Centrifugation applied to quality control in pet food

Pet nutrition directly influences animal welfare, health, and quality of life. For this reason, the pet food industry operates under increasingly demanding quality control protocols aimed at ensuring safe, stable products manufactured with raw materials suitable for animal consumption.

Among the animal-derived ingredients commonly used in pet food manufacturing, chicken oil plays a prominent role alongside rendered tallow. Its use is widespread due to its nutritional profile and the availability of raw material from the meat industry.

However, the quality of these fats depends on parameters that must remain under analytical control. The presence of moisture and impurities can negatively affect product stability, promote oxidation processes, and reduce the shelf life of the final product. In general, these values should remain below 1%, while in Premium Pet Food formulations the usual limits do not exceed 0.5%.

Centrifugation and sample preparation in analytical quality control

The determination of moisture and volatile matter according to ISO 662, as well as the analysis of insoluble impurities following ISO 663, requires homogeneous and properly prepared samples. In this context, prior clarification by centrifugation is commonly included in internal quality control procedures.

Centrifugation makes it possible to remove solid residues of animal origin without altering the composition of the fat that will later be analyzed according to standardized methods. This pre-treatment improves result reproducibility and facilitates routine laboratory work.

The use of centrifuges with temperature control also provides an additional advantage in these applications. Integrated heating promotes oil liquefaction and improves phase separation, reducing preparation times and increasing sample homogeneity..

OEM development adapted to specific applications

The Digicen 22 C centrifuge has been developed for applications requiring thermal control during the centrifugation process, such as the treatment of animal fats and oils intended for pet food applications.

Its integrated heating system facilitates the handling of highly viscous samples and optimizes the separation of solid particles present in the oil.

The quality of fats used in pet food directly influences the stability and safety of the final product. Controlling parameters such as moisture and impurities helps ensure that the chicken oil used in pet food formulations complies with the analytical requirements established by the industry.

In this context, proper sample preparation by centrifugation facilitates reproducible results and improves laboratory workflow efficiency. Equipment such as the Digicen 22 C demonstrates how tailor-made centrifugation solutions can be developed for specific applications, incorporating features such as thermal control for processing highly viscous fatty samples.