How Petfood Industry Leaders use Texture Analysis to get ahead of their competition

How Mars measures the textural characteristics of petfood chews and dental products

Dental health is a growing and diverse sector in the pet industry with many new product lines in foods, dental hygiene, toys and accessories, particularly for dogs. Many oral care pet chew products are based on hard textures that require repeated chewing for efficacy. While such products may offer teeth cleaning functions, in many cases they pose risks to dogs either from physical injury such as gum injury, teeth fracture, or blockage of the digestive system.

Mars Incorporated have used their TA.HDplus Texture Analyser at Waltham Petcare to file a patent for an invention directed to a pet chew product and method of modulating the textural characteristics of such products. The product is an edible pet chew configured for consumption by a pet, having a twisted body formed of edible material. The twisted body of this product has enhanced textural characteristics in comparison to an untwisted body formed of the same material.

Mars Petcare has also created a 'chewing robot' with which to research and test canine dental products. The robot is based around their TA.HDplus Texture Analyser and is used to show how well potential new products or prototypes are performing when it comes to plaque removal.

Built using a scan of a real canine mouth and jaw, the 3D-printed model replicates the normal mastication action of a dog and the pressures it might exert on a dental chew. This, the company says, allows it to test the effectiveness of different product materials and shapes more rapidly and then refine its products at a much earlier stage in the research and development process.

Watch this amazing video of the chewing robot in action...

How Nestlé measures animal litter clumping

Nestlé used their TA.XTplus Texture Analyser to develop a new composition suitable for use as an animal litter. In contrast to traditional clay-based litters, natural litters are biodegradable, lightweight, and create relatively little dust when used. However, natural litters typically have poor clumping strength and little odour control.

Wood-based litters have desirable organoleptic properties after use but often have poor clumping strength when wetted by urine or other animal waste. Grain-based litters often form strong clumps but do not have desirable organoleptic properties after use, e.g. have less than desirable appearance and aroma. Generally, all these litters function for their intended purpose, e.g., managing animal urine and faeces. However, these litters often do not have desirable organoleptic properties after use, e.g. an appealing aroma and visual appearance. Therefore, there is a need for new compositions useful as animal litters that have enhanced physical properties after the compositions have been used.

After 24 hours of wetting, the clumps were tested using their Texture Analyser with a 3 point bend test and recording the maximum force before break to describe the strength of each clump and the effect each composition.

How Royal Canin uses Rheology and Texture Analysis

The ability to characterise the texture of wet products is an invaluable asset, especially since Royal Canin has such a wide variety and complexity of recipes. At present, the “Hardness” parameter resulting from the first TPA test compression using their TA.XTplus Texture Analyser seems to be the most discriminating to characterise a “loaf” type foodstuff. Product texture measurement obviously requires the implementation of several methods to obtain a full profile for a foodstuff.

For quality control, and to use texture as a key quality attribute, such methods must be able to be deployed quickly in the manufacturing plant and should not be prohibitive in terms of time and cost. The TPA test thus remains a primary tool for both new product development and for ongoing assessment of existing products.

Find out more about how Royal Canin use texture analysis...

There is a Texture Analysis test for virtually any physical property. Contact Stable Micro Systems today to learn more about our full range of solutions.

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For more information on how to measure texture, please visit the Texture Analysis Properties section on our website.

The TA.XTplus texture analyser is part of a family of texture analysis instruments and equipment from Stable Micro Systems. An extensive portfolio of specialist attachments is available to measure and analyse the textural properties of a huge range of food products. Our technical experts can also custom design instrument fixtures according to individual specifications.

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