Packaging Machines for Pet Food

One of the important points to prevent food spoilage is their packaging. Currently, various companies are engaged in packaging pet food in different containers such as cans, trays, plastic bags, aluminum, and so on.

West Asia Steel Company is one of the manufacturers of packaging machines for pet food. In this article, we will examine various methods of packaging pet food, packaging machines, and the advantages of packaging.

Reasons for Packaging Pet Food

Advancements in the food industry have led to pets having a variety of food options, including various sauces, meats, vegetarian biscuits, and snacks.

Innovative and creative packaging of these products increases product attractiveness and encourages pet owners to purchase these products. Therefore, manufacturers focus on materials that are beautiful and easy to open.

Packaging of pet food is important for various reasons for pet food producers:

FDA Regulations

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates not only the packaging of drugs and food but also has issued guidelines for safe packaging of pet food. Basic regulations imposed by the FDA include appropriate labeling of food materials that help identify the food to pet owners and also inform consumers about product claims (such as organic or sugar-free). Without observing these guidelines can result in a decrease in product credibility and popularity among customers.

Packaging for Brand Introduction

Packaging for pet food serves as a means to enhance your brand identity. The design and graphics of the packaging play a significant role in maintaining pet owners' memory regarding pet food. The combination of top-quality colors and the use of high-quality images help differentiate the product among competitors and influence customer choice.

Product Information Labels

Packaging provides a suitable space for conveying product information to your target consumers. Product information labels provide valuable data about the quantity, nutritional value, ingredients, and origin of pet food to pet owners.

Easier Product Transport

Multi packaging helps customers divide the product more easily. Additionally, product packaging aids in transporting it when going out with a pet.

 

What is the Most Suitable Packaging for Pet Food?

Pet owners love their animals and procure the best food for their health. Food choices for pets have increased in the past decade due to their safe packaging. The most suitable packaging for pet food is discussed below:

Stand-up Pouches

Stand-up pouches are re-sealable packages with zip closures. Packaging in these pouches brings more profit as their vertical orientation attracts pet owners in pet store shelves.

These types of pouches can be packaged by vacuum chamber machines with vacuum and gas injection, this packaging method protects the product as long as it is on the shelves and increasing its shelf life, after opening the pouch seal by the consumer, the customer can use the zipper cap on the pouch, allowing for easy opening and closing of the pouch.

 

 

 

Flat Bottom Bags

These pouches have a rectangular and flat base, giving them a box-like appearance. These bags also feature zippers and are an ideal choice for storing pet food due to their distinctive shape.Top of Form

 

 

Pillow Bags

This type of packaging is cost-effective and is used for packaging small snacks, biscuits, and single-serving pieces of meat.

 

 

Four-Sided Sealed Pouch

These packaging bags are known for their two side panels and their cover. They can also stand-alone without any support due to having a rectangular bottom. They can hold large amounts of pet food. These pouches are also suitable for packaging using the modified atmosphere method by a vacuum chamber machine.

 

 

Cans

These containers are cylindrical and made of aluminum or tin, and they are used for storing bulk amounts of pet food. They provide the highest level of impermeability. Due to their metallic nature, they can withstand heat and do not puncture.

Plastic cylindrical containers are also sufficiently impermeable and, in addition to lower costs, have the capability of being sealed by vacuum sealing machines and gas injection.

 

 

What Materials are Used for Packaging Pet Food?

An important point to consider when selecting packaging materials is their safety and non-harmful nature for the health of pets. Below is a list of safe packaging materials: Top of Form

 

Plastics

Plastics are common and diverse materials used for packaging pet food. They are utilized to produce various containers such as bags, bowls, trays, and more. This material is an ideal choice for brand owners as it offers stability, inertness, lightweight, and good shaping properties. Plastics come in different forms, sizes, and designs. Common plastics used for pet food packaging include Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET), Polyethylene (PE), Metallized PET (PET MET), and others. These materials, in addition to their barrier properties (against odor and taste), are also resistant to impact and puncture.

Moreover, various plastic trays and pouches are sealable, suitable for packaging through seal vacuum machines (tray sealers) and vacuum chambers. Due to their impermeability, they also enable packaging using the MAP (Modified Atmosphere Packaging) method to enhance product shelf life and maintain quality.

