food & treats
How to choose a high-quality kibble
So, how can you tell whether the dog food you’ re buying has been made to high safety and quality standards? According to Marco, it pays to do a little homework.
Start by looking for evidence that the food is manufactured in a facility with a recognised food-safety certification.“ Montego, for example, is FSSC 22000 certified, which is one of the world’ s most rigorous internationally benchmarked food-safety standards,” he says.
In South Africa, pet food is also regulated under the Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act( Act 36 of 1947), which governs product registration and labelling.
The label itself can also tell you a great deal. Look for a statement confirming that the food is“ complete and balanced” for your dog’ s life stage, a clear, guaranteed analysis of key nutrients, and a transparent ingredients list.“ A reputable brand should also be open about where and how its food is made,” says Marco.“ Transparency is an important indicator of quality.”
The rise of grain-free and“ natural” diets
Raw, freeze-dried, gently cooked and fresh-frozen pet foods have surged in popularity in recent years. It’ s easy to see why – they promise less processing, recognisable ingredients and a diet that more closely resembles what dogs’ wild ancestors may have eaten. According to Marco, these trends are influencing pet food manufacturing around the world.
“ Internationally, they’ ve driven the use of alternative carbohydrate sources such as potatoes, sweet potatoes and legumes, which behave differently during extrusion and require recipes and processing methods to be re-engineered.”
While South Africa has been slower to embrace these trends, Marco says demand for more natural pet foods is steadily growing.
“ We’ re seeing a move towards cleaner labels, more clearly identified animal protein sources, and natural preservatives such as mixed tocopherols( vitamin E) instead of artificial alternatives.”
However, he cautions against assuming that grain-free automatically means healthier.“ Grains are an excellent source of nutrients for most pets. Whatever the recipe, the real priority should always be overall nutritional balance, ingredient quality, and whether the food meets your dog’ s individual needs.”
The future of kibble
Marco believes the future of kibble lies in greater personalisation and sustainability.“ We’ re already seeing the growth of personalised nutrition with formulas tailored to a dog’ s breed, age, size, activity level and specific health needs.”
The industry is also exploring alternative protein sources as it looks for more sustainable ways to feed a growing pet population. However, Marco points out that
not every innovation lives up to the hype.
“ Insect protein, for example, was widely promoted as the next big thing, but it has lost considerable momentum globally as both the economics as well as consumer acceptance have proved more challenging than many expected.”
Advances in manufacturing technology are also expected to improve how kibble is made. Greater automation and precision will help deliver even more consistent quality, while innovations in packaging are likely to make pet food more recyclable and resource-efficient.
“ Kibble has endured because it’ s safe, convenient, nutritionally complete and affordable,” concludes Marco.“ We believe it will remain a cornerstone of pet nutrition, continually refined through better science, smarter technology and more sustainable manufacturing.” www. petpals. co. za 49