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Optical sorting machine helps ensure pet food quality

19 May 2023

Dutch pet food supplier, Vobra Special Petfoods, has enhanced the safety and quality of its products with the addition of an optical sorting machine.

Operating since 1932, Vorba supplies dog and cat food to Vobra-owned brands and private labels and is active in over 35 countries. Recognising the need to stay ahead of the market, Vobra invested in a Bühler SORTEX FB machine, to help ensure its kibble quality.

The pet food market requires a homogeneous and uniform kibble size and shape, combined with a zero tolerance for foreign materials. Vobra’s kibble is made of natural ingredients and processed to the markets required specifications using a Bühler extruder and checked by its SORTEX FB optical sorter.

SORTEX inspects every kibble for quality, even at quantities of around 5 tons of kibble per hour.

These high outputs required the use of a sorter that could ensure the quality of every kibble, even with the demands of 180,000 kilos of dog and cat kibble daily. The SORTEX high-definition cameras inspect every kibble, removing defects like cross-contamination, oversized/undersized kibble, and small pieces of bone as well as any foreign material, with pinpoint accuracy. 

In 2021 Vobra constructed a new factory at Veghel, taking the opportunity to evaluate its process line and recognse where improvements could be made, leading to the decision to incorporate the SORTEX FB alongside a Bühler extruder. 

Alongside improved yield, by removing only the defective kibble from the product stream, SORTEX also reduces waste, helping the sustainable efforts of the pet food industry, and improving the safety of the kibble for pets.


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