert so that no one deceives us with that word that is so fashionable, "NATURAL".
Our friends' feeds are made with the extrusion system. The extrusion system is a method by which the ingredients have been subjected to a thermal process to mix and homogenize all the ingredients. With mechanical forces they will shape the croquettes that we know. The heat treatment will ensure the sterility of the food, with which diseases such as salmonellosis are excluded.
How is extruded food made?
The ingredients are processed in a mill where a uniform texture is achieved. Next, it is weighed and a different formula is made for each type of presentation (puppy, adult and senior). It is mixed and passed to the extruder machine where moisture (water and steam) is added. Due to compression and friction forces, the temperature is progressively increased, which means that the raw material is not damaged. The moisture is then evaporated with a hot air dryer at more than 140°C for 25 minutes. As a result we have a spongy material that, when cooled and solidified, will keep the croquette shape that will be given in the output moulds. The process ends up adding oils, minerals and vitamins that have been lost by cooking at high temperatures (up to 140ºC).
From what we have just seen, the issue of temperature is fundamental. There are companies that have extrusion systems with lower temperature systems to preserve nutrients. At GLU GLU PET we also have pies that are made with fresh meat that is injected at a certain time to keep the product more whole.
From all this, what we can deduce is that all feed for its good conservation use the same method, extrusion. A method which rids the product of pathogens thanks to its sterilization, from what we have to see, is not that the container puts a natural product, but that the ratio of ingredients is correct. A high percentage of meat as the first ingredient would be a good feed.
At GLU GLU PET we will be happy to guide you according to the type of dog or cat that I think you need.
