How does pelleting make your feed production more efficient – and more stable?

Pelleting as a key process in modern feed production

Feed producers face increasing demands for feed safety, consistent quality, efficient production and reliable handling.

Pelleting can help address several of these challenges by transforming a mixed meal feed into a compact, uniform product through conditioning, compression and heat.

The process can improve the physical quality and handling properties of feed while providing an important opportunity for heat treatment as part of a broader feed-safety strategy.

But pelleting is not simply about pressing feed into pellets.

The conditioning, pelleting, cooling and handling processes all influence the quality, hygiene and stability of the finished feed.

So, how can pelleting make feed production more efficient – and what should you consider when designing a pelleting line?

What happens during pelleting?

Pelleting starts with a properly formulated and mixed meal feed.

The feed is typically conditioned with steam before entering the pellet press. Moisture and heat soften the feed material and help it pass through the die under pressure.

The basic process normally includes:

1. Grinding and mixing the raw materials


2. Conditioning with steam


3. Pelleting under pressure


4. Cooling and drying the pellets


5. Screening and separating fines


6. Crushing where smaller particles are required


7. Storing and handling the finished feed

According to FAO, conditioning normally involves adding steam or water before the feed enters the pellet mill. The combination of moisture, heat and pressure changes the physical properties of the feed and helps form a stable pellet.

The exact process conditions depend on the feed formulation, raw materials, desired pellet quality and the requirements of the animals receiving the feed.

Why does pelleting matter?

One of the main advantages of pelleting is that it gives the feed a consistent physical form.

Instead of a mixture of separate ingredients, the different components are incorporated into a compact pellet.

This can provide several practical advantages:

• More uniform feed handling


• Reduced dust and fines


• Less opportunity for ingredient separation


• Improved flowability


• Higher bulk density in many applications


• Easier storage and transport


• More consistent feed presentation to the animals

The benefits depend on pellet quality and the production process. Poorly conditioned feed or inadequate cooling can result in excessive fines, weak pellets and reduced product stability.

Pellet quality is therefore not simply a matter of producing a pellet. It is about producing a pellet that remains intact through cooling, storage, transport and feeding.

Pelleting and feed hygiene

Feed safety is one of the most important reasons why heat treatment is integrated into many modern feed-production processes.

Salmonella is recognised as an important biological hazard in animal feed. EFSA has highlighted heat treatment as an effective method for reducing Salmonella in feed, while also emphasising that feed can become recontaminated after heat treatment during cooling or further handling.

This means that pelleting can be an important feed-safety control step – but it is not a guarantee of Salmonella-free feed.

The effectiveness of heat treatment depends on several factors, including:

• Temperature


• Treatment time


• Moisture


• Initial level of contamination


• Feed composition


• Equipment design


• Prevention of recontamination after treatment

The European Commission's feed-safety guidance emphasises that feed businesses must manage hygiene throughout the production chain, including appropriate storage, transport, documentation, traceability and HACCP-based feed-safety management.

This is why a good pelleting system needs to be considered as part of the entire feed-safety process, rather than as an isolated piece of equipment.

Conditioning is critical for effective pelleting

The conditioning stage plays a central role in both pellet quality and heat treatment.

Steam adds moisture and heat to the feed before it reaches the pellet press. This makes the material easier to compress and helps bind the ingredients together.

FAO describes how moisture and heat during conditioning can contribute to starch gelatinisation and adhesion, helping create a stable pellet.

However, more heat is not automatically better.

The process needs to provide sufficient treatment while protecting the nutritional and physical quality of the feed.

This is particularly important for heat-sensitive components such as certain enzymes and vitamins.

Danish research from SEGES/Svineproduktion has documented that pelleting temperatures can affect enzyme activity, with the effect depending on the enzyme, temperature and processing conditions.

The goal is therefore to find the right balance between feed hygiene, pellet quality, energy consumption and nutrient stability.

Pelleting can improve feed handling

Pellets are generally easier to handle than dusty meal feed.

Their compact structure can reduce dust formation and improve the flow characteristics of the feed during conveying, storage and feeding.

Pelleting can also help reduce the separation of individual ingredients that may occur in a loose meal mixture.

This is particularly relevant for feeds containing many different ingredients or small quantities of micro-ingredients.

The result can be a more uniform feed product from the feed mill to the feeding system.

However, pellet durability matters.

