Mexican experts are urging pet food manufacturers to focus on reducing production losses rather than just optimizing formulations or increasing throughput. Néstor de Miguel of Nutriciel emphasized that profitability often depends on systematically identifying and reducing losses throughout the manufacturing process. De Miguel spoke at Foro Mascotas in Guadalajara on July 15, where he outlined opportunities to cut costs from ingredient receiving through finished product packaging.
Manufacturers can save money by tightening controls during the ingredient receiving phase. De Miguel estimated that corn containing an average of 3% impurities represents a loss of about 210 pesos per metric ton received. Soybean meal with 2% impurities carries a similar financial impact of 120 pesos per ton. “What is not controlled when receiving raw materials becomes a permanent loss,” he said.
Practical recommendations include reviewing acceptance specifications with suppliers, verifying moisture and impurity levels during receiving, and ensuring truck scales are calibrated. Documenting incoming moisture levels for each delivery provides a baseline for tracking changes over time. These steps help prevent impurities from entering the supply chain where they can contaminate the final product.
Managing moisture losses during storage
Storage losses often go unnoticed because they happen gradually rather than during a visible production event. De Miguel explained that grains and cereals continue losing moisture when stored above 33 degrees Celsius, potentially losing up to 3% of their weight in less than three months. Corn, rice, wheat, and soybeans are particularly susceptible to this issue.
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Using an example of 1,000 kilograms of grain, a 3% moisture reduction lowers inventory weight to approximately 970 kilograms. Although the nutritional value may not change proportionally, the saleable weight decreases. His recommendations include monitoring silo ventilation, recording moisture at receiving, continuing to monitor levels throughout storage, and evaluating storage time alongside temperature.
It is easy to forget that a factory warehouse is a living environment. Just as a basement in a humid climate requires dehumidifiers to prevent mold, a feed mill requires active ventilation to stabilize moisture levels. When operators ignore these environmental factors, the result is simply money vanishing into the air.
Dosing accuracy and scale calibration
De Miguel divided dosing losses into two categories: operator errors and variability from automated systems. Operator errors occur when weighing ingredients using scales with inadequate precision. System variability often happens during “freefall” after dosing gates close, where material continues falling even after the valve is shut. This means the displayed weight may continue increasing before stabilizing, and the next ingredient might start dosing before the system settles.
The presentation stressed that resolution alone does not guarantee accuracy. A scale with 10-gram resolution might display 25.38 kilograms, but calibration and instrument quality determine the actual error. De Miguel used a 25.384-kilogram example bag to illustrate this distinction. Recommended actions include verifying scale resolution and accuracy, checking load cells regularly, and documenting performance for every dosing station.
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Reusing off-specification product
Instead of treating all rejected product as waste, De Miguel presented a system to recover off-specification material. Common sources of rejected product include start-up and shutdown batches averaging 200 to 400 kilograms, products outside density specifications (roughly 1% of production), and fines removed during polishing (1% to 3% of a run).
The proposed rework system collects rejected material from the extruder, mixes it with water in a rework tank to create an aqueous solution, and feeds that solution back into the extrusion process through the process water system. This approach allows manufacturers to recover material that would otherwise become waste while reducing disposal costs.
Building a cost structure for accountability
De Miguel emphasized the importance of creating a cost structure that operators and managers can use daily. Rather than tracking dozens of accounting categories individually, he recommended consolidating costs into a smaller number of operational indicators. These include labor, maintenance, electricity, depreciation, laboratory analysis, natural gas, lubricants, water, freight, administrative costs, and packaging materials.
The presentation recommended establishing acceptable variation limits. World-class manufacturers often target normal variation within plus or minus 5%. Deviations beyond that threshold should trigger investigation, while larger deviations require immediate corrective action. Comparing current performance against both budget and the same month in the previous year helps identify whether rising costs result from operational changes or broader market conditions.
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The role of automation and AI
De Miguel concluded by discussing how automation and artificial intelligence can extend process control. He noted that pet food plants have increasingly standardized critical processes through automation. When these systems are integrated with enterprise resource planning and supervisory control systems, manufacturers gain better visibility across production.
He described emerging uses of AI, including monitoring critical process variables in real time, detecting deviations earlier, predicting equipment jams, automatically adjusting operating parameters, and supporting operational decisions using historical data. However, De Miguel cautioned that AI should complement, not replace, operator expertise.
“Clients tell me, ‘ChatGPT said this or that,’ and I say, ‘but does ChatGPT know your formulations and machines as well as you do?'” he said. “AI only knows what it has learned from us. When I make an observation or suggestion, it is from real-world experience.” He recommended continued training of real humans by equipment manufacturers or process specialists.
