Supplying DDGS to the Pet Food Industry
Expectations and Requirements.
Dale A. Hill, Ph.D., P.A.S.
ADM Alliance Nutrition, Inc.
Quincy, IL
Paper presented to Distillers Grain Council
Indianapolis, IN
May12-13, 2010
North American pet food sales continue to grow at a steady pace, and has been
estimated to be at $17.8 billion in sales for 2009. This does not include collars, leashes,
kennels and associated equipment.
Food safety is the biggest concern in the pet food industry today. The U.S. Food and
Drug Administration is applying food standards to pet food manufacturing since pet
foods typically end up in the consumer’s kitchen where food is being prepared, and is
frequently handled by children and elderly adults - that segment of the population that
are most susceptible to immune challenges.
Currently, dried distillers grains suffer from a negative consumer perception. Distillers
grains are co-products from ethanol production and is mistakenly seen as an industrial
waste product with no nutritive value. Some consumers see the word CORN and
associate this with food allergies, but yet they will continue to consume corn
themselves. Other consumers reject this ingredient because they are not familiar with
its origin, but they do not see it on food labels - therefore it should not be in pet foods.
The pet food industry works on fixed formulas, and cannot tolerate the color and nutrient
variation commonly found among the various processing plants. This restricts the use
of distillers grains by large national pet food manufacturers who have multiple locations
making the same finished product. Consumers will not accept variation in color, texture,
appearance and palatability in pet foods that they purchase. The high fiber is the
biggest challenge for increased use by pet food formulators, and will likely limit the use
of distillers grains to 10-15% of the finished formulas. Digestibility studies in swine have
indicated good utilization of nutrients, and the data should extrapolate well to pets.
The best way to increase the use of distillers grains in pet food is to establish its safe
use in human foods. There has been some university research in the past that
indicates that distillers grains can be utilized in human foods, but more research needs
to be done. For distillers grains to be used in foods, it must meet food GMPs
throughout processing, packaging and distribution and be certified as meeting these
requirements, and not all processing plants have been designed to meet these
requirements. When consumers see distillers grains on food labels, they will more
readily accept its use in pet foods.