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Petfood: how to prevent insect infestation
Maiara Ribeiro
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Insect contamination of petfoods is a potential problem in tropical countries; this paper offers an overview of the situation and how the risks can be minimized.
Maiara Ribeiro
DVM, MBA, Royal Canin, Brazil
Dr. Ribeiro holds a degree in veterinary medicine and an MBA in Advanced People Management, having studied for both at the Pontificia Universidade Católica (PUC) in Brazil. She started her career doing small animal clinics and surgery, but then had the opportunity to be part of the Brazilian Consumer Care technical team at Royal Canin, where she worked for four years. She is currently Leader of the Infestation Program in the emerging countries region for Royal Canin.
Key points
- Pet foods are prone to insect infestation during manufacture and storage unless good protocols are in place to prevent this from happening.
- The key areas to focus on in order to prevent infestation are minimizing all potential access to the food, and optimizing the storage facilities.
Introduction
When considering the quality of a petfood, the first thing that comes to mind is the resulting product of the combination of ingredients and how they are formulated. However, it is important to remember that other aspects are involved, such as the various stages of the manufacturing and distribution process. Maintaining the organoleptic characteristics of a product (i.e., aspects of the food that create an individual’s experience of it, via smell, sight and taste) along with its nutritional value, from manufacturing and storage to the point of consumption by the dog or cat, is currently one of the greatest challenges faced by the pet food industry. Reputable manufacturers have quality control measures to prevent insect infestation.
When failures occur during this process, both the owner and their pet are affected, and complaints regarding deviation from the product standard when an owner opens their petfood are becoming increasingly common. In warmer countries in particular, the most frequent grievances are those related to insect infestations. Owners are particularly sensitive to these issues, and while the industry invests significant resources in order to prevent pest infestation during manufacture 1, failures in relation to quality control in the final distribution chain, and how this is often directly related to complaints, is widely recognized.
In almost all cases where insect contamination occurs, this is not in the manufacturing plant but further down the chain, usually during storage in a distribution warehouse or at point of sale.
Main insect pests
The insect that most commonly infests pet food in warmer countries is Necrobia rufipes, the red-legged ham beetle. This is a commonly found flying pest that feeds on protein-rich foods 2 and can therefore cause significant damage to stored products. The adult insect is greenish blue in color and measures between 3.5-7 mm (.14-.28 inches) in length (Figure 1). Depending on the temperature and the availability of food, the life cycle can vary from 36-150 days or more 3 and has a complete metamorphosis (i.e., egg, larva, pupa and finally the adult insect (Figure 2)). The larval form seeks a dark environment, and at the end of this stage it will seek a dark, dry place in which to build the cocoon, which can be completed in 24 hours (Figure 3). The pupal cocoon is formed by filling the open sides of the crevice chosen by the larva with a white substance produced in the larva’s mouth in the form of frothy droplets 4. It is not known if the adult N. rufipes can penetrate closed (i.e., rather than damaged) food packaging 5 (Figure 4).
Other insects frequently found in stored food include Lasioderma serricorne (the cigarette beetle), Tribolium castaneum (the red flour beetle) and Plodia interpunctella (the Indianmeal moth).
[...]
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