Pet foods are special foods that are formulated to meet nutritional needs of animals.
Pet foods generally consist of meats, meat by-products, cereal grains, vitamins,
and minerals. Pet foods are mainly available in three basic forms, namely, dry pet
foods, semimoist pet foods, and moist pet foods. The first commercial pet food
was dry food for dogs, which was developed in England in 1860 (Corbin, 2003).
Moist pet foods made their appearance in canned form in 1922, while semimoist pet
foods were later developed in the United States (Corbin, 2003). Demands for dry pet
foods are nevertheless higher than those for moist and semimoist pet foods.
The conventional manufacturing processes of pet foods are similar to those
of human foods. The exact ingredients and processes depend on the types of pet
foods, however. Physicochemical properties of pet foods, which are related to
the quality and acceptability of the products by both pets and pet owners, are
largely affected by ingredients, formulas, and processes employed to manufacture
the products. Understanding the effects of various factors on the physicochemical
properties of pet foods can thus be a way to enhance the quality and value of these
products.