(600e) Condensation Behavior in Warmly Packaged Pet Food Pellets

Condensation can often be observed in finished packages when extruded pet foods are packed warm. A number of techniques can be used to avoid this problem. These include cooling, additional drying or even just holding the product for a period of time before packing to allow for moisture equilibration. Applying any of these methods successfully requires some understanding of the specific product behavior and optimum process configuration needs to make use of some engineering analysis. Unfortunately, quantitative description of this behavior in food systems can be complex. This paper explores some of the basic concepts involved and provides an example where some experimental data is used to form simpler empirical relations. These are then used to consider product behavior and how this changes with process conditions or how the material is handled. Although the apparent material properties identified are product specific, the approach used for analyzing data as well as projecting product behavior should be applicable to other products in similar situations.