Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Treatment of live animal
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-28
2001-08-28
Sayala, Chhaya D. (Department: 1761)
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Treatment of live animal
C426S577000, C426S578000, C426S573000, C426S805000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06280779
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Canned pet foods of the meat chunk and gravy type have been in the marketplace for years. They can be used as a total diet for pets or as a supplement to a pet's daily rations. Generally, the chunks are pieces of meat or meat by-products which are formed. This is the primary content of the chunk. Also present in the chunk are usually grains and fibrous materials as well as vitamins and nutrients. These materials are generally present as the minor portion of the chunk. The gravy portion usually has a fluid characteristic and supplies aroma, palatability, and some additional nutritional properties to the food product such as additional vitamins, minerals, and the like. Also present in the market place are other discrete meaty forms in a discrete separate gravy product. These forms are sometimes known as “slices”, that is where the discrete meat portion is somewhat elongated, as relatively flat as in a delicatessen sliced meat. As utilized throughout this specification and claims the term “chunk” shall include slices as well as any other discrete meat containing composition which is separate from the discrete gravy component of the diet. In each of these cases, the “chunks” are present with the gravy as a single unit, for example, sold in a container.
We have recently noted that the usage of meat chunk and gravy diets for animals, particularly canines, have a specific problem. In all of the canines tested with various marketed meat chunk and gravy diets as the sole diet for the canine, the animals encountered significant irregularity in fecal discharge. This is manifested by the appearance of loose, watery stools, or straight diarrhea when the animal defecates.
After a significant study, we have discovered the cause of this problem and a manner in which to essentially eliminate or substantially reduce the problem. This solution lies in the elimination or substantial reduction of certain materials utilized in the gravy portion of the diet, specifically, chemically modified starch(es), gum(s), and mixtures thereof.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the invention, there is a pet food composition comprising meat chunk and gravy, said gravy having chemically modified starch, gum, or mixtures thereof in quantities less than that necessary to promote the production of stool quality which is unacceptable.
A further aspect of the invention is a method for inhibiting the production of unacceptable stool quality in pets fed at least primarily a chunk and gravy diet which comprises feeding the pet a chunk and gravy diet wherein the gravy has a chemically modified starch, gum, or mixtures thereof, in quantities below that necessary to promote production of stool quality which is unacceptable.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Included within the term meat are those meat-derived ingredients defined as “meat” and “meat by-products” by the current Definitions of Feed Ingredients published by the Association of American Feed Control Officials, Incorporated. As defined, the term “meat” includes not only the flesh of cattle, swine, sheep and goats, but also other mammals, poultry and fish. The term “meat by-products” is defined to include non-rendered parts of the carcass of slaughtered animals, poultry and the like. Preferred meat sources include lamb, pork, chicken, and the like. Meat includes the striated muscle. Meat by-products include liver, spleen, heart, and lung. Meat and meat by-products comprise about 60 to about 85% of the meat chunk component of the meat chunk and gravy food product. The remainder of the meat chunk generally comprises grains, fibrous materials, vitamins, and the like. Some of these are effective binding agents for the meat chunk as well. Wheat flour, dry blood plasma and dried egg are effective binding agents for the meat derived ingredients from which the meat chunks are manufactured. Preferred meat chunk formulations will contain from about 4 to 8% by weight wheat flour, from 0.5 to about 7% by weight dry blood plasma and about 2 to about 4% dried egg. Vitamins and minerals can also be added.
In addition to these ingredients, various minor ingredients such as nutritional supplements, salts, coloring agents, and the like, are also included in the meat chunk formulation to provide nutritional balance and palatability.
The gravy component is prepared for canning with the meat pieces. The gravy component typically comprises water and thickening agents. We have found that thickeners commonly employed in the gravy component of a meat chunk and gravy diet for pets, particularly those directed to canines, are responsible for loose stools or diarrhea usually observed in these animals, particularly canines, when fed a diet principally or solely of meat chunk and gravy. These thickeners are chemically modified starch(es), gum(s) and mixtures thereof. Examples of chemically modified starches include starches from corn, wheat, rice, potato, tapioca and the like which are modified by any or a mixture of acylation such as acetylation, cross-linking from groups such as phosphate, hydroxyalkyl such as hydroxypropyl. Examples of gums include xanthan, guar, locust bean, carboxymethylcellulose, and the like. It is most desirable to not use any of these thickening agents. However, any amount of these thickening agents which does not promote the production of stool quality which is unacceptable from the concept of formed versus watery can be employed. Generally, less than about 0.2 wt % of the diet of these thickeners can be present.
Desirably, less than about 0.1 wt % of the diet should be present. Most desirable is the absence of these thickeners.
Materials which can be employed to thicken the gravy, liquid component of the meat chunk and gravy diet are standard, chemically unmodified starches available from various food sources including wheat, corn, rice, potato, tapioca, and the like. These materials are used in quantities to assist in bringing about the desired gravy thickness and consistency. Generally, this is about 1.5 to about 3 wt % of the diet. The preferred starch is a physically modified, waxy rice starch.
Other ingredients, which may be included in the gravy component, are soluble carbohydrates such as maltodextrin, sucrose and corn syrup, as well as also salts, color, flavors and emulsifiers such as lecithin. Desirably, a mixture of from about 1 to about 5% by weight of the chemically unmodified starch, from 0 to about 12% by weight maltodextrin and about 70 to about 95% by weight water are blended at 60 to 195° F. to provide a thickened gravy which is applied to the meat pieces immediately after the meat pieces have been placed into the can before sealing and sterilizing.
The meat chunk component is prepared by first grinding frozen meat under controlled conditions to prevent the temperature of the meat from rising above 38° F. The meat is ground to a relatively fine grind by passing broken frozen blocks of the meat through a grinder where the meat is sized to particles between ⅛ and ½inch. The comminuted, sized particles are fed to a meat emulsion blender where the meat particles are blended with oat fiber, when employed, binders such as plasma, wheat flour and dry egg, nutrients, minerals and salts to form a meat mixture. The oat fiber is added generally in the form of particles, which desirably pass through a sieve of about 200 microns. The meat mixture is then heated to raise the temperature of the meat mixture to between about 32° and 40° F. whereupon the mixture is emulsified and vacuum deaerated, to remove entrained air at 25-30 inches mercury.
A meat emulsifier is used to reduce the particle size of the mixture ingredients and create a fine, homogeneous meat mixture, which will not separate upon further processing. The temperature of the meat mixture during the emulsification step is maintained between about 40° F. and 60° F. and preferably about 40° to 50° F. The so prepared meat emulsion is transferred through an extruder from which it is uniformly deposited, as a sheet or elongated shape, having a
Jackson Michelle Lynn
Nadeau Douglas Brian
Semjenow Gary Allan
Barancik Martin B.
Colgate-Palmolive Company
Sayala Chhaya D.
LandOfFree
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