Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Products per se – or processes of preparing or treating... – Gels or gelable composition
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-05
2001-01-09
Sayala, Chhaya D. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Products per se, or processes of preparing or treating...
Gels or gelable composition
C426S576000, C426S578000, C426S601000, C426S635000, C426S656000, C426S805000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06171632
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a nonhuman animal feed. In one aspect, the invention relates to a gel food product for animals while in another aspect, the invention relates to a shaped, stiff gel food product for carnivorous animals. In yet another aspect, the invention relates to an animal feed gel cut or molded into the approximate size and shape of a fish for fish-eating animals. In still another aspect, this invention relates to a method of making a shaped, animal feed gel.
2. Description of the Art
The many and varied zoological gardens of the world are responsible for the breeding and care of a wide assortment of animals. The feeding of these animals, particularly carnivorous animals, is a major expense in the operation of these gardens, and it can often prove to be a logistical challenge. Depending upon the type, size and number of animals, insuring that each receives a properly balanced diet in a timely and efficient manner requires careful planning, reliable food sources, trained personnel and, not infrequently, good fortune.
In an effort to diminish the problems associated with the feeding of carnivorous animals, the operators of these gardens and similar establishments, e.g. breeding farms, entertainment facilities, etc., search continuously for manufactured sources of animal protein to replace natural sources of animal protein, e.g. meat, poultry, fish, and the like, fresh or frozen. Manufactured sources of animal protein are generally less expensive, available in bulk quantities, generally easier to transport and store, and often easier to tailor with respect to nutritional content than natural sources of animal protein. Moreover, the sources of some natural animal protein, e.g. fish from the oceans, continue to dwindle which in turn restricts the availability of this protein and raises its price.
One reoccurring problem with manufactured animal protein products is the presentation of the product to the animal in a manner that is similar to the animal's natural food. While many animals, carnivorous and noncarnivorous alike, will consume fungible food items such as grain, various liquids, pelletized or otherwise processed food stuffs, most carnivores require at least some portion of their diet in the general shape and texture of their natural prey, e.g. the carcass or part of a carcass of a fish, bird, mammal, etc. With respect to fish-eating animals, the size, shape and texture of the fish is important to its acceptance as a food.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Nutritionally balanced feed gels are prepared for animals, the gels comprising in weight percent based upon the weight of the gel:
A. Between about 1 and about 12% of at least one gelling agent;
B. Between about 6 and about 30% of at least one animal protein; and
C. Water.
Preferably, the gel is shaped in the form of a natural food of the animal for which it is intended and, optionally, it comprises other nutritionally valuable ingredients such as various oils and fats, plant protein, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and the like. The gelling agent comprises one or more gelatins and/or one or more gums. The amount of water in the gel is dependent upon the amount of other ingredients present in the gel, but it is usually present in sufficient quantity to mimic a natural food, e.g. a fish.
In one embodiment of this invention (a low fat formulation), the animal feed gel is in the shape of an elongated diamond (which approximates the general shape of a fish), and it comprises in weight percent based upon the weight of the gel:
A. Between about 0.2 and about 12% of at least one gelling agent;
B. Between about 8 and about 12% fish meal;
C. Between about 6 and about 8% poultry meal;
D. Between about 1 and about 1.5% fish oil; and
E. Water.
In another embodiment of this invention (a high fat formulation), the animal feed gel is also in the shape of an elongated diamond, and it comprises in weight percent based upon the weight of the gel:
A. Between about 0.2 and about 12% of at least one gelling agent;
B. Between about 6.7 and about 10.1% fish meal;
C. Between about 4.4 and about 5.8% poultry meal;
D. Between about 4 and about 8% fish oil; and
E. Water.
The shaped animal feed gel is shaped and sized to the target animal. For example, for penguin chicks the “fish” is sized as a capelin of about 30 grams in weight while for adult seals, walruses and polar bears, the fish is sized to approximate a medium mackerel of about 100 grams in weight. For seed-eating animals, e.g. parrots, the gel is shaped and sized to mimic seeds while for other animals, e.g. big cats, the feed gel can be in the simple form of a large block of several pounds.
In another embodiment of this invention, the animal feed gel is prepared by first blending the appropriate ingredients into a homogenous mass, pouring the mass into a large block and allowing it to set, and then cutting the block (or a slab cut from the block) into the desired shapes using a patterned cutter.
The animal feed gel of this invention, either shaped into the form of a natural food product or in the form of a block or slab, are readily frozen for shipment and storage. The gel is available to the animal as a food source upon thawing, and it has the texture and consistency of a set, tough gelatin.
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Gonzalez Clara Roselina Angel
Lanter Kent J.
Purina Mills, Inc.
Sayala Chhaya D.
Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek SC
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