Animal Nutrition

Royal Ingredients Group offers a range of ingredients for animal nutrition applications (proteins, fibers, sweeteners and co-products), providing high nutritional value and functional benefits.

Aquaculture

The aquaculture industry is rapidly growing, approximately 50% of all fish consumed by humans comes from aquaculture. Good nutrition is important for the quality of the fish and shrimp. Plant proteins, such as vital wheat gluten are an ideal and highly functional alternative to fish and animal based feeds.

Wheat gluten offers perfect properties to provide the binding needed for the pellet or granule forms of feed commonly used. Wheat gluten’s water insolubility reduces pellet breakdown; its viscoelastic properties can provide a chewy texture preferable to an extremely hard pellet; it lends itself to extrusion and air incorporation, depending on whether surface or bottom feeding is desired; and it provides nutritional value.

Pet Food

Vital wheat gluten are used by the pet food industry in very significant quantities. The usage may be in preparing simulated meat for canned pet food or in both canned and intermediate moisture-type products where the water absorption and fat binding properties of wheat gluten improves yields and quality. In dry dog biscuits, incorporating gluten into the dough before baking can improve resistance to breaking during packaging and shipping. Because it is a great source of protein, wheat gluten can significantly contribute to nutritional labeling claims.

Potato protein has been used for years in the petfood and feed market. It is formulated in ultra-high protein products as an alternative to rice protein or corn gluten meal, especially in elimination diets.

Pea protein, whether concentrate or isolate, is finding its way into a host of different petfoods in virtually every product format: from injection molded treats to wet foods, pea protein is an excellent ingredient tool for nutritional fortification. It has a positive consumer perception and food functionality and therefore is opportune for innovation in petfoods and treats in the future.

Fibers for pet food are an excellent processing aid, improve viscosity an increase dietary fibre content.

In canned petfoods, potato starch is used to firm the loaf or chunks or to make gels and gravies. In extruded petfoods, potato starch can be used to improve texture and kibble expansion. In this application, potato starch has a better expansion capability than wheat- or cornstarch.