What is Freeze-dried Pet Food?

Principle of Freeze-drying

Freeze-drying (FD), or more specifically vacuum freeze-drying, as the name tells, refers to removing the moisture of food by the combination of freezing and vacuuming. So, how does the process make FD food so good?

Here comes a refresh of high school physics. When the food is frozen (at as low as -32 °C), the water inside the raw food turns into ice. Then, in the vacuuming process, with the right combination of temperature and pressure, sublimation occurs, the ice vaporizes directly into water vapor (or gas). 

At the end of the process, most of the moisture (usually over 95%) is gone, but the structures and nutrients of the food remain intact. Also, as gems need water to survive, this gives FD food an extremely long shelf life at room temperature without adding preservatives.

We have summarized some major pros of FD pet food for you:

1. Maximize Nutrition Value

The freezing + vacuuming process does not destroy or alter the natural structure of the food. It is raw and intact, meaning that the maximum of nutrition is kept while converting it into more handy form. 

2. Lower Allergy Risk

Also, in most of the time, FD meats are containing limited number of ingredients (for example all the freeze-dried pure meat treats from Ranova contain ONLY ONE ingredient).  

3. Light-weight and Easy Storage

After the dehydration process, freeze-dried products are very lightweight with a very long shelf life (usually between 18 to 24 months) at room temperature. 

4. Versatile Usage

Freeze-dried pet food is preservatives and additives free, densely packed with essentials while attractive to pets. Thus, it is versatile to incorporate freeze-dried food into a pet's diet. It can be used as a feed attractant added to a pet's routine meal, a complementary to add nutrition, as a  as a training treat or a feeding snack for pet owners to play with their pets, and so on.

How is it compared to heat or dehydrated treatments?

More nutrition, longer shelf life, less storage restrictions 

Freeze-dried meats are raw. Nutrition loss during freeze-drying is minimal as the chemical composition of the nutrients remain unchanged. Heat treatments, on the other hand, causes deformation to protein and loss of vitamins.  Also, the process also  guarantees freeze-dried products a considerable longer shelf life and easier storage than raw meat or air-dried products. 

After balancing nutrition and convenience concerns, it is fair enough to say that freeze-drying is the best among all treatment methods. That being said, the extensive use of advanced technologies and strict control over temperature/pressure also set a high bar in its manufacturing.  In the North American market, freeze-dried pet food is usual way more expensive than other dehydrated products. 

This is why we are introducing Ranova to our clients...where you can get premium quality FD food at affordable price!!