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]