You glance over to notice a person tightening up a knit swaddle while cooing closely. And you wonder, is it a girl or boy? As you inch closer, you spot a long, saliva-ladened tongue licking the person’s face repeatedly. Yes! It is a puppy! These nurturing acts of love extend beyond a cradle. Today, pet owners cart their furry kids around in strollers, dress them up in tutus and feed them fancy treats. All of this is chalked up to the humanization trend. Pets have become substitute children filling owners' hearts with unconditional love. In return, pet parents shower them with tasty chews and pet meal toppers.

Natural Meal Toppers: Dry Mix-ins to Savory Gravies

Spoiling is an understatement when it comes to pet caregivers feeding their fur babies. Some animal lovers dress their pets' meals up using natural meal toppers. These are typically used to add flavor, enhance moisture and/or boost nutrition. And they come in a variety of formats including freeze-dried morsels, dry mix-ins, gravies, purees and semi-moist kibble. The formulations typically contain a protein, fruit or veg, nutritional ingredients and/or binders.

Protein sources like raw meat, fish, bone broth, eggs or other novel sources like insects, krill, and legumes are mixed in with vegetables and/or fruits like pumpkin, greens, carrots, sweet potatoes, apples and bananas. If the toppers contain added nutrition, typically functional ingredients like probiotics, prebiotics, collagen, joint health ingredients, herbs and preservatives are incorporated. To glue the components together, product developers add binders or texturants to the pet food formulation.

Some standard binders used in pet food treats and toppers include starches, gums (carrageenan, guar gum, xanthan gum), citrus fiber, eggs, gelatin and pea protein. However, not all binders and thickeners deliver the same benefits. Some ingredients may not be food processing tolerant if the usage level is not optimized. Other ingredients may be considered an allergen. Ultimately, pet owners are seeking all-natural and wholesome ingredients that create a clear and clean label declaration.

Citrus Fiber – Water Binding and Emulsification in Meal Toppers

One clean label solution, derived from natural sources, is Citri-Fi citrus fiber. This upcycled ingredient is produced from byproduct of citrus juicing. Because of the chemical-free process, this citrus fiber provides high water holding and emulsification properties. As a result, the dual functionality improves the texture, stability and nutrition of a variety of pet food and treats.

At a low usage rate (<1%), Citri-Fi binds the water and oil to prevent separation in puree or pate-like meal toppers. This natural pet ingredient also retains moisture to create the chewy texture in semi-moist versions. And the declaration, which is dried citrus pulp, creates a clear and clean label statement. Citri-Fi can be used to replace one or more binders or thickeners to simplify labeling. Most importantly, Citri-Fi is AAFCO compliant via FDA and GRAS approval.

Pet Food Spectrum: Kibble, Canned, Extruded Treats and Bones

Citri-Fi’s water binding and emulsifier capabilities benefit other pet food products. For instance, this citrus fiber’s dual functionality strengthens baked biscuits and kibble to reduce breakage which improves yields. Because it binds large amounts of oil, Citri-Fi can prevent oil or fat from leeching out of baked bones. It also improves material flow and release from molds of injection molded dog bones. And Citri-Fi binds water in fresh or raw pet foods to prevent weeping in the packaging.

And in supplement products, which come in a variety of formats such as natural meal toppers, Citri-Fi can improve the quality while contributing fiber. In the end, Citri-Fi is ideal for pet food and treats. It is non-allergenic, human-grade, gluten-free, corn-free and grain-free. Now, there is an USDA certified organic version available – Citri-Fi 400 citrus fiber series.

Pet Lover’s Food and Treat Outlook

The humanization trend is here to stay. Pet owners will continue demanding natural, sustainable and healthy food and treat formats. With the human food system slowly moving away from traditional meat farming, pet parents will be seeking alternative protein sources such as plant-based, insect and other novel types. Fresh and raw foods will be more mainstream due its association to indigenous roots. And pet treat formats and formulations will evolve further into more customized options. Natural meal toppers are a prime example of pet treats differentiating from the typical kibble and canned offerings. In the end, Citri-Fi citrus fiber can be your next pet food formulating tool.

Please contact us for more information about natural meal toppers and other pet products.