Shelf stability is essential in pet food production. It ensures that products maintain their quality throughout transport, storage, and eventual use. But achieving it often comes with a hidden cost: an increasing reliance on additives that may complicate formulations, raise costs, and sometimes compromise palatability.
But there is another way to achieve shelf stability while reducing additives – Gold Shield® Refined Chicken Fat. In this blog, we’ll explore why shelf-stabilizing additives are commonly used in pet food, the drawbacks they introduce, and how Gold Shield® Refined Chicken Fat offers a simpler, more efficient solution.
Why Does Pet Food Need Additives?
Pet food manufacturers rely on additives to help maintain freshness, prevent spoilage, and extend the shelf life of their products. These additives typically include preservatives, antioxidants, and moisture-control agents, all of which are intended to protect the product through distribution, retail storage, and use in the home.
This is especially important in high-fat formulations, where fats can oxidize quickly if not stabilized. Without some form of protection, products are more likely to degrade sooner. Additives offer a layer of defense, but they also signal that the base ingredients may not be stable enough on their own.
Additives in Pet Food Formulations Come at a Price
While functional, additives are not without consequences. Every added component introduces new variables into a formulation, which can impact:
- Raw material costs
- Palatability, particularly when synthetic preservatives are involved
- Manufacturing complexity, including additional mixing stages, labeling requirements, and sourcing needs
Beyond the formulation, additives can affect how your product is perceived in the market. Consumer demand is trending toward clean labels and simplified ingredient decks, so it’s becoming increasingly important to consider each ingredient in your pet food formulation.
Even more concerning is the fact that additives don’t always prevent spoilage. When stability fails, whether from storage conditions, improper mixing, or raw ingredient variability, it can result in wasted product, retail pullbacks, and customer complaints. That’s a cost no brand wants to carry.
How Gold Shield® Refined Chicken Fat Supports Shelf Stability Naturally
Gold Shield® Refined Chicken Fat offers a simpler, smarter path to shelf stability. Thanks to its high level of refinement, it is free from organic debris and impurities that typically drive spoilage. This clean, consistent profile gives it exceptional oxidative stability with far lower levels of added preservatives.
Gold Shield® performs more reliably over time than unrefined or lightly processed fats, which are more susceptible to breakdown and rancidity. Its stability has been demonstrated through extended storage testing, consistently maintaining quality where other fats begin to degrade. Our most recent white paper provides additional detail on the data regarding shelf stability.
By removing the materials that compromise stability, Gold Shield® helps pet food manufacturers achieve a longer-lasting product with fewer formulation crutches.
Did you know?
Pet Food Solutions pre-mixes any AOX and ratio specification FOR YOU, saving your business time and money!
Simplify Your Recipe, Strengthen Your Product
Reducing additives delivers more than just a marketing win, it also improves operations across the board. With Gold Shield® Refined Chicken Fat, manufacturers gain a naturally stable fat source that can reduce the need for shelf-life stabilizers. That means:
- Fewer ingredients to source, store, and manage
- Easier compliance and labeling
- Greater flexibility in formulation
- A cleaner label that appeals to modern consumers
Gold Shield® brings value not only in what it delivers, but in what it helps remove. Fewer additives, less complexity, better performance.
Shelf stability shouldn’t come at the expense of simplicity. With Gold Shield®, the difference is CLEAR.
