Pet food production

A pet food product useful for reducing the amount of harmful bacteria in the small intestine is described. The pet food composition contains, on a dry matter basis, from about 0.2 to 1.5 wt% of a fructooligosaccharide and is fed to a pet, such as a dog, cat, or horse. Jerusalem artichoke is a potential source of the required fructooligosaccharides. 

Source Priegnitz, R.D., Semi-moist pet food product and process, U.S. Patent 4,228,195. October 14,1980. 

After mixing, preconditioned materials are discharged into an extruder. The final product characteristics are affected by screw and barrel profiles, screw speed, processing conditions (temperature, moisture content, etc.), raw material properties, and die/knife type. A single-screw extruder is used in 85%-90% of all semimoist pet food production. All equipment requires stainless steel construction due to low pH (4.0-4.5) of most formulas. The extrusion temperature is maintained... 

Color is an important property for pet foods. Semimoist pet foods offer a meat-like appearance, to which the red color contributes greatly. The stabilization of product color is sometimes problematic in semimoist pet food production. A reaction of animal protein sources with carbon monoxide, which causes the formation of color-stabilized protein sources, is used to generate color-stabilized semimoist pet foods with a heat-stable bright red color (Hood, 1978). 

Generally, chunks are produced by forming emulsions of meats and binders through the application of heat and pressure. Binders that are generally used in pet food production include starches, carrageenan, WG, egg albumen, konjac powder, etc. A more heat-stable binder can be applied in a formula to reduce syneresis, which is the separation of water from a product after retorting (Shi and Tang, 2003). 

The manufacture of commercial pet foods is actually very similar to that of human foods. Understanding the effect of the manufacturing process on physicochemical properties of pet foods can help the producers develop and/or improve pet food production processes more effectively. A well-developed process allows the production of a pet food that can satisfy both nutritional needs of pets and emotional needs of pet owners. 

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