If pellets break apart during cooling, transport or storage, the resulting fines can reduce some of the handling benefits of pelleting.

This is why cooling and screening are important parts of a complete pelleting process.

Cooling is part of the pelleting process

Freshly pressed pellets contain both heat and moisture.

They therefore need to be cooled and dried before storage.

The cooling process has several purposes:

• Reduce pellet temperature


• Remove excess moisture


• Stabilise pellet quality


• Reduce the risk of condensation


• Prepare the feed for storage and transport

Effective cooling is particularly important for feed safety.

EFSA has highlighted that heat-treated feed can be recontaminated after processing, including during cooling and subsequent handling.

This means that the area after the pellet press should be considered carefully when designing a hygienic feed mill.

The clean side of the process starts after the heat-treatment step.

Equipment design, air quality, dust management, cleaning procedures and the prevention of cross-contamination all contribute to maintaining the hygiene achieved during conditioning and pelleting.

Pelleting changes the physical properties of feed

Pelleting does more than change the shape of the feed.

The combination of grinding, conditioning, heat, moisture and pressure can change the physical and nutritional properties of the ingredients.

Starch behaviour is one example.

FAO describes how heat and moisture during conditioning can cause partial gelatinisation of starch at the surface of plant ingredients, contributing to pellet formation.

However, the nutritional effect of pelleting is not identical for all feed ingredients.

Research has shown that the effect on starch digestibility can depend on factors such as cereal type, feed composition, particle size and processing conditions.

This is why pelleting should be designed around the specific feed formulation and animal category, rather than applying the same process conditions to every feed.

Pellet quality affects feed efficiency

Good pellet quality can contribute to efficient feed handling and reduce the amount of fines produced during production and transport.

Pellet quality is influenced by many factors, including:

• Raw material composition


• Particle size


• Moisture


• Conditioning temperature


• Conditioning time


• Die configuration


• Compression


• Cooling


• Screening


• Storage and transport

A well-designed pelleting process therefore needs to balance several parameters rather than simply maximising production capacity.

The objective is to produce pellets with sufficient durability and the right physical characteristics for the feeding system and animal category.

Feed safety continues after pelleting

One of the most important lessons from feed-safety research is that heat treatment is only one part of the control system.

EFSA has specifically highlighted the risk of recontamination after heat treatment. Feed can be exposed to contamination during cooling, conveying, storage or subsequent handling.

This makes hygienic design particularly important.

A feed mill should therefore consider:

• Separation between raw and processed material


• Controlled airflow


• Dust management


• Easy-to-clean equipment


• Appropriate cooling


• Hygienic conveying


• Regular cleaning and inspection


• Effective pest control


• Monitoring and sampling


• Traceability


• HACCP-based procedures

The European Commission's feed hygiene framework requires feed businesses to manage hygiene and safety throughout the feed chain, while its current guidance also highlights homogeneity and cross-contamination as areas requiring appropriate control.

Pelleting and animal performance

Pelleting can provide practical advantages for animals because the feed is presented in a consistent physical form.

It can reduce sorting and make it easier to deliver a uniform mixture of ingredients.

However, the nutritional and performance effects of pelleting depend on the complete feed formulation and processing conditions.

For example, research in poultry has shown that the effects of pelleting on nutrient digestibility can vary between cereals and processing conditions.

For pigs, Danish research has also shown that the physical form and processing of feed can affect both feed utilisation and gastrointestinal health.

SEGES/Svineproduktion research has demonstrated that pelleting, heat treatment and particle size can influence feed utilisation and stomach health, illustrating why feed processing needs to be considered together with the nutritional and health objectives of the diet.

The objective should therefore not simply be maximum pellet hardness or maximum temperature.

It should be the right combination of feed safety, pellet quality, nutrient availability, animal health and production performance.

What does a complete pelleting line include?

A modern pelleting line normally consists of several integrated processes rather than a pellet press alone.

Depending on the application, the system can include:

• Feed mixer


• Conditioner


• Pellet press


• Pellet cooler


• Crumbler


• Sifter


• Fines return system


• Conveying equipment


• Storage


• Automatic control system

Each component contributes to the final feed quality.

The control system is particularly important because it can coordinate recipes, process parameters, temperatures, alarms, production data and traceability.

A well-integrated system can therefore improve both operational efficiency and process consistency.

Energy efficiency matters

Pelleting requires energy for conditioning, compression, cooling, conveying and other processes.

