actually, for the fats & flavors, it looks like the mixers are becoming the hot new item:

http://www.feedcompounder.com/showpets.htm

"With the Pegasus® Paddle Mixer from Dinnissen, a fixed and precisely weighed quantity of food is introduced into the sealed batch coater, where - in contrast to continuous operation systems - the entire process takes place: liquid and dry palatability enhancers are added to the kibbles. This has the great advantage of allowing very precise control of the optimum conditions needed for the entire process. For each batch, the exact quantity of fat, liquid and dry palatability enhancers needed can be weighed out and added, and the process conditions - including temperature, kibble rotation speed, residence time of the food in the mixer, and total processing time – can be precisely controlled. The result: an extremely precise and even distribution of the palatability enhancers over the product. In addition, the strength of the bond between the palatability enhancer and the kibble can be optimized, and each individual kibble can be coated with a tough protective layer to ensure that the palatability enhancers also remain intact during transport. The palatability and appeal of the food is therefore significantly improved, and the food is much more readily consumed."

if you add the vacuum coater, it gets even better:

"...equip the Pegasus® Paddle Mixer with vacuum functionality by adding the Pegasus® Vacuum Coater, allowing producers to further upgrade the flexibility and quality of their production process. "This combination allows producers to ensure that liquid additives are sucked deep into the kibble. It also enables them to optimize the binding process between other additives and the outside of the kibble."

petslave, very good find.  Now I have to wonder exactly what ingredients compose the "liquid and dry palatability enhancers" and "tough protective layers" and where we could find out; but it probably differs from manufacturer to manufacturer.

The commercial pet food is so processed in order to "design" a food, or "simulate" a pet's natural diet.  What if we ate our human foods out of a bag and/or can of processed leftovers every day?  After learning as much as I have over the past few months now, I personally can only choose a raw or homemade diet as the only safe choice.

No I wouldn't want my pets eating that.  I've got my cats off almost all kibble, now the dogs are the problem.   

Lesliek,

That's good to know about.  Do you have the lab report?  Would you post it here? 

Very easy for "the legions of the uninvolved" to ignore what's not right in front of them.

Thanks.

5CatMom       

5catmom- I will try to post it later. My daughter was in a motorcycle accident last night & her foot looks like it might be broken.I'll be in the er for god knows how long ! It just shows that it was neg for mel,etc & that the crystals were vit e. I didn't have the extra test done for exact amount.

I think it's definitely good to worry about the everyday things they add to pet food, in addition to the mystery toxins.  Here's just a few instances from the API website:

http://www.api4animals.org/facts.php?p=359&more=1

Supplements:
In 2000, Iams recalled 248,000 pounds of dry dog food distributed in 7 states due to excess DL-Methionine Amino Acid, a urinary acidifier.

In the most deadly recall of 2006, 4 prescription canned dog and cat foods were recalled by Royal Canin (owned by Mars). The culprit was a serious overdose of Vitamin D that caused calcium deficiency and kidney disease.

moldy grains:
In 1995, Nature’s Recipe recalled almost a million pounds of dry dog and cat food after consumers complained that their pets were vomiting and losing their appetite. The problem was a fungus that produced vomitoxin contaminating the wheat.

In 1999, Doane Pet Care recalled more than a million bags of corn-based dry dog food contaminated with aflatoxin. Products included Ol’ Roy (Wal-Mart’s brand) and 53 other brands. This time, the toxin killed 25 dogs.

In late 2005, a similar recall by Diamond Foods was announced; this time the moldy corn contained a particularly nasty fungal product called aflatoxin; 100 dogs died.


Some of us that were looking at supplements, especially amino acids like lysine, found there is a lot of GM stuff going on there to manipulate bacteria to produce more of the ingredient they were looking for.  Then they sell the supplement as natural.  Patent info that gives the mfr. process & research reports seem to give the most info.  Most of these places don't reveal their secrets easily.

Each of us should pick 5 pet food ingredients, including (especially) the supplements, & research how they are made, what is put in them & where they are made.  Bet we could come up with some telling info there!

petslave great post from the API site that everyone should visit and read about the pet food - will open your eyes thats for sure. The moldy grains is the MAIN reason I do not feed grains of any kind to my dog. Who knows how long this stuff sits in the silos with the humidity and heat before it is processed? I am trying to cut all grains from my diet too and also beef as I think beef is main reason for my tissue edema that I can't seem to get rid of. But the moldy grains that they process into pet food, breads, muffins, cakes, cereal, etc. is reason enough not to eat it for me.

petslave I did my research when my last dog had been cured of her cancer to find healthier food to feed. The stuff I read on all the Genetically Modified food made me gag and there is so much of it in pet food that IMO is whats making a lot of them sick, keeping them sick, and even killing  them with the cumulation effect over time destroying the organs inside of them along with the mercury filled fish too.