{"id":10572,"date":"2024-04-11T15:14:32","date_gmt":"2024-04-11T13:14:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.appetizerblog.com\/?p=10572"},"modified":"2024-07-09T08:41:40","modified_gmt":"2024-07-09T06:41:40","slug":"how-to-measure-pet-food-oxidation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.appetizerblog.com\/en\/how-to-measure-pet-food-oxidation\/","title":{"rendered":"How to measure pet food oxidation"},"content":{"rendered":"
Oxidation affects the organoleptic and nutritional quality of all aging pet foods. Monitoring relevant oxidation compounds and residual antioxidant levels in a product, in real time or accelerated studies, is the most pertinent way to properly assess oxidative stability over time.<\/div>\n

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Just like you, food products cannot escape the effect of time. Cheese and wine improve with age; however, this is unfortunately not the case for pet food.<\/p>\n

Between the time a kibble comes out of the extruder and the time it lands in Kitty\u2019s plate, several months can elapse. During this journey, the inevitable oxidation attack can affect nutritional properties and turn nice poultry scent to rancid smell, which is far less pleasing.<\/p>\n

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Pet food manufacturers thus need to be aware of and master the oxidative stability of their product to ensure it stays nutritious and appealing to Kitty, and her Human.<\/p>\n

What are the methods to assess pet food oxidative stability? What are the oxidation markers to track?<\/p>\n

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Follow the steps to fully measure pet food oxidation over time\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

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Oxidative stability: choose the right indicators<\/h2>\n

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Fat oxidation is a common phenomenon affecting the quality of aging pet food. Mainly caused by high temperature or contact with oxygen, this complex set of reactions creates oxidation compounds responsible for rancid smells, off-flavors, and loss of nutritional value.<\/a><\/p>\n

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Antioxidants are commonly added to pet food to limit this phenomenon. Their level decreases over time as they are consumed by reactions with oxidation compounds.<\/p>\n

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The levels of specific oxidation compounds<\/strong> and residual antioxidants<\/strong> in an aging pet food can relevantly be used as indicators to assess oxidative stability over time.<\/p>\n

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Chasing oxidation compounds<\/h3>\n

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The fat oxidation mechanism happening in pet food can be summarized in 3 stages: initiation<\/strong>, propagation<\/strong>, and termination<\/strong>. Each reaction stage generates different oxidation compounds.<\/p>\n

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During the initiation and propagation<\/strong> phases, fatty acids turn into free radicals and hydroperoxides<\/strong>, both of which are primary compounds of oxidation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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During the termination<\/strong> phase, hydroperoxides decompose into secondary products of oxidation. They include volatile compounds like aldehydes<\/strong>, ketones, and short chain acids, which are responsible for unpleasant odors, as well as non-volatile compounds<\/strong> that mainly impact taste.<\/p>\n

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Many compounds generated during oxidation are currently used as indicators of oxidation state. Of these, 3 categories, both primary and secondary, are best suited to complex matrices such as pet foods:<\/p>\n

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