The energy requirement depends on the feed formulation, production capacity, pellet size, die configuration and process conditions.

This makes it important to design the pelleting line around the actual feed requirements.

Efficient grinding and mixing can also influence the overall energy consumption of the feed mill.

The objective should be to achieve the required pellet quality and feed safety without using more energy than necessary.

A pelleting line should be designed around the feed

There is no universal pelleting process that is optimal for every feed mill.

The right solution depends on:

• Annual feed production


• Feed formulations


• Animal species


• Pellet diameter and length


• Required capacity


• Raw materials


• Desired pellet durability


• Hygiene requirements


• Storage conditions


• Automation level


• Future expansion plans

For example, poultry feed may require different pellet sizes and processing conditions depending on whether the feed is intended for broilers, layers or breeders.

Pig feed may require a different balance between pellet quality, particle size, heat treatment and gastrointestinal health.

The feed mill should therefore be designed around the specific production requirements, rather than around a standard pellet press size.

Poultry feed plant in Sweden

A Swedish poultry producer partnered with SKIOLD to establish a new feed milling plant with pelleting capabilities.

The plant was designed to produce feed for different poultry groups while integrating grinding, mixing, conditioning, pelleting, cooling and automated control.

The installation includes:

• Pelleting with conditioning and cooling to support consistent pellet quality and feed hygiene


• Flexible pellet sizes for different poultry groups


• Automated control for recipes, process parameters and production data


• SKIOLD Disc Mill for efficient grinding


• Horizontal mixer for consistent feed mixing

The installation demonstrates how pelleting can be integrated into a complete feed production system rather than treated as a stand-alone process.

👉 Read the full story: Feed milling plant for poultry in Sweden

Pelleting is more than making pellets

A well-designed pelleting process can provide several advantages for modern feed production:

Better feed hygiene
Heat treatment can contribute to the reduction of biological hazards such as Salmonella when appropriate process conditions are achieved.

More consistent feed
Pelleting binds ingredients into a uniform physical product and can reduce opportunities for ingredient separation.

Less dust and fines
Good pellet quality can improve handling and reduce dust throughout the feed chain.

Efficient storage and transport
Pellets can provide favourable handling and bulk-density characteristics compared with meal feed.

Greater process control
Conditioning, pelleting and cooling provide measurable process parameters that can be monitored and controlled.

Potential improvements in nutrient utilisation
Heat, moisture and pressure can alter the physical and nutritional properties of feed, although the effect depends on the formulation and process.

Producing stable feed starts with a stable process

Pelleting should not be viewed as the final step in feed production.

It is part of an integrated process in which raw materials, grinding, formulation, mixing, conditioning, pelleting, cooling, storage and feeding all influence the final result.

The best pelleting solution is therefore not necessarily the one with the highest capacity or the highest temperature.

It is the solution that produces consistent, safe and durable feed at the required capacity and energy consumption, while maintaining the nutritional and physical characteristics needed by the animals.

For modern feed producers, this makes pelleting an important tool for achieving greater process control, efficiency and feed stability.

Better process control. Consistent pellets. Safer and more stable feed production.

Interested in how pelleting can benefit your feed production?
📞  Contact SKIOLD today – we’re ready to help you design a solution that fits your goals.

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Sources and further reading

European Commission – Feed safety
https://food.ec.europa.eu/food-safety/campaign-2026/feed-safety_en

European Commission – Feed hygiene
https://food.ec.europa.eu/food-safety/animal-feed/feed-hygiene_en

European Commission – Guidance on homogeneity and cross-contamination
https://food.ec.europa.eu/food-safety/animal-feed/feed-hygiene/commission-notices_en

EFSA – Salmonella and other biological hazards in animal feed
https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/news/efsa-publishes-advice-salmonella-and-other-biological-hazards-animal-feed

FAO – Feed Milling Processes: Pelleting
https://www.fao.org/4/x5738e/x5738e0j.htm

SEGES/Svineproduktion – Effect of expansion, pelleting and grinding on Salmonella, production results and gastrointestinal health
https://svineproduktion.dk/Publikationer/Kilder/lu_medd/medd/426.aspx

SEGES/Svineproduktion – Feed processing, gastric health and production results
https://svineproduktion.dk/publikationer/kilder/djf_forsk/14

SKIOLD – Pelleting solutions
https://skiold.com/feed/equipment/pelleting