What Palatants are in Pet Food?
Palatants are substances added to pet food to increase aroma, taste, and voluntary intake.
In commercial kibble, palatants are not nutritional enhancements. They are sensory compensations for flavor and odor loss caused by industrial processing.¹
Palatants are applied after extrusion and drying, coating the exterior of kibble pieces rather than being incorporated into the food matrix.
Table of Contents
Why Kibble Requires Palatability Enhancement
Extrusion and drying significantly reduce the natural aroma and flavor of ingredients.
High heat results in:
Denatures proteins
Volatilizes aroma compounds
The resulting product is organoleptically bland. Without intervention, many animals would reject it.²
Palatants exist to restore sensory appeal, not to improve nutritional value.
Animal Digest Explained
The most common palatant in dry pet food is animal digest.
Animal digest is produced by enzymatic or chemical hydrolysis of animal tissues, breaking proteins into free amino acids, peptides, and flavor compounds.³
The resulting liquid or powder is sprayed onto kibble to intensify smell and taste.
Digest may be derived from:
Poultry
Beef
Pork
Fish
Ingredient labels often list it generically as “animal digest” or “natural flavor.”
Rendered Fats as Flavor Carriers
The rendered ingredients in pet food are frequently used alongside digest.
After extrusion:
Kibble is tumbled in coating drums
Rendered fats are sprayed onto the surface
Digest compounds are dissolved in the fat
Fat acts as both a flavor carrier and a caloric enhancer, increasing palatability and energy density.⁴
This coating is what animals primarily smell and taste, rather than the underlying kibble structure.
Palatability vs. Nutritional Quality
Fat acts as both a flavor carrier and a caloric enhancer, increasing palatability and energy density. Credit: Kibble Facts
Palatability should not be confused with nutritional adequacy.
Palatants:
Do not replace nutrients lost during processing
Do not restore enzyme activity
Do not improve nutrient bioavailability
They influence feeding behavior, not physiological nourishment.
Highly palatable foods may encourage overconsumption, particularly when combined with high-energy density.⁵
Behavioral and Feeding Implications
Palatability agents are designed to:
Increase first-bite acceptance
Maintain repeat feeding behavior
Mask batch-to-batch variation in base ingredients
This allows manufacturers to maintain consistent intake even when ingredient quality varies.
In practice, strong palatability can override normal satiety cues, contributing to excessive caloric intake in some animals.⁶
AAFCO Standards of Palatants
Palatants are regulated as ingredients but are not nutritionally evaluated.
AAFCO regulations:
Allow digest and flavor agents
Do not require disclosure of source species in some cases
Do not assess behavioral effects
Palatants are evaluated for safety, not for their role in feeding behavior or long-term metabolic outcomes.
Why Palatants Persist in Dry Pet Food
Palatants persist because they solve multiple industrial challenges in the kibble production process:
Restore sensory appeal after high-heat processing
Mask flavor variability from rendered ingredients
Increase consumer-perceived acceptance
Support repeat purchase behavior
They are a structural necessity within extruded food systems rather than a discretionary addition.
Smell and Taste by Design
Palatants are not added to kibble to enhance nutrition.
They are added to make an otherwise unappealing product acceptable to eat.
Understanding palatability agents clarifies why dry pet food:
Smells strong despite heavy processing
Relies on surface coatings rather than food integrity
Separates sensory appeal from nutritional structure
Citations & Sources
Aldrich, G. (2015). “Pet food palatability evaluation: A review of standard assay techniques…” Animals. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26479136/ (PubMed)
(If you specifically want the Petfood Industry version, use: https://www.petfoodindustry.com/articles/7168-pet-food-palatability (PetfoodIndustry))Guy, R. (Ed.). (2001). Extrusion Cooking: Technologies and Applications. Woodhead Publishing. https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9781855735590/extrusion-cooking (ScienceDirect)
Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO). (n.d.). Ingredient Definitions. https://www.aafco.org/resources/ingredient-definitions/ (AAFCO)
Shahidi, F. (1998). “Indicators for evaluation of lipid oxidation and off-flavor…” (review article; canonical record). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167450198800320 (ScienceDirect)
German, A.J. (2007). “Dietary energy restriction and successful weight loss…” (veterinary obesity; PubMed record). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18196722/ (PubMed)
McCrory, M.A., Saltzman, E., Rolls, B.J., & Roberts, S.B. (2006). “A twin study of the effects of energy density and palatability on energy intake…” Physiology & Behavior. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031938405003859 (ScienceDirect)
