Colorado, US-headquartered Bond Pet Foods has shipped to Hill’s Pet Nutrition the first two metric tons of animal protein created through fermentation.
Hill’s Pet Nutrition will start formulating test products using the protein ingredient for regulatory review by the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Veterinary Medicine and for market evaluation.
The shipment marks a major milestone for Bond toward commercialising its fermentation technology for pet food applications.
Bond said that its fermentation process is safe and established and has been carefully innovated to more efficiently produce proteins like chicken, turkey, and beef for pets without the need to raise and process farm animals.
“Producing tons of product at the 45,000-litre scale is a major milestone in the Bond-Hill’s collaboration,” said Bond Pet Foods founder and CEO Rich Kelleman.
“Additionally, Hill’s commitment to expand on our work together demonstrates the opportunity we collectively see in Bond’s ingredients for their and the pet industry’s food future.”
Meanwhile, the two companies signed a second joint development agreement to produce an additional animal protein for potential use in Hill’s products.