Material

Pet Food Kibble

Answer in brief

Kibble leaves the coater as a finished product and arrives at the bag as whatever the conveying system left of it.

Breakage creates fines that look like poor quality in the bag, and fat coating transfers to every surface the product touches.

Keep velocity and drop heights low from coater to packer.
Design for fat buildup and for cleaning it off.
Watch segregation where shapes or sizes are mixed.

Reviewed October 21, 2026 · Updated November 10, 2026

Handling challenges

Pet food plants run high tonnages of a fragile, oily product, and the two properties pull the design in opposite directions.

Breakage and fines

Each transfer point produces fines, and fines at the bottom of a bag are the most common consumer complaint.

Bucket elevators with soft discharge or belt conveyors in place of screw conveyors.
Spiral let-downs instead of vertical drops into silos and packers.
Rate control so that lines run full and slow rather than fast and surging.

Fat coating

Coated kibble leaves a film on chutes, belts and silo walls, which collects fines, turns rancid and becomes the cleaning problem of the plant.

Smooth, accessible surfaces, removable chute sections and a cleaning schedule based on fat load rather than calendar habit keep this under control.

Segregation

Mixed-shape products and added treats separate by size and density in every silo and every fall.

Mass flow bins, controlled fill points and short free fall into the packer reduce the variation that the consumer sees as an uneven mix.

Dust and explosion risk

Kibble fines and the dust from grinding and mixing upstream are combustible, and collectors and enclosed conveyors deserve the same assessment as in human food plants.

What to establish before buying equipment

Acceptable fines percentage at the bag, measured consistently.
Fat application rate and the resulting surface load.
Bulk density range across the product list, which sets packer volumes.
Cleaning access and the changeover requirement between recipes.

Storage and conditioning

Kibble is extruded, coated and fragile, and storage decides how much of it survives.

The fat coating that makes it palatable also makes it stick and go rancid, and warmth accelerates both. Deep beds crush the lower layers and produce the fines that end up at the bottom of every bag.

Keep the store cool; fat migration and rancidity are temperature driven.
Use shallow beds and short storage times.
Remove fines deliberately rather than letting them travel to packing.

What this means for equipment

Breakage is the measure of a kibble line.

Every drop and every bend breaks pieces, and broken pieces are a visible defect in a transparent bag. Coated product also builds up on surfaces, so cleaning access matters.

Cascade chutes and low drop heights throughout.
Belt and bucket conveying rather than pneumatic transfer.
Smooth, cleanable geometry where coated product passes.

Safety and regulatory

The dust is explosible and the plant is a feed hygiene environment.

Explosion protection on filters, dryers and silos.
Housekeeping; fat-bearing dust accumulates stickily on structures.
Cross-contamination control between recipes, including medicated feeds where present.

Material behavior

Flowability: Free flowing, low bulk density
Abrasiveness: Low
Cohesiveness: Low; fat coating causes surface buildup
Moisture behavior: Picks up moisture and loses crunch; mould risk when wet
Contamination risk: Fat rancidity on uncleaned surfaces and carryover between recipes

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Frequently asked questions

Why does kibble break so easily?

It is an extruded, porous structure with a coating. Impacts crack it, and deep beds crush the lower layers, which is why bed depth and drop height matter more than throughput.

What does the fat coating change?

It makes product stick to surfaces, it goes rancid with warmth, and it makes the settled dust sticky. All three argue for cool storage and cleanable geometry.

Where should fines be removed?

Early and deliberately, with a screen. Otherwise they arrive at the bag, where the customer sees them.