Industries
Pet Foods
Consistency in pet food starts with moisture management
From kibble to treats, pet food products must stay safe and appealing over time. AQUALAB helps teams with moisture management to reduce variability and support consistent quality across batches.
Common moisture challenges in pet foods
Moisture migration
Many pet foods and treats are made of multiple components that hold moisture differently. Over time, moisture naturally moves from wetter areas to drier ones. This can soften kibble, dry out fillings, or cause coatings and inclusions to lose definition. These changes often appear after packaging, making shelf life harder to predict and protect.
Texture changes
Pet owners expect consistent crunch, chew, and bite from bag to bag. Small shifts in moisture during drying, cooling, or storage can slowly change texture, turning crisp products soft or making soft treats tough or sticky. When texture drifts, product quality suffers and consumer trust is harder to maintain.
Precision that supports daily decisions.
Pet foods are shaped by how moisture moves during drying, cooling, and storage. Kibble can soften if it gains moisture. Soft treats can become sticky or unstable. Small changes in ingredients, humidity, or process conditions can quietly push products out of spec before problems show up on the line.
AQUALAB helps pet food teams confirm when products are safe and stable by measuring water activity directly instead of relying on moisture content or time alone. Fast, repeatable measurements support clearer drying endpoints, stronger QA decisions, and more consistent product quality across batches and shifts.
“With the Moisture Analysis Toolkit, we were able to make predictions so we could understand shelf life and how package characteristics or warehouse conditions may affect it.”
Gregg Schieffer,
R&D Chemist, Kemin Industries
INDUSTRY EXPERTISE
Experience you can rely on
For more than 40 years, AQUALAB has helped quality teams around the world manage moisture with clarity and consistency. Today, more than 90 of the world’s top food and pharmaceutical companies rely on AQUALAB instruments and expertise to support daily quality decisions.
Our work spans global manufacturing environments, regulatory frameworks, and product types, giving QA teams a trusted scientific foundation they can defend.
Lab services support
When questions go beyond routine testing, AQUALAB Lab Services provide expert moisture analysis to help diagnose issues, validate results, and uncover root causes.
Explore lab servicesWater activity meters
AQUALAB instruments deliver fast, accurate, and repeatable water activity measurements designed for use in R&D, Production, and QA teams.
AQUALAB 4TE
Fast. Precise. Economical. Meet the renowned instrument that brought water activity to the business world.
- aw in <5 min
- Highly compliant + compatible
- Secure data storage
AQUALAB 3
Lightning-fast total moisture analysis to tighten process control and boost quality.
- MC + aw in one
- Results in 60 seconds
- For the lab or the line
Lab services
Precision lab testing services to confirm quality, consistency, and compliance.
- Accurate results
- Fast turnaround
- Industry standards
Knowledge base
Explore resources, application notes, and expert guidance to help your quality team make moisture management simpler, clearer, and more reliable.
Water activity: A better moisture metric for pet food
Find the ideal water activity range for your pet food product that maximizes profit, nutrition, and tastiness while keeping it safe from microbes and mold.
How Simmons Foods found the sweet spot
Simmons Foods is a leading North American producer of poultry and pet nutrition products. We spoke with Rick Stoller, Process Improvement Manager, about how managing moisture in pet food can significantly impact the bottom line.
WEBINAR: Water activity in animal feed
Managing moisture in animal feed is a game-changer, improving product safety, consistency, and financial performance. This webinar explores water activity as the key to moisture control.