Balancing taste and acceptance: Enhancing pet food palatability with PetArom Beef P

Modern pet food development blends advanced nutrition with behavioural and sensory science. While balanced formulations based on proteins, grains and essential nutrients support health and performance, they do not automatically guarantee one decisive factor - voluntary intake driven by palatability.

To stimulate appetite and encourage consistent feeding behaviour, producers have long relied on palatability enhancers such as digests - hydrolyzed animal proteins delivering intense meaty cues that are naturally appealing to dogs and cats. Yet while these compounds strongly attract pets, their characteristic odour can be perceived as unpleasant in production environments and home feeding situations.

Today’s pet owners expect food that delivers high acceptance for pets while remaining pleasant and manageable for humans. This shift is accelerating demand for a new generation of palatability solutions - technologies designed not only to drive feed intake, but also to refine and balance aroma perception.

PetArom systems operate both as palatant modulators and aroma harmonizers, optimizing sensory cues for pets while reducing human-perceived off-notes from digest-based formulations.

Designed to support high palatability with a refined aroma profile, the PetArom portfolio - including PetArom Beef P - represents the next generation of palatability enhancement: scientifically grounded, species-adapted, and developed to deliver flavour enjoyment for pets and sensory comfort for their owners.
 

The science of palatability lies in balancing functionality with sensory performance. Dogs and cats rely predominantly on olfactory perception to evaluate feed, whereas humans associate quality with freshness, clean aroma, and an overall pleasant feeding environment. This creates a dual requirement: strong palatability cues for pets, paired with controlled, refined aroma for human handlers.

PetArom Beef P was developed as a next-generation palatability enhancer to bridge this sensory gap. With a characteristic beef-and-liver profile, it boosts feed attractiveness for dogs while selectively masking off-notes commonly associated with digests or animal-based raw materials.

The result is targeted palatability optimization: enhanced voluntary intake for pets, coupled with a cleaner, more agreeable aroma profile in production and home feeding environments.
  

At the heart of PetArom performance lies flavour chemistry and sensory physiology. Its selected amino acids and small peptides act as natural precursors that can enhance Maillard-type reactions during heat processing - pathways associated with roasted, meaty notes typically perceived in freshly cooked foods. This mechanism supports the development of aroma intensity, depth, and persistence over time.

PetArom Beef P demonstrates high thermal stability and can be incorporated at multiple stages of the production process:

• Co-extrusion: blended with digest or meat base and processed at 125–160 °C to support controlled browning reactions.
• Post-extrusion coating: dissolved in water and applied with digest to fine-tune aroma expression and masking performance.
• Short thermal treatments: suitable for sterilized or semi-moist formats without compromising sensory performance.

To evaluate the impact of PetArom Beef P on feed acceptance, a controlled palatability study was conducted at Rancho de Pedra, a recognized companion-animal research facility in Brazil. Twenty adult dogs participated in a paired-comparison two-bowl test, where each dog had simultaneous access to two diets for 30 minutes per session.

Two key behavioural indicators were recorded:

• Spontaneous acceptance: relative intake of each diet.
• First choice: which food the dog approached and consumed first.

To support transparency and provide a clear overview of the test design, the diets used across all trials are summarized below.
 
Table 1: Diet Overview and Experimental Definitions

All trials were conducted using a standard two-bowl preference test in 20 adult dogs, fed once daily. Palatability was evaluated by spontaneous acceptance (intake share) and first-choice behaviour.

Baseline validation - Confirming digest as the acceptance driver

To establish the reference point, dogs received:

• Diet A: basic diet without digest
• Diet B: same diet with 3 % digest

^{Figure 1: Effects of including digest in pet food, confirming its role as the primary palatability driver}
 

To evaluate the intrinsic effect of PetArom independent of digest, dogs were offered:

• Diet A: basic diet without digest
• Diet C: same diet + 20 g PetArom Beef P per 100 kg feed
  (both diets digest-free)

^{Figure 2: Effects of PetArom Beef P without digest, confirming that it enhances palatability but does not replace digest as the primary driver of food intake}

To assess the additional palatability benefit of PetArom when combined with digest, in a digest-free comparison, a standard two-bowl preference test was conducted in 20 adult dogs fed once daily.
Diets offered:

• Diet A: basic diet without digest
• Diet D: basic diet with 3% digest + 20 g PetArom Beef P / 100 kg feed

^{Figure 3: Effects of combining PetArom Beef P with digest, demonstrating a synergistic palatability boost beyond the effect of digest alone}

After confirming that digest serves as a key driver of palatability, PetArom was evaluated on top of a standard digest-based diet (Diet B), reflecting a typical commercial formulation.
Diets offered:

• Diet B: basic diet with 3% digest
• Diet D: same diet + 20 g PetArom Beef P per 100 kg feed

^{Figure 4: Effects of adding PetArom Beef P to a digest-based diet, demonstrating a clear sensory uplift and enhanced palatability on top of digest}

To evaluate whether a higher inclusion level of PetArom Beef P could further enhance palatability, an additional comparison was conducted within the same trial:

• Diet B: basic diet with 3% digest
• Diet E: same diet + 40 g PetArom Beef P per 100 kg feed

^{Figure 5: Effects of increasing PetArom Beef P dosage in a digest-based diet, showing only marginal gains beyond the standard inclusion rate}
  

The study clearly demonstrates that PetArom Beef P delivers consistent and meaningful improvements in palatability — both as a standalone solution and through pronounced synergy with digest. By enhancing aroma depth for dogs while refining the sensory profile perceived by humans, PetArom meets the dual expectations shaping today’s premium pet food market.

For dogs, PetArom Beef P enriches the feeding experience, stimulating enthusiasm, appetite, and overall enjoyment. For pet owners, its cleaner, more balanced aroma profile contributes to a noticeably more pleasant and hygienic mealtime environment.

For manufacturers, these benefits translate into real strategic value: improved product acceptance, strengthened premium positioning, and the ability to differentiate through sensory experience without formulation complexity. In addition, the technology supports more efficient, flexible use of digest - helping deliver both cost and sustainability advantages in a competitive industry landscape.

Palatability remains the decisive factor not only for voluntary intake, but also for long-term consumer loyalty and brand preference. PetArom Beef P illustrates how targeted flavour science can elevate pet food from nutritionally complete to genuinely irresistible - bridging nutrition, behaviour, and sensory design.

In essence:
PetArom transforms balanced diets into rewarding eating experiences — a tangible benefit for pets, pet owners, and manufacturers alike.
  

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Oostindjer, M., Bolhuis, J.E., van den Brand, H., Roura, E. and B. Kemp: 2010: Prenatal flavor exposure affects growth, health and behavior of newly weaned piglets. Physiology & Behavior 99: 579-586.

Oostindjer, M., Bolhuis, J.E., Simon, K., van den Brand, H. and B. Kemp: 2011: Perinatal Flavour Learning and Adaptation to Being Weaned: All the Pig Needs Is Smell. PLoS ONE 6(10):e25318.