Date: 05/05/2025

Brazil occupies a leading position in the global pet food market. According to data from Abinpet, the country ended 2023 with a turnover of R$68.7 billion in the sector, with the pet food segment accounting for more than half of this amount. This scenario reinforces the importance of technical innovations that meet the demands of performance, quality and reliability in the formulation of food for dogs and cats.

In this context, food acceptance has become one of the main criteria for evaluating products. The immediate sensory experience, especially related to aroma and palatability, is decisive for spontaneous consumption and directly influences continued intake. In addition, factors such as oxidative stability and technical performance throughout the shelf life have become part of the validation parameters for formulations.

In this article, we explore factors that directly influence food acceptance in dogs and how they connect to the development of solutions that deliver sensory performance from the very first contact. Among the highlights is B.FreshFy, BRF Ingredients' premium liquid ingredient, validated in different application contexts.

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Technical parameters that define quality in pet food

The quality of food for dogs and cats is directly associated with meeting nutritional criteria defined by specific legislation, which requires a balanced composition in terms of energy value, proteins, ether extract, carbohydrates, fibrous matter, vitamins and minerals. These parameters guarantee the proper maintenance of the animals' physiological functions and nutritional safety throughout continuous consumption (BRASIL, 2003). These aspects must be assessed in an integrated manner, from the origin of the ingredients to the final product, ensuring that each stage of the process meets consistent technical standards in line with current legislation.

According to Souza (2013), this control must cover different segments of the production chain, from agricultural practices for obtaining raw materials to storage at the point of sale.

In practice, this requires well-defined control protocols. Rigorous monitoring of raw materials is one of the quality factors, since the origin of the ingredients, their chemical composition and processing history directly affect the digestibility, nutritional value and safety of the final product.

The traceability of the production chain is therefore a key element for technical stability, since reducing the variability of the composition and anticipating deviations allows for precise adjustments and greater reliability in formulations, especially in food categories aimed at dogs with specific needs.

In Brazil, the supervision and inspection of products intended for animal feed is regulated by the Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (MAPA), as established in Decree No. 6.296 of December 11, 2007.

Quality is also directly related to the preservation of the food during its shelf life. Packaging plays an important technical role, as it must act as a barrier against external agents that compromise the integrity of the product, such as humidity, light, oxygen and odors. This control is indispensable for preserving the sensory and physical-chemical attributes of the formulation until it is consumed (RADTKE, 2010).

Flavor and palatability as acceptance criteria in dog food

After this industrial scheme, the success of a pet food formulation begins with the animal's immediate sensory response. Among the main factors that determine this acceptance are aroma and palatability, which act as behavioral triggers and have a direct impact on spontaneous consumption. Taste, together with smell, act decisively in this process and are decisive in the choice of food (BARBIERI, 2013).

In addition to the nutritional composition, the profile of the food needs to be technically designed to generate stimulation and attractiveness.

Scent is the first stimulus perceived by the animal and has a decisive influence on its willingness to consume the food, since smell is the most acute sense in dogs. According to Vadurel & Gogny (1997), while humans have around 5 million olfactory receptors, dogs have approximately 220 million, which justifies the importance of taking care when formulating food for pets.

In this species, olfactory detection is extremely sensitive, making the quality and type of volatiles released by the ingredients critical factors in the formulation. In other words, unattractive, unstable or oxidized aroma profiles can lead to rejection, even of nutritionally adequate products.

Palatability, on the other hand, encompasses the complete experience of consumption, from olfactory recognition to taste acceptance and persistence in the pattern of ingestion over time.

According to Bourgeois (2004), palatability goes beyond immediate ingestion or speed of consumption, reflecting the food's attractiveness. Although it represents only a small percentage of the total formulation, its performance is decisive and must be treated with professionalism and technical rigor, given the high degree of variability and the difficulty of control (SPF, 2003).

Thus, functional ingredients with an improved sensory profile, such as hydrolyzed proteins and palatability enhancers, play a fundamental role in this process, because they add aromatic complexity and aftertaste that contribute to consumer loyalty.

How oxidative stability affects the sensory performance of pet foods

In addition to these other factors, oxidative stability is an essential factor in ensuring that the positive sensory experience provided by the food is maintained from the moment of production to final consumption.

The degradation of lipids and proteins over time can compromise the aroma, taste and even the acceptability of the food, which makes the control of oxidation a strategic element in the development of formulations for dogs.

The oxidation of lipid components, in particular, is a process that results in the formation of compounds responsible for undesirable odors and tastes. As well as reducing the attractiveness of the food, it also affects its nutritional quality, since it compromises the integrity of fat-soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids, impairing the functional value of the diet (Ramalho & Jorge, 2006).