 

 

Tinplated Steel Sheet

Tinplated steel sheet is resistant to corrosion or rust, making it suitable for shaping cans, lids, and closures. This material maintains its quality through recycling. Tin sheet protects pet food from light, reactive gases, and moisture. It has good strength-to-weight ratio and high formability.

 

 

 

Aluminum

This metal is used to make pipes, trays, and also bags. Several properties of aluminum such as high resistance to temperature changes and its ability to provide good protection make it suitable for packaging pet food. Aluminum has significant strength, malleability, and recyclability, and is lighter in weight compared to other materials.Top of Form

 

 

 

Paper

Dry pet food is usually packaged in paper bags, cardboard, and in pouches. Kraft papers are also used for packaging dried fruits, nuts, and snacks. Biscuits and sweet treats for pets are often packaged in sulfate paper. Paper packaging is inexpensive and environmentally friendly.

 

 

Benefits of Packaging Pet Food

Packaging should prevent any damage and specifically ensure safety and nutritional efficiency. Here are some of the advantages of packaging pet food:

Reduction of Oxygen Levels and Preservation of Nutrients

Reducing oxygen levels is achieved by minimizing the inside space, vacuum, and then flushing with nitrogen to remove oxygen. Oxygen removal decreases the potential for fat rancidity and halts the loss of vitamins. Complete oxygen removal in meat systems leads to increased shelf life and reduced bacterial growth. Common meat snacks may require oxygen absorber packs to absorb the oxygen present in the package.

Preventing Insect Infestation

Some packs prevent the potential for insect infiltration. If insects enter the packaging, they may consume the food and leave behind waste and insect proteins for pets.

Moisture Penetration Control

Molds and bacteria cannot be completely eradicated because they continue to grow slowly in low-water activity. Bacteria and molds feed and grow on the same nutrients delivered to pets, thereby reducing the nutrients present in the food. The loss of many nutrients can occur at low moisture levels, where molds grow slowly.

High Heat Tolerance

Since temperatures increase in warehouses and trucks transporting food, packaging should not cause sweating or chemical leaching. Increased internal sweating in warm and humid environments increases the likelihood of mold formation and mold toxins. Packaging should be designed to have high heat tolerance. Additionally, high heat liquefies fats and oils, allowing them to escape from the packaging.

Increased Product Shelf Life

Packaging helps to increasing the shelf life of the product during storage and transportation, preventing product spoilage, maintaining its appearance, preventing breakage, insect infestation, loss of nutrients, and more.

Advantages of Packaging Pet Food in Plastic trays:

Packaging products in plastic trays allows the producer to select trays with specific shapes and colors. These trays are sealable by seal vacuum machines, eliminating the need for lids instead of using various types of plastic, aluminum, or metallized films with the producer's special printing and logo for sealing, sealing with tray sealer machines by West Asia Steel Company ensure a completely firm and leak-proof seal.

Due to the impermeability of this type of packaging, there is no possibility of oxygen, moisture, insects, and microorganisms entering the packaging. It also protects the product against physical damage.

Packaging pet food in plastic trays also enables the use of modified atmosphere packaging techniques, such as vacuum and gas injection, to preserve the quality and extend the shelf life of the product.

Customer Attraction

Packaging with attractive graphical images, colors, and various designs attract the attention of pet owners. Stand-up pouches and plastic trays with unique shapes and colors on store shelves attract customers and increase sales of products, enhancing brand visibility. Additionally, the distinctiveness of the packaging also helps in capturing the attention and ensuring customer recall for future purchases.

Nitrogen Flushing Packaging Method

Nitrogen flushing is a process in which specialized nitrogen gas to foodstuff is injected into the packaging of pet food before sealing. This process involves removing oxygen from the packaging and replacing it with nitrogen. It sends out a lower percentage of oxygen from the packaging, so for more desirable results, air vacuuming must first be performed inside the packaging using a seal vacuum machine. Then, nitrogen gas is injected into the package. This way, a significant amount of oxygen inside the package is removed, leading to a considerable increase in product shelf life.

