PROCESSING ANIMAL FEED 237 



material. As most of the animal feed derived from fish is taken from 

 species of fish or parts that are considered scrap, the type of product 

 processed in a given locality depends upon the type of food fish being 

 processed. 



Some fisheries have by-products that are particularly desirable for cer- 

 tain types of animal feed. For example, the Southern California area 

 where a high volume of tuna is canned produces large quantities of pet 

 food from the red meat trimmed from tuna loins being prepared for can- 

 ning for human consumption. In the northern areas along the Pacific 

 Coast from Northern California to Alaska, a sizable mink feed industry 

 has been established utilizing the scrap products from the fillet plants. 

 The availability of this material as mink feed has been important in 

 locating many mink ranches in this area. 



A considerable quantity of whole fish from the Gulf of Mexico is used 

 to prepare pet food. The species used, mainly croakers, are small and 

 until recent years were regarded as valueless. 



Processing Methods 



In processing any product, the producer must consider the cost per 

 unit of each step in his operation and base the selling price of the product 

 accordingly. In processing fishery products into animal feeds, since the 

 selling price is usually quite low, the cost of processing must be con- 

 sidered very carefully in order to be competitive with other types of 

 feeds. Thus it is necessary that any method used in preparing animal 

 feeds be relatively inexpensive and yield high production volumes. 



Canning Methods for Pet Food. By far the most important canned fish 

 product produced for animal feed is canned pet food. Over 360 million 

 pounds of such canned products were packed in 1958 for use as animal feed. 



The methods used in processing canned pet foods are essentially the 

 same as those used in canning any fish product except for two factors — 

 raw material source and product formulation. 



Where the fish is harvested especially for pet food production, the entire 

 fish is used. If the by-product of a food fish is used, the parts processed 

 are usually the head, skin, viscera, and, in the case of tuna, the red flesh. 

 Processing usually begins with a grinding operation in which all of the 

 fish components are ground together to make a single homogeneous mass. 

 This is then used to add to a formula including such products as red 

 meat, cereals, yeast, and vitamin and mineral supplements. Most pet 

 food processors consider their particular formulation and mixing pro- 

 cedures to be a proprietory secret. 



Catfoods often contain 100 per cent fish while dogfoods usually contain 

 a much smaller percentage of fish. 



The potential of fishery products for use as pet food is very high. 



