It’s official. It’s a thing. Pets are now four-legged members of the family. It’s called ‘pet humanization’ and, of course, we feed them like family, too. The same ‘better for you’ trends we see on the grocery shelf—organic, grain-free, raw, pasture-raised, wild-caught and HPP—are now mirrored on the pet food shelves, too.
This trend has resulted in strong growth for premium pet food sales. Globally, premium dog and cat food sales have grown 25 percent over the last five years according to the research firm, Euromonitor International. Raw HPP’d pet food is part of this strong growth trend.
HPP’d pet food is growing at 23 percent for the third year in a row, as mentioned at the Petfood Forum 2018.
JBT/Avure’s senior vice president of R&D, Dr. Errol Raghubeer, explained in a January 2019 Pet Food Processing Magazine interview how HPP is being utilized with pet food, “HPP is most widely used for the inactivation of pathogens in the raw materials of pet food. By inactivating pathogens, HPP keeps both pets and humans safe from dangerous cross-contamination, extends refrigerated shelf life, and preserves the flavor, texture and nutrients in raw food ingredients.”
Now, one of the newest HPP raw pet food innovators is Blue Ridge Beef, makers of all-natural, 100 percent pure meat and meat products for dogs and cats. Blue Ridge Beef is a family-owned business located in North Carolina and Georgia.
Owner Dean Lea stated, “We chose HPP because it is a cold water and clean label process. As a raw pet food company, we have no desire to cook our products, as you lose important nutrients in that process. Using HPP, our raw ingredients maintain their natural nutritional value, and our customers receive the same premium raw food.”
When asked why Blue Ridge Beef bought a JBT/Avure HPP machine, Lea commented, “We looked at how it would streamline our in-facility processes and the technical support that was offered by JBT/Avure. JBT/Avure’s fantastic technical support services have the knowledge and drive to help you fix an issue with minimal downtime.”
Lea concluded, “HPP is a clean label process that keeps our product as natural as possible and completely raw for our customers’ pets to enjoy.”
Because Blue Ridge Beef has 13 natural products, including chicken, turkey and beef, as well as premium meats such as quail and rabbit, Blue Ridge Beef makes dinner a great experience for canines and felines alike. Clearly, it’s never been a better time to be a four-legged member of the family.