Nitrogen is a non-reactive and harmless gas that does not alter the taste or texture of pet food. It is used for various reasons, including:

• High nitrogen concentration (approximately 99%) helps maintaining the freshness and nutritional value of pet food. It also reduces the degradation and spoilage of food ingredients.
• Oxidation of fats and oils leads to rancidity in pet food, resulting in unpleasant odors and flavors. By vacuum sealing and removing oxygen from the packaging, along with nitrogen flushing, the shelf life of pet food can be increased.
• By eliminating moisture through nitrogen flushing, microbial growth in pet food can be prevented.

Different Types of Pet Food Packaging Machines

One of the machines manufactured by West Steel Asia Company is the pet food packaging machine. These machines come in various designs, sizes, and functionalities, which we will explain further below:

 

 

Automatic Tray Sealer Packaging Machine

The automatic tray sealer packaging machine is one of the machines used for packaging pet food. This machine has high accuracy and speed and is used for packaging products by high capacities. The procedure of working with this machine is as follows:

 

• The used trays are placed manually or automatically on the machine.
• Pet food is poured into the trays by automatic fillers.
• Once filled, the trays are guided towards the machine mold using a conveyor, and packaging is done using the Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) method.
• In the final stage, labeling and printing of information on the packaging are carried out, and the trays are placed next to each other on the traffic table.
• Top of Form

 

Semi-automatic Tray Sealer Packaging Machine

Other packaging machine manufactured by West Asia Steel Company is the semi-automatic tray sealer machine. This machine operates similarly to the automatic tray sealer machine, with the difference in production capacity and some stages being performed by an operator.

 

Vacuum Chamber Packaging Machine

The vacuum chamber packaging machine is used for packaging products with low volume. In this machine, the operator places filled pouches of pet food into the machine, and the packaging process is carried out using nitrogen flushing or modified atmosphere packaging. Finally, the operator picks up the pouches from the machine, and the packaging process is completed.

 

 

The Price of Pet Food Packaging Machines

 One of the most important considerations when purchasing a pet food packaging machine is to pay attention to its price. The prices of different machines vary and are influenced by numerous factors. For example, the price of machines depends on the production capacity and speed, machine size, size of trays used for packaging, packaging method (vacuum, modified atmosphere, etc.), body material in the manufacturing of the machine, installed auxiliary equipment, whether the machine is automatic or manual, and more. Therefore, to obtain information about the prices of different machines, please contact our company and benefit from the guidance of our experts.

 

Choosing the Best Pet Food Packaging Machine

If you consider to set up pet food packaging lines, you should first search about the type of food, packaging trays, suitable packaging methods, etc. After determining the company's requirement, you can choose a machine that is suitable for the desired production volume. However, it is very important to consider that many factors influence the specifications of the packaging machine you select, which we will explain below:

• Capacity, speed, and accuracy of production: Volume, speed, and accuracy of production are important factors to consider when choosing a machine. If you have high production capacity and speed, you may need an automatic or semi-automatic machine. However, if the production volume and speed are low, you can benefit from manual machines.
• Packaging Method: Products are packaged using different methods, including modified atmosphere packaging or vacuum packaging, each of which requires different auxiliary equipment. Therefore, when choosing a machine, you must specify the desired packaging method.
• Product Shelf Life Considerations: Another important factor to consider before purchasing a packaging machine is the shelf life of the products. Some products require longer shelf life, while others need to be preserved for a longer period to remain fresh. Therefore, considering the shelf life of the product before purchasing the machine helps in selecting the best machine.
• Auxiliary Equipment: Required auxiliary equipment is also among the most important factors when buying a machine. In some cases, companies choose machines with specific auxiliary equipment that may not significantly enhance efficiency during the packaging process or their absence does not affect production speed.
• Company Budget: The most important factor when choosing a machine is the budget allocated for purchasing it. After allocating the budget, consult with the experts at West Asia Steel Company and benefit from their guidance in selecting the best and most suitable machine. Our experts are patient and willing to answer your questions.

As mentioned, West Asia Steel is one of the active companies in the field of manufacturing pet food packaging machines. This company manufactures quality and diverse machines and delivers them to you in the shortest possible time. Therefore, if you intend to set up a pet food packaging production line, visit us and take advantage of our company's services.  

 

source

icapsulepack.com

globalpetindustry.com

rotorprint.com