As to the kibble, here is how it all is made regardless of brand.

The kibble is grain that is ground to a powder about like flour. No
chunks. The only difference is in brand is the percent of different
grains in the mix. These are blown into a collector silo or vat again
by the percent of the mix. That mix is all mixed over and over to blend
the materials. Then a small amount of water is added to make a very
dense paste. That paste is forced thru a small pipe to a solid steel
wall that has holes in it the shape of the kibble pieces. As the paste
is forced thru that plate it comes out in a tube like string I n that
shape but there is a knife that slices the kibble off in chunk size.

These cut pieces fall onto a conveyor belt that brings the kibble to an
oven that bakes the moisture out and makes the cut pieces solid. The
heat kills all bacteria and other 'bad' guys in the mix. While still
hot the kibble is then 'dumped' onto a wire mesh belt where animal fat
and parts are sprayed on the now dry and 'thirsty' kibble. The animal
proteins and fats are themselves ground to much they are now like a
dense thick liquid which allows them to be sprayed onto the dry kibble
which soaks this hot liquid into the hot kibble pieces.

The kibble is then brought to a scaling system, usually an Ishida brand
scale that has up to two dozen or so buckets that collect the kibble
and weigh it. When a combination of those buckets meet the target
weight the buckets open at the bottom and the kibble drops into a bag,
the next empty bag indexes in for fill. The filled bag goes thru a
sealing process and code dating and then to a shipping case and on to
the ware house for shipping.

I have over 30 years in food processing/packaging experience and know
all too well the entire processes start to finish. In the middle of
all this is quality control but for animals this is far less strict
than for human consumption. It is my opinion the 8 in 1 company has
an extremely poor quality control system such the product is not
consistent and that is why there is always posts on the FML about
problems with this product line. I have had direct dealings with this
company and for sure I do not buy anything from them or anything they
have had any part in the production of.

So that is how the kibble is made. Every company uses the exact same
processes whether it is small kibble pieces or larger biskets. The very
large dog biskits are pressed to shape by a rotary die just prior to
the oven. Short cake cookies are made the same way like the oreo cookie
or base cake of the girl scout cookies and animal crackers. All done
the same way.

Gordon and Pest R. Doodle
Virginia WinnterEnvelope

[Posted in FML 6924]