The choice of ingredients, humidity control, form of application and packaging conditions are all factors that directly influence oxidative stability.

Techniques such as the use of antioxidants, protection against exposure to oxygen and control of the environment during the application of palatability enhancers help to preserve the sensory performance of the product for longer.

Maintaining aromatic integrity throughout the shelf life is particularly relevant in premium lines, where food acceptance must be predictable from the first to the last day of use of the packaging.

For this reason, the use of ingredients with good oxidative stability and proven sensory performance is an essential part of the strategy to ensure consistency in the animal's experience with the food.

Technical parameters for evaluating food acceptance by dogs

The sensory response to food, influenced by aroma, palatability and oxidative stability, needs to be objectively validated to ensure that the perceived benefits can be replicated on an industrial scale.

For this reason, in addition to a well-executed formulation and the appropriate choice of functional ingredients, it is essential to apply methods that allow food acceptance to be measured in a standardized and comparable way between products.

The most widely used test in the industry to determine food preference is the two-feeder test (two-pan test), which consists of offering two diets simultaneously and quantifying the consumption of each after a defined period. This methodology makes it possible to assess which food has obtained the greatest preference based on spontaneous intake (AFB, 2013).

As well as being simple and efficient, this type of test provides quantitative and behavioral data that helps to differentiate the attractiveness of similar formulations.

Other protocols can also be used, such as spontaneous consumption tests, in which the acceptance of a single diet offered in isolation is observed. Although less comparative, this model makes it possible to assess the pattern of daily intake, the maintenance of interest over time and the effect of different presentations or batches of the same food. In both cases, the use of controlled groups and consistent measurement criteria is essential for the reliability of the results.

The technical analysis of this data helps to develop more effective formulations, but it is also strategic for positioning the product on the market, considering that a food that is well accepted in the first few minutes of being offered and maintains this pattern on different occasions tends to generate greater loyalty to the diet and less waste.

Evaluating acceptance goes beyond sensory validation, it's about ensuring that the experience offered to the animal is delivered in a real and repeatable way.

B.FreshFy: Premium Liquid Palatability Enhancer with

B.FreshFy is the premium liquid palatability enhancer developed by BRF Ingredients to meet the technical requirements of the pet food industry, with a focus on sensory performance, stability and versatility of application.

Produced from fresh raw materials, such as poultry and pork liver, the ingredient goes through stages such as enzymatic hydrolysis and the Maillard reaction, which contribute to the release of volatile compounds with a high olfactory value, as we have seen, one of the main factors responsible for the initial attractiveness of the food.

When applied to extruded feed and snacks, B.FreshFy contributes directly to the sensory performance of the formulation, because it is developed to reinforce the attributes of aroma and palatability, acting from the animal's first contact with the food, favoring spontaneous consumption and adherence to the diet.

Its liquid formulation facilitates industrial application and promotes uniform distribution over the food, optimizing sensory stimulation and guaranteeing consistent results in different formats and product profiles.

The product's effectiveness was validated in tests conducted in partnership with Panelis, using dogs of different sizes and life stages. In one of the experiments, the diet containing 2% B.FreshFy showed a consumption ratio of 57%, which was higher than that obtained for the control diet (43%), a consistent result in all the age groups evaluated.

In a second study, the product showed superior performance both in the dogs' first choice and in maintaining consumption between meals. The diet with B.FreshFy was chosen by 84% of the dogs in the first offer and maintained 66% consumption throughout the evaluation period.

In addition to this sensory performance, B.FreshFy is made up of BRF Ingredients' differentials, such as the 100% integrated production chain, total traceability, access to fresh raw materials and industrial standardization. These attributes guarantee technical stability, control of origin and predictability in application, which are essential factors for the formulation of premium products and consolidated technical positioning in the market.

Final considerations

Ensuring food acceptance in pet food formulations goes beyond choosing nutritionally balanced ingredients. Elements such as aroma, palatability and sensory stability need to be considered right from the product's conception, with technical decisions that directly impact dogs' eating behavior.

In this scenario, having ingredients that deliver validated performance, industrial standardization and control of origin is fundamental to maintaining consistency between batches and predictability in formulation. Choosing solutions with safe application and measurable results contributes to greater efficiency in the development of foods with a more competitive technical and sensory positioning.

B.FreshFy is the result of this need, with versatile application, integrated chain production and proven performance in different diet profiles, the product corroborates BRF Ingredients' commitment to delivering functional solutions in line with the demands of the pet food industry.

To learn more about the Animal Nutrition portfolio, which brings results in different spheres of animal performance, including health, feeding behavior and production efficiency, follow BRF Ingredients on social networks, we are on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.