A company from the United States has introduced a new fast, portable, and convenient way for pet food manufacturers to perform onsite analysis of their products. The device was originally designed for farm feed producers in 2013, but it is now being used to test the ingredients and finished products from pet food companies for consistency and quality.
Two years ago Thermo Scientific, a company that makes laboratory testing equipment and software, introduced the microPHAZIR Ag Feed Analyzer. The company, based out of Waltham, Massachusetts, harnessed the power of near-infrared (NIR) technology and put it into the palm of the hand of pet food producers around the world.
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This device allows inspectors to validate the quality of the materials throughout the entire process; from bulk material deliveries to the inspection of the finished product. This ensures consistent and predictable quality in the pet foods that are produced.
Having this predictability means lower operational costs, happier customers and pets, and better nutrition for the animals that are served this food. Key food components including protein, fiber, oil, fat, and moisture content are able to be monitored with this one handheld device.
The microPHAZIR AG analyzer comes pre-loaded with information from a complete NIR data set. This data contains more than 25,000 samples.
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This eliminates the need for companies to invest lots of time and money into developing and managing their own sets of data and calibrations. Using this device could save some of the larger pet food companies millions of dollars every year.
The use of this device will allow pet food manufacturers to extend their testing protocols, conduct tests more frequently, perform more accurate tests, and create an accurate analysis of a wide range of ingredients and finished products in a short amount of time.
With the hype around the safety of pet food, which has been growing rapidly lately, this device would allow consumers to rest a little easier. If products began being labeled that they were monitored with the microPHAZIR AG analyzer technology, buyers may be more likely to trust that brand of pet food.
The device can not only be used at the manufacturing plants, but also at offsite quality testing facilities as part of remote supplier evaluations. The device could even be brought to customer sites and distribution centers to trouble shoot any issues that may arise.
