Wet pet food formulations usually contain thickening, emulsifying or binding agents to ensure that the product has a proper meat emulsion, a consistent texture and enough thickness. This allows all the different ingredients to not separate from each other and leads to obtaining an appealing sauce. On the contrary, when ingredients such as these are not added, wet pet food can often be unattractive or unpleasant to eat for many pets.
Usually, the main binding agents added to wet pet food are xanthan gum, guar gum, locust bean gum, carrageenan and some starch sources (i.e. potato starch).
However, the use of E-number ingredients is becoming controversial. Many pet owners do not like them because they are not always natural and do not fit into clean label pet food.
Therefore, the current pet food market trends and customer interests have increased the demands to find natural, sustainable and clean label alternatives to these functional ingredients.
Barentz Animal Nutrition has developed AquaBind LF as a natural, functional and cost-efficient solution to replace E-numbers in wet pet food.
AquaBind LF is a unique product consisting of high-quality flour derived from golden linseed which has been carefully de-oiled and finely ground. The peculiarity of this ingredient is its unique production process. No enzymes, microorganisms, solvents, carriers, processing aids or bleaching are used. This makes AquaBind LF both completely natural and sustainable, as it derives from side streams of food production, giving further value to products which would otherwise be wasted. Moreover, the product is guaranteed ETO free, gluten free and GMO free.
Because of its composition, AquaBind LF is rich in fiber and vegetable protein and is characterized by a strong cold and warm swelling effect, in addition to its emulsification properties. It has a very high water (1:12) and oil (1:3) binding capacity and, being heat stable, it maintains its properties and functionality even after the sterilization process.
Compared to xanthan gum, guar gum and locust bean gum, AquaBind LF has less cost-in-use and offers the same function. This is why it can replace these classic ingredients in wet pet food, helping to create a proper meat emulsion and to improve the viscosity and thickness of the sauce. The main applications of this solution are cans, pouches, paté, but also semi-moist, paste and liquid treats, and even pet food liquid toppers. Of course, this product is feasible to clean label, natural, vegetarian/vegan and gluten free diets.
Depending on the viscosity and thickness requested in the final application, AquaBind LF can be added in different dosages (usually between 0,5 and 4%) and even combined with other functional products (i.e. modified starch) to obtain the requested properties. The technical team at Barentz is specialized in finding the best application of AquaBind LF for every pet food product.
