What is the function of a pet food extruder in dry dog food?
January 21, 2026
Dry pet food making machines offer a dual function of shaping and nutritional optimization. In dry food production, the extruder not only shapes the food but also enhances its nutritional value through a high-temperature, high-pressure process. A precise temperature range of 110-150℃ ensures starch gelatinization of over 80%, improving the digestibility and absorption of the dry food, while preventing the loss of heat-sensitive nutrients such as vitamins and unsaturated fatty acids due to excessive heat. Pressure control of 2-5MPa creates a uniform porous structure within the pellets, resulting in a loose, chewable texture suitable for pets' digestive systems. Simultaneously, the high-temperature operation kills over 90% of E. coli and Salmonella in the raw materials, ensuring the safety of the dry food.
The process adaptability of pet dry food extruders is also noteworthy. These dog food maker machines typically feature a twin-screw structure with a variable pitch design, precisely controlling the residence time of the raw materials in the extrusion chamber (15-25 seconds). This ensures that meat is fully cooked without burning, a feature not found in ordinary feed extruders. The die orifice diameter can be flexibly switched, and with an adjustable-speed cutter, it can produce dry food pellets in various shapes, including cylindrical and flat round, to suit different pets' eating habits. It also features a flavor retention device to reduce the volatilization of meat flavor substances at high temperatures, addressing the issue of insufficient palatability in dry food produced by ordinary dog food extruder machines.
The dry dog food making machine parameters are linked to the quality of the dry food. If some pellets easily crumble or have poor chewiness, it's usually due to insufficient extruder pressure (below 2MPa) or low temperature, requiring an increase in pressure by 0.5-1MPa and a temperature increase of 5-10℃. If the pellets are burnt or have poor palatability, it's due to excessive temperature or excessive raw material residence time, requiring a decrease in temperature and an increase in screw speed (300-400 rpm). Through precise control of the dog food manufacturing machine parameters, the hardness and porosity of the dry food can be flexibly adjusted to meet the differentiated needs of young pets (soft pellets) and adult pets (hard pellets).
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