4 Steps to Quality Control in Pet Food Production

Producing pet food at the scale required to be profitable involves a delicate balance between maintaining efficiency and achieving uncompromised safety and quality. Product inspection technology for pet food plays a pivotal role in streamlining production processes by swiftly identifying and resolving issues in real-time. This proactive approach reduces production stoppages and the downtime required for equipment maintenance, as well as the requirements for manual inspections, allowing operations to continue uninterrupted. With the addition of automated physical contaminant detection and inline weight and label control, manufacturers mitigate their risk of costly recalls, empowering them to prosper while upholding their brand integrity in a fiercely competitive market landscape.

Just as with human food, producing safe products is paramount in pet food production. In fact, pet food is required to meet many of the same stringent regulations as the food we eat. Pet food product inspection – which includes metal detection, x-ray inspection, checkweighing and vision inspection – is imperative to protecting pet food product safety and quality. These systems are used to identify harmful foreign body contaminants, maintain accurate fill levels, detect packaging defects, and verify label integrity. They work in tandem to make sure that each batch of pet food meets the same high standards of quality as the last. Additionally, they can address concerns such as broken or crushed pieces in dry pet food or snacks. By conducting thorough quality assurance checks throughout the production process, manufacturers can confidently deliver safe and reliable products to pet owners worldwide, nurturing trust and loyalty in their brands.

Read the Earth Animal case study to see an example of product inspection in action.

ProdX Food Safety and Quality Management Software provides the next level in product safety and savings for pet food manufacturers by extending the data management functionality of your product inspection devices. ProdX is a quality control software for manufacturing that saves food manufacturers time and money by automating the monitoring, reporting, and collating of all product inspection activities in real-time. The safely-stored data can help manufacturers grow their business by facilitating food safety regulatory compliance, taking due diligence to the next level. By analyzing the data, production line improvements can be identified thereby helping to boost productivity and combat rising costs.