BRAIN AG, DIANA Pet Food partner in field of taste science

Biotechnology company BRAIN AG and DIANA Pet Food, a partner for performance solutions in the pet food industry, member of the Symrise Group, have formed a strategic partnership in the field of taste science.
Through this unique strategic collaboration established for 5 years, the partners will work on different programs to study the mechanisms related to taste perception in cats. The joint goal of the first program is to use proliferating cat taste cells (CTC) for screening new ingredients which shall improve the palatability of pet food.
Always striving for innovation, DIANA Pet Food intends to benefit from BRAIN CTC-technology to develop cutting-edge palatability enhancers for cat food. This CTC-technology is deduced from the recently patented and published BRAIN human taste cell (HTC) technology, which is used by BRAIN for screening purposes to improve human food formulations in order to reduce e.g. calorie and salt intake with the diet. Nonetheless, human taste cell lines cannot be used for screening purposes in order to improve pet food palatability, as it is well accepted that human taste and flavor perceptions is far different from that of cats and dogs.
"In the field of pet food, there is high demand for palatability, which depends first and foremost on the pet sensory equipment and individual preferences and on the pet food sensorial properties," says Isabelle Guiller, global R&D director at DIANA Pet Food. "Through the implementation of the program, DIANA Pet Food in partnership with BRAIN, will generate new access routes to palatability performance in order to help pet food manufacturers achieve high quality and tasty pet food products."
Dr. Michael Krohn, Unit Head BioActives and Performance Biologicals at BRAIN AG states: "The combination of the CTC cell lines together with the BioCompActive natural molecule library from our BioArchive as a screening resource will help us to identify compounds which will increase the palatability of cat food. We are proud to use our technology in order to help our strategic partner DIANA Pet Food to improve the formulations of various cat food products."
 The use of BRAIN innovative CTC-technology constitutes an additional way for DIANA Pet Food to support pet food manufacturers’ brands performance. While developing the scientific knowledge on cat taste mechanisms, DIANA Pet Food will be able to offer customers new efficient and targeted solutions bringing added value to pet food by satisfying cats, thus their owners.

AFB International launches Palatants Plus blog

AFB International launched a new blog to help petfood industry professionals stay updated on petfood industry research and developments. 
The blog, Palatants Plus, is designed to share insight into the science of palatability and how it can enhance petfood performance. Current topics include collaborative innovation, palatability testing, electronic nose (e-nose), electronic tongue (e-tongue) and flavor fatigue. New content is added regularly.

Kemin introduces new low-fat petfood palatability enhancers

To overcome palatability and stability challenges associated with low-fat petfood diets, Kemin launched PALFRESH, a portfolio of palatability enhancers with additional antioxidant protection.
Low-fat petfood diets have a unique stability challenge because they include less topical fat, which is where antioxidants are typically added to stabilize the kibble. 
“Low-fat petfood diets have historically been the most difficult diets to stabilize,” says Lynn Deffenbaugh, global product manager for palatants at Kemin. “The one-size-fits-all antioxidant dosage in topical fats works for standard diets, but low-fat diets are under-dosed because the stability program depends on the antioxidant to be carried by the topical fat.”
With less topical fat, kibbles from low-fat diets are unevenly coated—leaving kibbles susceptible to rapid oxidation. In addition, low-fat diets may have reduced pet acceptance, which can be further compromised by stability challenges.
PALFRESH palatability enhancers deliver targeted antioxidant dosage through liquid application, ensuring that petfood kibble is evenly coated and protected from oxidation. PALFRESH also improves shelf-life by utilizing palatants that do not have a pro-oxidant effect.
Deffenbaugh will share additional research on PALFRESH at Petfood Forum in Schaumburg, Illinois, USA, during her presentation entitled, “Stabilization Technology to Deliver and Maintain Palatability throughout Pet Food Shelf Life." The presentation will take place on Wednesday, April 17 at 10:30 a.m., and Kemin representatives will also be available at booth 223.

SPF holds pet food palatability seminar in Shanghai

SPF held a pet food palatability evening seminar in Shanghai, China, October 10 for about 70 pet food professionals attending Pet Fair Asia and Petfood Forum China 2012 that week.
Attendees included representatives of pet food manufacturers from throughout Southeast Asia and coincided with the opening of SPF's new production facility near Shanghai. The attendees learned from SPF's experts about:

• Integration of petfood safety programs in the palatant industry, by Remi Cristoforetti, SPF global operations director
• Cat kibble structure, a driver of palatability, by Aurelie de Ratuld, head of SPF cat research platform, and Gilles Maller, VP of technologies for Clextral
• Ensuring reliable palatability measurement, by Christelle Tobie, Panelis business development manager
See photos of the evening seminar here.

SPF West begins shipping palatability enhancers for petfood

SPF, a developer of palatability enhancers for pet food, officially began commercial operations in its new Guymon, Oklahoma, USA, facility. After several rounds of qualification trials, the company began shipping from Guymon in April.
SPF West, the company's third plant in the USA, will allow it to better serve customers in the west and southwest regions.
“We are excited that our SPF West facility is operating as demand for our products continues to grow,” said Dave Berry, general manager of SPF North America Inc. “Guymon, Oklahoma, was selected for its central location, access to suppliers and the positive support from state and local officials. The plant incorporates best-in-class quality standards to ensure safe and high performing products for our customers.”

SPF opens pet food palatability product manufacturing plant in Canada

SPF, a provider of pet food palatability enhancers, has opened a new manufacturing facility in Saint-Blaise, Quebec, Canada, to extend its production capabilities in North America.
In 2011 the company acquired and upgraded a food processing plant in a location with good proximity to raw material suppliers and pet food manufacturers with easy access to the U.S. The SPF Canada facility is the company's fourth plant in North America.
“As we expand our services into the Canadian market, we feel it is important to invest in local production in the Canadian market,” said Paul Violette, general manager for SPF Canada. “Being closer to our customers and suppliers allows us to deliver better products and services. With sales, production and QA dedicated to this market, we want to partner with petfood manufacturers to improve their brands."