Learn all about Pet Foods
- A foundation course for anyone working in the pet food industry
- Consider the options for pet food products
- Improve your career prospects for working in pet food retailing, supply or manufacturing
- If you use a lot of pet food (eg. breeders, kennel owners), learn to make your own foods
COURSE CONTENT
This course has nine lessons as follows:
Lesson 1. Scope and Nature of Animal Food
- Introduction to Pet Food Industry
- Industry origins from 19th century
- Principles of Taste
- Principles of Nutrition
- Ingredients and feed components
- Protein
- Carbohydrates
- Fats
- Minerals and Vitamins
- Minerals & Vitamins for Cats, Dogs, Birds, Fish, Reptiles, Rodents and Rabbits
- Food Categories - dry, semi moist, retorted, pasteurised, chilled, pellets, flakes, etc
Lesson 2. Processing and Manufacturing
- Processing technology and equipment
- Chillers and Freezers
- Documented Production Practices and Controlling Risks
- Potential Risks
- Personal Hygiene
- Contamination Risk
- Ingredient Controls - purchasing, receipting, storage, pest control, cleaning, premises and equipment
- Processing Techniques and Quality
- Heat Treatment and Process Control
- Air Exchange Heat Gains
- Occupancy Heat Gains
- Heavy Work
- Lighting Heat Gains
- Sampling, Testing Calibration
- Record Keeping
- Product Tracing and Recall
- What Triggers a Recall
- Using Batch Numbers and production Dates
- Issuing a Recall
- Voluntary vs Involuntary Recalls
- Identifying new ingredients - Techniques
- Insects as a pet food source
- Insect Meal and Dry Food
- Insects and Domesticated Fowl
- Insects as Feed for Dogs and Cats
- Insects for Fish and other Aquatic Life
- Insects for Reptiles and Amphibians
- Insects and Nutrition
- Gut Lading
- How to Raise Insects
- Mealworms
- Black Soldier Fly Farming
Lesson 3. Preservation and Storage
- Introduction
- Freezing
- Why Freeze Pet Food
- Problems with Freezing
- Vacuum Packaging
- Refrigeration
- Chilling Meat
- Chilling Fish
- Chilling Milk
- Drying or Dehydration
- Storing Produce
- Vegetables - curing, cooling
- Storing Root Crops
- Grain -silos, storage bags, bunkers, underground pits
- Seeds
- Cold Storage with or without Humidity Control
- Cold and Cool Room for Seed Banks
- Preserving
- Artificial Preservatives
- Nitrates and Nitrites
- Sorbates
- Antioxidant Preservatives
- Sulphites
- Chelating Agents
- Natural Preservatives
Lesson 4. Canine Nutrition and Feeding
- Introduction - Unique Canine Factors
- Caloric Need Calculations
- Protein Sources
- Carbohydrate Sources
- Fat Sources
- Raw Diet Controversy, Risks and Benefits
- Problems with Raw Feeding
- Canine Digestive System
- Canine Dietary Requirements
- Nutrition Depending on Age - puppies, senior dogs, aged dogs
- Nutrition Depending on Health Status - pregnancy, lactation, underweight
- Protein Sources - eggs, different meat types
- Fat Sources - peanut butter, olive oil, flax oil, coconut oil
- Carbohydrate Sources - rice, sweet potato, pumpkin, etc
- Probiotics
- Obese Dog Diets
- Protein
- Water
- Nutrition Depending on Activity
- Working and High Performance Diet
Lesson 5. Feline Nutrition and Feeding
- Introduction - Unique Feline considerations
- Wet Food versus Dry Food
- Resting Metabolic Rate Calculation
- Protein Sources
- Raw Food Diets Controversy, Risks and Benefits
- Feline Digestive System
- Feline Dietary Requirements
- Nutrition Depending on Age - birth to 12 months, senior and aged
- Nutrition Depending on Health Status
- Pregnant or Lactating Diet
- Underweight Diet
- Overweight Diet
Lesson 6. Feeding Birds, Fish, Rodents, Rabbits, and Reptiles
- Bird Feeding
- Parrots
- Pellets for birds
- Mash/Chop for parrots
- Seeds, Beans, Nuts - for birds
- Treats for Birds
- Bird Feeding Fowl
- Stages of Growth
- Feed Components for Fowl
- Poultry - pellets, grain, mash
- Chickens
- Egg layers diet - growers laing feed, layer feed
- Feed for Broilers - starter feed, finisher feed
- Duck Diet
- Turkey Diet
- Fish Feeding
- Pelleted Fish Feed
- Live Fish Feed - Daphnia, Shrimp, Worms
- Night lights for fish
- Fishmeal and Oil meals
- Fish Food Production - beef heart, legumes, seafood & vegetable mix
- Rodent feeding
- Mice diet & what to avoid
- Rat diet and what to avoid
- Hamster Diet and what to avoid
- Guinea Pig diet and what to avoid
- Chinchilla diet and what to avoid
- Common rodent provisions
- Rabbit Feeding
- Rabbit Digestion
- Rabbit Diet - blended diet, pellets, fresh foods, grasses/ hay, leafy greens, vegetables, calcium
- Reptile Feeding - snakes, lizards, chelonians
- Food for reptiles
- Snakes
- Chelonians - turtles, tortoises -aquatic, terrestrial
- Lizards - review of various species
Lesson 7. Toxins in Animal Foods
- Toxic Components to Avoid
- Allium Family plants
- Responses to Poisoning
- Responses to Allergies
- Emergency Response
- Types of Additives in Pet Foods
- Antifungals
- Antioxidants
- Pellet Binders
- Feed Flavours
- Digestion Modifiers
- Metabolism Modifiers
- Health Modifiers
- Consumer Acceptance
Lesson 8. Regulatory Controls for the Pet Food Industry
- Introduction
- HACCP Plan
- Labelling
- Ingredient Lists
- Disposing of Animal By Products
Lesson 9. Feed Selection, Diet Formulation and End-Product Sales
- Introduction
- Ultimate Goals of Pet Food Marketing in store or online
- Understanding the Purchaser
- Taking a New Product to Market
- Wholesaling
- Retail, Online or Mail Order
- Online Sales
- B2B
